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Frequently Asked Questions

Few FAQs to help educate our Landlords
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Extended FAQ for Landlords

We’ve created below Frequently Asked Questions for Landlords page to keep our Landlords well educated and up-to-date about rules, regulations and procedures when it comes to short-term management of their properties.

DTCM Permits & Related

As per DTCM: A holiday home is any furnished mainland or freezone-located residence (studio to multiple bedrooms) that is rented out to guests based on the activity terms and criteria.

  • Copy of individual owner’s passport or UAE ID for individual owners or tenants (if the property owner is a company, the owner or one of the company’s partners’ passport or UAE ID copy should be included, alongside license documents or the company’s articles of association)
  • Submission of proof of authorisation to use the Unit:
    Copy of property Title Deed;
    Authorisation from the owner, using the approved form from DTCM (if the property owner is a legal person, i.e. a company, an authorised signatory can sign the form on the condition that proof of his authorisation is also submitted)
  • A bill issued for the Unit by Dubai Electricity and Water Authority that is no less than three months old as of the date of the application, and in the name of the owner or the Licensee (or tenant) of the Unit.

No. Hotel and hotel apartments have a different classification. Only units which have RESIDENTIAL classification can be licensed as a holiday home.

As a tenant you can sub-let one property only, subject to:

  • Having written approval from your Landlord authorizing you to sub-let the unit as a holiday home.
  • You should have valid tenancy contract and Ejari.

You can either submit a statement of account from DEWA or log in to your DEWA account and take a screenshot of the account profile. The screenshot must show the account owner and DEWA account number.

The Sales and Purchase Agreement (SPA) and either a payment completion certificate or a letter (Addressed: To Whom It May Concern) from the developer or building owner(s) clarifying the below:
1. That there is no title deed for this unit
2. If the unit is still on a payment plan, mention that the unit is on a payment plan and there is no outstanding dues
3. Mention that the unit is residential

No. Residential villas must be in a gated compound comprising a minimum of four villas. Commercial villas located on main roads may also be considered by DTCM to operate as holiday homes.

Permits registered by us (the Operator) can be cancelled only by us upon termination of our Vacation Rentals Management Agreement and completion of responsibilities by both parties.

Note: A Permit may not be cancelled for a Unit that a Guest is staying in.

Starting from 1st April 2022, we’re expanding the list of mandatory items to be provided by the Operator existing and upcoming properties for better guest satisfaction and smoother operations:

  1. Standardized Linen: Bed sheets and towels
  2. Standardized Safe boxes
  3. Standardized Kitchenware (glasses, plates, crockery, cutlery)

Definitions
Cutlery: A collective ensemble of eating and serving utensils such as knives, forks, and spoons.
Crockery: Plates, dishes, and other eating and serving tableware.

All other items can be provided by the landlords, as long as they are in presentable and working condition.

Explanation:
1. Standardized Linen program and its benefits:

  • Unlike regular retail items, these hotel-grade bed linen and towels are specially designed to withstand multiple washes with the laundry company.
  • A Standardized program ensures there is no chance of misplacing any item. This is crucial while processing 1,000+ items with laundry companies on a daily basis.
  • Replacing such items is instant and affordable with zero downtime.
  • We are providing high-quality bed sheets and towels available at discounted rates, and all properties are being equipped with the same items.
  • Our newest buying standards are Bedsheets – (240 thread count, polycotton 80/20%), Towels – (600gsm, 100% cotton), and Bath mats – (900gsm).

2. Standardized Safe boxes
The Problem:
Using regular safe boxes is not practical in the hospitality business and usually leads to more serious problems for the Operator and the Landlord. 1 out of 3 guests will generally lock the safe box and forget the pin code. Most of those cases happen during checkout and when guests have a flight to their home country. In those cases, the operator has to deliver the safety security key to restore access. If for any reason the safety key is not working or gets lost, this leads to an even more serious problem such as breaking the safe box to re-gain access to guest items.

