Premises decisions look like property decisions and are not. **Space determines visa quota**, the tenancy registration gates the trade licence, and civil defence approval gates occupation. Take the space before understanding those three and the business can find itself licensed, tenanted and unable to hire.
Setting Up Premises
From lease to occupation
Premises decisions look like property decisions and are not. Space determines visa quota, the tenancy registration gates the trade licence, and civil defence approval gates occupation. Take the space before understanding those three and the business can find itself licensed, tenanted and unable to hire.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Company | [COMPANY NAME], [licence] [NUMBER] |
| Jurisdiction | [Mainland / free zone / DIFC / ADGM] |
| Premises | [UNIT, BUILDING, AREA, EMIRATE] |
| Area | [NUMBER] sq ft |
| Visa quota supported | [NUMBER] |
| Headcount planned over the lease term | [NUMBER] |
| Permitted use | [MUST MATCH THE LICENSED ACTIVITY] |
| Lease term | [DATE] to [DATE] |
| Registration (Ejari / Tawtheeq) | [NUMBER], dated [DATE] |
| Civil defence approval | [NUMBER], dated [DATE] |
| Occupation date | [DATE] |
1. Before Signing the Lease
| # | Check | Why | Done |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Space supports the visa quota you will need | Quota is linked to area and premises type | [Y/N] |
| 2 | Headcount modelled across the whole lease term | Not just today | [Y/N] |
| 3 | Permitted use matches the licensed activity | The licence depends on it | [Y/N] |
| 4 | Premises approved by the authority for that use | Planning and municipality | [Y/N] |
| 5 | Landlord is the registered owner or authorised to lease | Otherwise registration fails | [Y/N] |
| 6 | Lease will be registrable | No registration, no licence renewal | [Y/N] |
| 7 | Service charges and chiller costs quantified | Frequently a large extra | [Y/N] |
| 8 | Fit-out permitted, and the approval route understood | Landlord, municipality, civil defence | [Y/N] |
| 9 | Reinstatement obligation priced | It arrives at the end and is rarely budgeted | [Y/N] |
| 10 | Rent-free fit-out period sufficient for approvals | Approvals are the usual delay | [Y/N] |
| 11 | Parking, access and building hours adequate | [Y/N] | |
| 12 | Total occupancy cost modelled, not headline rent | [Y/N] |
2. Options
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These notes accompany the template and explain the drafting choices, the compliance points and the mistakes most often made with this document. They appear as a final page in the Word file, intended to be deleted before the document is executed.
Mainland visa quota is linked to the area and type of premises. A company that minimises space to control cost, then needs to hire, finds the quota unavailable with years left on the lease. Model headcount across the full lease term before signing.
Ejari, Tawtheeq or the zone equivalent is required for trade licence issuance and renewal. An unregistered or unregistrable lease blocks the licence, which blocks the establishment card, which blocks every visa transaction.
The use permitted under the lease, the approved use of the premises and the activity on the trade licence must all correspond. A mismatch surfaces at renewal or inspection and is expensive to fix from a signed lease.
Confirm they own the property or are authorised to lease it. Taking a lease from a head tenant whose own lease prohibits subletting leaves you without the registration the licence depends on.
Two regimes, two inspections, two sets of requirements. A certificate from one proves nothing about the other, and occupation generally cannot proceed without civil defence approval.
Installation lead times are long and cannot be compressed by paying more. This delays more move-ins than fit-out does, and it is entirely predictable.
Photographs and video, agreed with the landlord in writing and filed with the lease. It costs nothing at the start and settles the reinstatement argument at the end, which is otherwise a dispute about memory.
Most commercial leases require the fit-out to be stripped out and the space restored. Building something expensive to remove without budgeting the removal creates a cost that arrives three years later.
Two months before expiry, in writing. Verbal assurances that the fit-out can remain evaporate at handover, and by then there is no time to negotiate or to do the work.
Service charges, chilled water or air conditioning, utilities, insurance and parking can add materially to headline rent. Businesses budget the rent and are surprised by the rest.
It is a legitimate starting point, but it caps hiring, and banks and counterparties conducting diligence read it as low substance — which also affects a QFZP claim, tax residence and account opening.
A gap between premises means no registrable tenancy, which cascades into the licence and then into visas. The saving on a month’s rent rarely justifies the risk.
Cheques given to a landlord for rent remain a live liability until returned. Retrieve every one at the end of the lease and obtain written confirmation that none remain outstanding.
Leases with long notice periods renew automatically while nobody is watching. By the expiry date the decision has already been made for you.
Reflects UAE requirements current as of {{DATE OF USE}}. Registration systems, visa quota rules, municipality and civil defence requirements, signage approvals and rent frameworks differ by emirate and free zone and change — confirm with the relevant authority before committing to premises.
This is a ready-to-use template provided for convenience. Laws and requirements change, and every situation is different — please have it reviewed by a qualified professional (a lawyer, corporate secretary, or accountant as relevant) before you rely on it.