How to start a facility management company in Dubai [2024 Guide]

Every skyscraper and building in Dubai could be a potential recipient of your facility management services. The demand for facilities management in Dubai means you’ll be busy with clients and jobs from day one. Start your own facility management company in Dubai to take advantage of this fantastic business opportunity.

In this article, we cover:

  • Why start a facility management company in Dubai, UAE
  • Benefits of starting a facilities management company in Dubai
  • Steps to start a facilities management company in Dubai
  • Cost of starting a facilities management
  • Facilities management license activities
  • Business setup in Dubai with Trade License Zone

Why start a Facility management company in Dubai, UAE

Dubai’s amazing skyline is home to some of the world’s most breath-taking skyscrapers. It also boasts exquisite hotels, resorts, entertainment venues, and commercial, industrial, and residential buildings – all needing facilities management services.

The United Arab Emirates has a seemingly never-ending stream of construction projects, which means that there is significant scope and demand for facility management services. Now is the best time to start your own company in the UAE’s burgeoning facilities management industry.

Benefits of starting a facilities management company in Dubai

Starting a facilities management company in Dubai has numerous benefits. As we have mentioned, Dubai has many expansion and construction developments that offer extensive projects for businesses in the facility management industry.

The UAE’s plethora of highly developed buildings and infrastructure needs maintenance services – and the UAE authorities have made it easy to launch and operate facilities management in Dubai.

Business are boosted by the fact that you can access a large skilled workforce to carry out essential maintenance services. Labour costs are relatively low in Dubai compared to other countries, so scaling up your business to operate more sites or jobs is still beneficial and lucrative.

Steps to start a facilities management company in Dubai

Starting a facilities management company in Dubai is straightforward. These are the 9 steps to successfully get a facilities management trade license and set up your facilities management company.

Step 1: Partner with Trade License Zone

The first step to starting a facilities management business in Dubai is to partner with Trade License Zone. Our expert company formation specialists will help you manage all aspects of the business license application and setup process and communicate with the relevant government and municipal authorities on your behalf.

Step 2: Choose a business name

Choosing a company name in the UAE can be tricky if you’re unaware of the strict regulations. Company names may not contain blasphemous or offensive language, may not reference Allah or Islam, or allude to well-known organisations or brands.

If you wish to name the business after your name, you may not abbreviate it. For this process, you must submit three versions to the UAE’s Registry Office to check for availability and approval. The Registry Office will inform you once your company name has been allocated and approved.

Step 3: Choose your business jurisdiction

After successfully selecting and registering your company’s name, you must choose a business jurisdiction in which to establish your company. The UAE government provides for two different business jurisdictions: Free Zone and Mainland. Each has its own rules, regulations, laws, requirements, and business activities.

Free Zones are the most popular in the UAE as they give entrepreneurs and investors 100% ownership of the company, a zero personal and corporate tax rate, and are allowed to repatriate 100% of the profits and capital to their home countries.

Mainland companies’ key benefit is that businesses can trade directly within the UAE without requiring a branch office, as with Free Zone companies. Mainland companies must have a local sponsor (an Emirati citizen) hold 51% of the company’s shares.

Step 4: Get Initial Approval

To proceed with the next steps, you are required to get Initial Approval from the Department of Economic Development (DED). Whether you are setting up your facilities management company in a Free Zone or as a Mainland Company, this step remains the same. Only once you are granted Initial Approval can you continue to the next steps of the trade license application process.

Step 5: Select your business activities

Your trade license application requires that you specify and stipulate all your business activities on your trade license. These are the only business activities you may carry out in the UAE. There are more than 2,000 different business activities, but your choice will be guided by the type of trade license you are applying for. If caught conducting business without the correct business activities, you may face severe penalties from Dubai’s authorities.
For any help with this crucial step, contact Trade License Zone’s experienced staff to help you navigate it.

Step 6: Submit your trade license application

Once you’ve completed the above steps, you can submit your license application to the Department of Economic Development (DED). Trade License Zone can help you with this critical step to avoid errors, delays, or rejections.

Step 7: Apply for your visa

Once your trade license has been granted, and you’ve made payment, you can apply for your UAE residency visa to live and work in Dubai. Your business license may entitle you to sponsor the visas of family and staff, depending on the conditions of the trade license.

Step 8: Grading your facilities management company

The UAE’s Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) grades facilities management in Dubai. Getting a RERA grading is a mandatory step in enabling a facility management company to tender for projects. This means that only specifically graded companies can apply for specific grades of projects – the higher a company’s grading, the broader the scope of contracts and projects it can apply to manage.

Step 9: Open your corporate bank account

You can now open your corporate bank account for your facilities management company in Dubai. This is the last step before launching your business in Dubai.

Cost of starting a facilities management

The cost of starting a facilities management company in Dubai is AED 20,000 to AED 40,000. The price depends on a number of factors, such as the type of business license, company registration, visa costs, government fees, municipal approvals and rates, office space, equipment, and more.

Trade License Zone can provide you with a free quote on the trade license application and company formation fees and guide you on the rest of the cost of launching facilities management in Dubai. Our staff are highly experienced in assisting and supporting investors and entrepreneurs in transforming their ideas into reality.

Facilities management license activities

There are many facilities management license activities to choose from when selecting them for your trade license. These include the following:
• Fire safety
• Plumbing
• Elevator maintenance
• Renovation
• Carpentry
• Cleaning
• Maintenance
• Pest control
• Security

Business setup in Dubai with Trade License Zone

Business setup in the UAE is straightforward when you partner with Trade License Zone. While the UAE’s streamlined the trade license application and company formation processes, our experts will save you time and money and eliminate the frustration of unnecessary delays or rejections in starting facilities management in Dubai.

The specialists at Trade License Zone can get you started with your facilities management services company in Dubai as soon as you provide us with some basic documentation and information. Our team will then take care of the rest for you: we’ll manage your business setup, communicate with all relevant government departments and authorities, and report back to you when you’re ready to start trading as a grocery shop in Dubai. It really is that simple.

Contact us to get a personalized quotation based on your business activity

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