The Solution:
The solution is to place hotel grade standardized safe boxes, that provide three extra layers of protection;

  • Our safe boxes have a simplified way to operate with instructions embedded for the guests on how to operate and avoid mistakes. Thus guests can create their own pin code with ease and no further guidance is needed.
  • In case the guest forgets the PIN, the duty supervisor has access to a secure file containing the unique MASTER CODE of that Safe box, which can be remotely provided to the guest and the guest can restore access instantly. The MASTER CODE will be then replaced with a new one when the guest checks out with a new unique one.
  • In case of an emergency (for example: When the device has a low battery and the MASTER CODE does not work), the company’s Security Supervisor holds a MASTER KEY, which can then be used to restore physical access to the safe box.

3. Standardized Kitchenware
The Problem:
7 out of 10 guests will unintentionally break at least a glass or a plate during their stay. When we rent properties with kitchenware provided by the landlords, during replacement time it’s impossible to find similar models, thus we would have no choice but to replace either the broken peace only (which would mean the set will look uncoordinated) or we have to replace the entire set with a new one to still maintain the aesthetics. In addition, many items provided by the landlords are also incomplete, sometimes over expensive, (whereas it drives additional dissatisfaction for the guest when we ask them to pay for an expensive plate or glass) or excessive (sometimes the landlords would leave an excessive number of items and expect the Operator to account for each item during check-out)
This is extremely impractical as even though full inspection is conducted by the Guest Relations Officer during each check-in and check-out, having each knife/fork/spoon accounted for would be extremely unpractical).

The Solution:
The solution is to use Standardized Kitchenware whereas:

  • We’re buying professional, long-lasting, and in-expensive kitchenware in bulk quantities with volume discounts.
  • We have set standards for each property on the number of spoons, forks and knives as part of Kitchenware.
  • For example, a 1-bedroom or Studio apartment should have and maintain simple set numbers where housekeepers, inspectors or GRO’s can simply replenish the missing/broken items.
  • By using inexpensive rates, our guests feel treated reasonably when they pay for broken glass or cup, and quotations are provided instantly during checkout (Therefore, avoiding the hassle of reaching out to the landlord or having to replace custom-made kitchenware.)

Owner Stay

As per DTCM Updated Regulations about Owner Stays: 
The Unit owner shall not have the right to use the property for the duration of the contract unless stated in the contract and the limits of such usage shall be specified in detail;

However you can use your property as per your Vacation Rentals Management contract terms, limited to 30 calendar days per year by default.

Note: All family members during Owner Stay shall be properly registered in DTCM system.

You can book an owner stay anytime when your property is vacant (and there is no pending or confirmed reservation) by providing us at least 72-hours notice. 

Note that sometimes we have reservations pending payment (for example guest transferred the funds and property has pending/tentative reservation already) thus every before every such stay a manual approval from us is a must.

You can book an owner stay via “Help & Contact” page contact form located in Landlord Portal (you have to be logged in first). If you’re having any kind of trouble, then you can send an email to Dedicated Landlord email address mentioned in the portal.

As long as your property is licensed by DTCM as a holiday home, NO!

As per DTCM regulations Owner Stays are eligible for the Owner of the property and his/her direct family members only.

If friends or non-direct relatives are to stay in your property, we can still register them but as regular Guests. In that case, DTCM Tourism Dirham Fee has to be paid to government.

You need to provide:

  • Check-in date and time
  • Checkout date and time
  • ID copies of all your family members residing with you.

Generally Landlords are advised not to cross 30 days per year combined period and preferably for such stays not to happen on pick seasons to allow us to plan and generate maximum income.

