Developer NOC guide
The Dubai Holding community NOC
Nakheel, Meraas and Dubai Properties communities now share one manager and one rulebook. Here is what it asks before a renovation, painting included, what it fines, and how the Dubai Properties portal renews an NOC.
Dubai Holding
Dubai Holding community NOC: what needs one?
The Dubai Holding community NOC comes from Dubai Holding Community Management (DHCM), which now manages Nakheel, Meraas and Dubai Properties communities under one set of Community Rules and Regulations, the current edition dated July 2026. Clause 8.1.1 is wide: apart from maintenance and repair, an owner or resident may not refurbish, build or alter anything on the plot or in the unit, structural or not, inside or out, painting, windows, doors and fences included, without first applying for approval.
Do I need a DHCM NOC to renovate?
Yes, for anything beyond maintenance and repair. Clause 8.1.2 requires an NOC from DHCM and from the relevant government authorities, with evidence of the authority consents attached to the DHCM application. Minor works that run longer than one day need a Minor Modifications Permit, valid for up to seven days. Internal painting, routine maintenance and like-for-like fixture replacement need no permit. Apply at least 24 hours ahead through the community app, or 72 hours ahead by email.
Major or minor: which rules apply?
| Rule | Major modifications | Minor modifications |
|---|---|---|
| What it covers | Structural work, façade or common-area impact | Non-structural work inside a unit, no effect on structure, façade or common areas |
| Approval | NOC from DHCM plus the authorities' consents | Minor Modifications Permit when work runs past one day, valid up to 7 days |
| Working days | Weekdays only | Monday to Saturday |
| Working hours | 7 AM to 5 PM | 8 AM to 6 PM |
| Noisy work | 9 AM to 1 PM and 3 to 5 PM | 9 AM to 1 PM and 3 to 5 PM |
| Sundays and public holidays | No noisy works | No works, except emergencies approved by DHCM |
| Outside the hours | Night shift NOC from the authorities and DHCM | Works strictly within the permitted hours |
The two clauses disagree by design, so classify the job first and quote only the matching one. A job that can be finished in a single day runs on same-day access instead of a permit. Renovation and fit-out work is classed as non-emergency, so it can never use the emergency access route.
What does DHCM prohibit without written approval?
- Balcony enclosures and any change to the external façade.
- Satellite dishes, external air-conditioning units and external CCTV.
- Rooftop pools, jacuzzis or pergolas, and heavy planters on balconies or roofs.
- Conocarpus trees, Damas included, which are banned anywhere in the community.
- Garden trees taller than the first-floor balcony, palms excepted, or planted within 1.5 m of a villa boundary wall.
- External repainting in anything other than the unit's existing colours, unless approved.
Dubai Holding community NOC on the Dubai Properties portal
The rulebook is shared, but the portals are not. Nakheel-side communities apply through onlineservices.nakheel.com, where the services include Request For Villa Alteration, Request For An Apartment Modification and Request Night Works Approval. Dubai Properties communities such as Mudon, Villanova and Serena run on eservices.dp.ae, whose services are Request Major Modification NOC, Home Modification NOC, Minor Work Permit, Modification Permit, Resale NOC and Trakhees Site Plan. That portal publishes two renewal rules worth knowing before a long job starts: an NOC can only be extended in the 10 days before it expires, and it can be renewed only once.
Ask which application you need
How long do approvals take?
The rulebook sets no number. Clause 8.1.9 says DHCM will decide NOC applications within a reasonable period of time. What is published is the lead time, 24 hours by app and 72 by email, and the back end: approved work must be finished within six months, or sooner if the government approval runs out first, DHCM inspects within about 21 days of the owner's completion notice, and anything non-compliant must be put right within 30 days. For Nakheel villas, the 2023 design codes said three working days, but Nakheel took them down when DHCM took over, so the rulebook's reasonable period is the only published standard; our Nakheel NOC guide has the rest.
The fines schedule
| Breach | Fine (AED) |
|---|---|
| Modifications or renovation without prior approval from DLD, the authorities and DHCM | 2,000 |
| Breaking the conditions of a DHCM NOC | 2,000 |
| Repairs that damage neighbouring property or shared spaces | 2,000 |
| Environmental, health and safety breaches during or after works | 500 |
| Storing materials in common areas without approval | 150 |
For work done without approval the schedule escalates: a warning first, then the fine, then double the fine. The schedule applies only as far as the law and any approved DLD or RERA schedule allow, and the money collected goes to the community's service-charge fund.
Site rules your contractor must follow
Before starting, DHCM wants a copy of the insurance for the works, an escalation matrix, labour cards for everyone on site and a valid trade licence; landscaping contractors must be licensed by Dubai Municipality's horticulture services. On site: 48 hours' notice before cement mixers or trailers arrive, loading finished the same day, roads cleaned within an hour, waste to Dubai Municipality-approved disposal areas, portable toilets inside the plot, shade netting for dust and noise, and no one living on site. Nakheel-side villa work also needs a Trakhees permit, as our Dubai permits guide explains, and every other developer is in the developer comparison. For quotes from contractors who already work to these rules, start with our renovation in Dubai service.
Questions
Dubai Holding NOCs, answered
- Which communities does DHCM manage?
- On the Nakheel side, communities including Palm Jumeirah, Jumeirah Park, Jumeirah Islands, Al Furjan, JVC, JVT, Discovery Gardens, Jumeirah Heights and Nad Al Sheba Villas. On the Dubai Properties side, communities including Mudon, Villanova, Serena, Remraam, Arjan, Barsha Heights, Business Bay and JBR. Meraas communities are managed by DHCM too.
- Do I need permission to paint my villa?
- Internal painting needs no permit. External painting is different: clause 8.1.1 names painting among the alterations that need an application first, and clause 7.4.2 requires external walls to be repainted in the unit's existing colours unless another scheme is approved.
- Can a DHCM NOC be extended?
- On the Dubai Properties portal, yes, once, and only in the 10 days before it expires. Separately, the rulebook requires approved works to be completed within six months, or earlier if the government approval expires first, so plan long jobs with the renewal window in mind.
- Who applies, the owner or the contractor?
- The owner. Clause 8.1.3 says the owner must raise the request on the community app, stating where on the plot or in the unit the works will happen. The contractor supplies its trade licence and labour cards, a copy of the works insurance goes to DHCM before starting, and the authority permits follow the job.
- Are there Ramadan or Friday working hours?
- Not in the 2026 rulebook. Neither word appears in it. The published limits are the weekday and Saturday windows for major and minor works, the noisy-work windows, and the ban on noisy work on Sundays and public holidays.
- Is Trakhees involved in Dubai Properties communities?
- Nakheel-side communities put a Trakhees permit in the chain. For Dubai Properties communities such as Mudon, Villanova and Serena, neither Dubai Holding's rulebook nor PCFC's own statement of Trakhees' remit names the permitting authority, so confirm it for your plot before work is priced.
Who you are dealing with
- OperatorWebsiteOS LLC
- Licence2646567.01
- Cost to homeownerNone
- Figures datedSeptember 2026
Tell us about the renovation
The community, the rooms and what you want changed. We come back with contractors who already work to the DHCM rules and quote against the published bands.