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Owner Stay: booking your own property, limits and costs

How to book an Owner Stay in your managed property: 72 hours' notice, manual approval, who may stay, the 30-day annual limit and the cleaning fee.

LandlordsUpdated 30 August 20264 min read

Do

  • Give us at least 72 hours' notice for every Owner Stay.
  • Submit exact check-in and check-out dates and times.
  • Send ID copies for every family member staying with you, so we can register them correctly.
  • Wait for our written approval before treating the dates as blocked.
  • Plan longer stays outside peak season where possible, so we can protect your annual revenue.

Don’t

  • Do not book an Owner Stay for friends, colleagues or non-direct relatives — this is prohibited under DET (formerly DTCM) regulations.
  • Do not bring additional occupants who were not declared and registered before arrival.
  • Do not assume a stay is confirmed because the calendar looks empty.

Your property is licensed as a holiday home, which means your own use of it is regulated, not automatic. Under DET (formerly DTCM) regulations, the unit owner has no right to use the property for the duration of the management contract unless that right is stated in the contract and its limits are specified in detail. Your Vacation Rentals Management contract grants you that right, limited by default to 30 calendar days per year.

Every Owner Stay is a registered stay. We check you and your family in and out, register and deregister every occupant in the DET (formerly DTCM) system, and remain accountable to the Government of Dubai for everyone under your roof. That is why the process below is not optional paperwork.

When you can book

You may request an Owner Stay at any time the property is vacant, with no pending or confirmed reservation, giving us at least 72 hours' notice.

Every Owner Stay requires manual approval from us before it is confirmed. The reason is commercial: a property can carry a tentative or pending-payment reservation — for example a guest who has already transferred funds but whose booking has not yet settled in the system. Blocking those dates without checking would cost you the booking and expose us to a cancellation.

An Owner Stay is not confirmed until we confirm it in writing. Do not travel to the property on the strength of a request alone — the dates may be held by a reservation you cannot see.

How to book

  1. Log in to the Landlord Portal.
  2. Open the "Help & Contact" page and submit the contact form with your requested dates.
  3. Provide your check-in date and time, your check-out date and time, and ID copies for every family member who will be staying with you.
  4. Wait for our written confirmation that the dates are clear and the stay is approved.
  5. If the portal form is unavailable, email the dedicated landlord address shown in your portal, or contact us at info@deluxehomes.com or +971 (4) 392-0202 (phone/WhatsApp).

Who may use an Owner Stay

Because the property is licensed by DET (formerly DTCM) as a holiday home, an Owner Stay covers the owner of the property and his or her direct family members only.

Exception. Friends and non-direct relatives can still stay in your property — but only as regular guests. We register them as guests, and the DET (formerly DTCM) Tourism Dirham Fee is payable to the government for that stay.

Maximum stay period

The default limit is 30 calendar days per year, combined across all your Owner Stays. We advise staying within that limit, and where possible avoiding peak season, so we can plan the calendar and generate maximum income from the property.

If you need longer, tell us in advance. For any Owner Stay exceeding 30 days we may charge you a discounted but fixed management fee, based on market rental rates for the period of your stay, to recover our running costs.

Those costs continue for every active property regardless of who is occupying it. They include:

  • Paying utility bills on your behalf and recording them in the accounting systems
  • Arranging maintenance and repairs
  • Conducting owner and visitor check-ins and check-outs, and registering and deregistering them in the DET (formerly DTCM) portal
  • Dealing with community management and DET (formerly DTCM) systems
  • Fixed per-property fees for Property Management and Channel Manager systems
  • Maintaining listing quotas on local portals such as Dubizzle and Property Finder
  • Maintaining property and document records
  • Remaining accountable for all staying occupants before DET (formerly DTCM) and the Government of Dubai
  • Maintaining listings on OTAs such as Booking.com and Airbnb
  • Ongoing revenue management to keep your rates current

Cleaning fee

A cleaning fee is charged on your departure from every Owner Stay, to cover housekeeping costs and return the property to guest-ready condition for the next booking.

The current amount is published in the owner portal, where it is kept up to date. Check it there before you book so there are no surprises on your statement.

At a glance

ItemRule
Minimum notice72 hours
ApprovalManual, written confirmation from us required every time
Eligible occupantsOwner and direct family members only
Annual limit30 calendar days per year by default
Beyond 30 daysDiscounted fixed management fee based on market rental rates may apply
Cleaning feeCharged on departure — amount shown in the owner portal
How to requestLandlord Portal "Help & Contact" form, or the dedicated landlord email in the portal
Unregistered occupants are a compliance breach, not an administrative slip. We are accountable to DET (formerly DTCM) for everyone staying in your licensed property, and undeclared occupants put your holiday home licence and your revenue at risk.

Questions on a specific request: +971 (4) 392-0202 (phone/WhatsApp) or info@deluxehomes.com. In an emergency, contact local emergency services first.

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