Due to the fact that for all ACTIVE properties we still provide full management services for, which include but are not limited to: 

  1. paying for utility bills on landlord’s behalf and recording the same in accounting systems;
  2. arranging maintenance repairs; 
  3. conducting owner and visitor check-ins/outs and registration/deregistration of the same in DTCM portal;
  4. dealing with community management and/or DTCM systems; 
  5. paying fixed fees to Property Management & Channel Manager systems for each property;
  6. keeping sufficient quotas in local portals such as Dubizzle/PropertyFinder;
  7. maintaining property and document records;
  8. being accountable for all staying guests in front of DTCM and Government of Dubai;
  9. maintaining listings in Online Travel Agencies such as Booking.com & AirBNB.com;
  10. continuing to provide Revenue Management services to keep the rates up-to-date,

    thus for any Owner Stay longer than 30-days we might charge the Owner a discounted yet fixed Management Fee
    based on market rental rates for the period of their stays to recover our costs.

Yes, we do charge a cleaning fee upon your departure to cover housekeeping costs.

Utilities & Utility Payments

All utilities are responsibility of the Landlord to be paid.

While property is managed as a holiday home, following utilities are required:

  • DEWA (electricity, water, sewerage)
  • Hi-speed internet with cable channels
  • AC / Chilled Water supply
  • GAS (if the stove/oven runs on gas only)

By default it is the Landlord who settles the bills on monthly basis.

However we can settle them on your behalf without additional charges. To do that, we need to have clear written instructions from your that you want us to handle your utilities, along with all such account details to pay for.

By default we expect all properties to have already connected utilities. If they don’t, then we’ll go ahead and activate them in order to start renting your property.

Note that some services like DU or Etisalat (home internet with cable TV channels) might require us to subscribe to 12 or 24 months subscription in order to be activated and/or in order to save on monthly fees for you. 

When it comes to disconnection, it is Landlord’s responsibility to handle by default. 

Landlord Payouts

We’re sending payouts on or before 15th of every month for rental proceeds incurred during previous month period.

If 15th falls on Friday or Saturday, then the payout might be postponed to the next working day.

All statements (including Incomes/Expenses statements & transactions) are updated on or before 10th of each month, for previous month’s incurred transactions and available in Landlord Portal > Incomes & Expenses section.

Additionally you can find your current, previous month’s and upcoming balance as well as list of payouts as well as Audit Trail Report in Balance & Payouts section of your Landlord Portal.

Finally all reservation details are updated manually twice per week and are available in Reservations section of your Landlord Portal.

We advise you to immediately send us a written notice (email to be sent to info [@] deluxehomes.ae and payments [@] deluxehomes.ae ) to prevent us from automatically sending your payout on 15th using the  outdated bank account.

Visiting My Property

No, as per our Vacation Rentals Management agreement and due to the fact that we’re responsible for the inventory and well-being of your property, you are not allowed to visit your property without prior making a written appointment with us.

As long as your property is vacant (which can be checked in Landlord’s Portal), you can contact us using the form located in Landlord Portal > Help & Contacts page and schedule a visit to your property at any time.

We’ll appoint our Guest Relations Officer to meet you in the Lobby and escort your visit to the property.

Bed Linen & Towels

No, we require you to remove all personal bed linen/towel sets, including Duvets and Pillows as we’re using our standardized bed linen/towel sets in all properties managed by us.

Our recent purchasing standards are:

  • Linen – 220-250 Thread Count
  • Towels – 600 GSM
  • Bath Math – 1000 GSM

Our general rule is to have all bed/linen set replaced at least once every year. However if during recent year specific property had too many check-ins and check-outs, then we might suggest that particular Landlord to have the sets replaced slightly earlier.

To preserve the life of the linen and to provide spotless services to our guests, we’re using Linencraft – one of the most reputable companies for all our laundry needs. Check them out at:

https://www.emiratesflightcatering.com/services/laundry/

LinenCraft is part of Emirates group.

