Table of Contents
Topic Summary
Understand What Self-Owned Leasing Means
This business activity covers leasing and managing property that you personally or corporately own, including marketing units, registering tenancies, collecting rent, and maintaining assets. It does not extend to managing property on behalf of third-party owners, which requires a separate license.
Recognize Dubai's Massive Rental Market Scale
Dubai recorded 2.78 million real estate procedures in 2024, the highest in its history, with the wider market turning over AED 761 billion. The Ejari system alone processes over 400,000 tenancy registrations annually, reflecting a deep and highly formalised rental environment.
Choose the Right License Activity Code
The specific activity code for self-owned property leasing and management is 6820.96, which sits within the Real Estate Activities on a Fee or Contract Basis class. Selecting the correct code ensures your operations remain compliant and clearly defined under your Meydan Free Zone license.
Secure RERA Pre-Approval Before Launching
This activity requires pre-approval from Dubai's Real Estate Regulatory Agency (RERA) before Meydan Free Zone can issue your business license. Factoring this step into your timeline early prevents delays in getting your portfolio operations off the ground.
Know the Strict Limits on License Combinations
Your license can only be combined with other activities that fall within RERA Activity Group 2, making it one of the more restricted license types in the free zone. Planning your business structure around this limitation from the start avoids costly restructuring later.
Confirm AML Obligations Do Not Apply Here
Unlike some real estate-related activities, self-owned property leasing and management under this license is not subject to Anti-Money Laundering compliance requirements. This simplifies your regulatory obligations, though you should still maintain sound financial record-keeping practices.
Identify Whether This Activity Fits Your Profile
This license suits individual property owners and portfolio operators who want to formalise the leasing and management of their own holdings under one licensed entity. If your goal is to manage or lease property for other owners or broker sales, you will need to apply for separate licensed activities instead.
How to Start a Self-Owned Property Leasing & Management Services Business in Dubai with Meydan Free Zone
Self-owned property leasing and management is the business of letting out and running property that the holder owns: marketing units, registering tenancies, collecting rent and maintaining the asset. In Dubai, where a large share of residents rent, this is a substantial and well-regulated part of the market.
The rental market is deep and formalised. Dubai's Ejari system processes more than 400,000 tenancy registrations a year, feeding the authorities' Smart Rental Index. 1 Overall the emirate recorded 2.78 million real estate procedures in 2024, including transactions and rental agreements, the highest in its history. 2 The wider market turned over AED 761 billion in the same year. 3
For owners of income-producing property, leasing and management is a natural activity to hold under a Meydan Free Zone business license, letting them operate their own portfolio within a regulated framework, subject to the approval noted below.
Inside Dubai's Formalised Rental Market
Dubai's rental market runs on a mandatory, digital registration system. The figures below show the scale of leasing activity behind self-owned property management.
Sources: RealCube; Dubai Land Department
Who Is This Activity For?
6820.96 – Self-Owned Property Leasing & Management Services
Activity 6820.96 sits within the broader Real Estate Activities on a Fee or Contract Basis class, which covers the management of real estate and related services. Within that class, this activity is specifically the leasing and management of property that the holder itself owns: letting units, registering tenancies, collecting rent and maintaining the asset.
The activity concerns the holder's own property. It does not cover managing or leasing property on behalf of third-party owners as an agent, nor brokering sales or valuing property, each of which is a separate licensed activity, as the exclusions below set out.
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It is important to note what this activity does not cover. Leasing and managing your own property is distinct from acting as an agent to lease or manage property owned by third parties, which is a separate licensed activity. It also does not extend to brokering property sales or to valuing property, both of which are licensed under their own activities.
In short: if you are leasing and managing property that you own, you are in. If you are managing or leasing on behalf of other owners, brokering sales, or valuing property, those are separate activities.
Compliance
THIRD-PARTY APPROVAL
This activity requires pre-approval from the Dubai Real Estate Regulatory Agency (RERA) before a business license can be issued by Meydan Free Zone. This license cannot be combined with other activities except those within RERA Activity Group 2.
ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING COMPLIANCE
This business activity is not subject to AML compliance requirements.
References
1 RealCube. Ejari registration guide: over 400,000 annual registrations feed the Smart Rental Index.
2 Dubai Land Department. Dubai's real estate 2024 performance: 2.78 million procedures.
3 Dubai Land Department. Dubai's real estate sector records AED 761 billion in transactions in 2024.
