All short-term rental activity in Abu Dhabi must be licensed through the Department of Culture and Tourism (DCT). Renting your apartment on Airbnb or Booking.com without a permit is non-compliant and can result in fines and listing removal.
What's required
DCT requires a short-term rental permit per unit, apartment classification, owner/operator documentation, safety standards, guest registration, and Tourism Dirham collection. Permits renew annually.
Self-managed vs operator-managed
Owners can apply themselves, but most prefer a DCT-licensed operator who handles the application, classification inspection, ongoing guest registration, and Tourism Dirham remittance.
How Central Stay handles it
We prepare and submit DCT applications on behalf of our owners, coordinate classification, and manage continuous compliance — guest registration, safety, Tourism Dirham — as part of our standard operations.