DTCM Regulations Update

  1. The Licensee must receive the Guest, hand over the keys to the Unit, and ensure that the Guest is delivered the Unit in a clean and ready state.
  2. The Licensee must inform the guest of the terms and conditions, in addition to the internal rules that visitors must abide by.
  3. The building management may view the passport photos or the identity of the guests or take a copy only at the time the Guests are received and have completed check-in.
  4. The Licensee must check-in/check-out Guests in the Holiday Home System within a maximum of three (3) hours of entering the Holiday Home.
  5. Licensees must check in all Guests into the Holiday Home System.
  6. In case of any problems between the building management and the Holiday Home  company/establishment/individual owner, the Guest must be admitted to the Unit without delay and the dispute should be resolved separately directly between the company and the building management or by making a complaint to DTCM.
  7. The Licensee must provide an alternative Unit of the same standards, size, and guest occupancy without the imposition of additional fees, if upon arrival the Guest discovers major damage that prevents staying at the Holiday Home, including but not limited to major damage to air conditioning, water leakage, or other similar circumstances.
  1. The building or residential complex management must facilitate and provide for the possibility of the free and unfettered access of the Licensee to the Holiday Home, in order to allow them to conduct the Activity without obstruction.
  2. The building or residential complex management must facilitate Guest entry to the Holiday Home authorised by DTCM, as well as providing them free and unfettered access without obstruction.
  3. The building or residential complex management may view the passports and ID cards of Guests and take copies thereof upon their arrival at the building or residential complex reception desk for check-in only when checking-in.
  4. The building or residential complex management must inform DTCM as soon as possible of any complaints it has against the Licensee, Guest, or visitor in order for DTCM to take the necessary action in this regard.
  5. In the case of any complaints being submitted by the building or residential complex management against the Licensee, if it appears to DTCM that such complaint against the Licensee constitutes a breach of the Decree, the Regulations or this Guide, DTCM may begin necessary procedures against the Licensee, including the imposition of fines, the suspension of activity, or the termination of the License or Permit.
  • Tourism Dirham are charged per room per night regardless of the number of guests, based on the following category classifications:
    • Deluxe Holiday Home = AED 15 per room per night
    • Standard Holiday Home = AED 10 per room per night
  • For long stays or more than 30 consecutive nights, Tourism Dirham will be calculated for the first 30 consecutive nights of the Check-In only.
  • The Guest check-in document is valid for a maximum period of three (3) months, renewable for the same period, so long as it is renewed before expiry.

Activity Engaging, on a regular and ongoing basis, in leasing out Holiday Homes or taking lease of Holiday Homes for the purpose of subletting them to Guests.
Decree Decree No. 41 of 2013 Regulating the Activity of Leasing out Holiday Homes in the Emirate of Dubai.
DED The Department of Economic Development in Dubai
DTCM The Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing.
Emirate The Emirate of Dubai
Establishment A corporation or company licensed to conduct the Activity in the Emirate.
Guest A natural person that stays in the Holiday Home in return for payment with the intention of using it as an overnight accommodation.
Holiday Homes Furnished Units designated for conducting the Activity in accordance with the conditions and criteria stipulated in this Guide.
Holiday Home Lease Contract An agreement concluded between an Establishment and a Guest, stipulating the
rights and obligations of the parties thereto, in accordance with the provisions of the Decree, the Regulation and this Guide.
Initial Approval The initial approval issued by DTCM to an applicant for a License to enable him to complete the License application procedures, in accordance with the requirements prescribed by the Regulation.
License A document issued by DTCM stating that DTCM authorises a Licensee to conduct the Activity in the Emirate after verifying that all conditions and requirements stipulated in the Regulation are met by the Licensee.
Licensee An individual or Establishment licensed to conduct the activity in the Emirate.
Permit A document issued by DTCM stating that DTCM approves a furnished Unit be designated as a Holiday Home, after verifying that all conditions and requirements stipulated in this Guide are met.
Regulation Administrative Decision No. 1 of 2020 issuing of the executive regulations of Decree No. 41 of 2013 Regulating the Activity of Leasing out Holiday Homes in the Emirate of Dubai State The State of the United Arab Emirates.
Units Real property units

Reviews, complains & feedback

We’d appreciate to hear from you. Kindly send your feedback to info [@] deluxehomes.ae

If you have a complaint worth directing it to the management, feel free to send us an email to info [@] deluxehomes.ae and we’ll revise and get back to you within 3 working days.

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