An office fitout in Dubai usually takes about three to six months from lease to move-in for unfitted space, of which site work is often 8 to 16 weeks. Rent-free periods typically run one to three months, so many tenants pay rent during the works. Here is the process step by step, with the legal space, toilet and corridor numbers most guides leave out, so you can plan before you sign.
In short:
- Check the handover condition, power and cooling, and the reinstatement clause before signing.
- The Dubai Building Code gives an occupant load of 4.6 m² per person for open offices and 9.3 m² for enclosed ones. These are safety numbers, not comfort targets.
- Small units may need no authority permit: see our guide to the fit out permit in Dubai.
- Freeze the layout before services start. Moving partitions after first fix is a main cause of cost overruns.
For budgets, read office fit out cost per square foot. For what the landlord builds and what you build, read Cat A vs Cat B fit out. To hand the whole job to one team, see our office fit out service.
The office fitout process in Dubai, from lease to move-in
| Step | What happens | Typical time |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Before you sign | Test-fit the layout, check services, handover condition and lease terms | 1 to 2 weeks |
| 2. Brief and design | Headcount, rooms, IT and brand, then layout and 3D | 2 to 4 weeks |
| 3. Drawings and contractor | Technical drawings, BOQ and contractor appointment | 1 to 3 weeks |
| 4. Approvals | Landlord NOC, then authority, Civil Defence and DEWA as needed | 2 to 6 weeks, often in parallel |
| 5. Construction | Partitions, services, ceilings, floors, joinery and glazing | 4 to 12 weeks by size |
| 6. Furniture, IT and AV | Workstations, cabling, screens and access control | 1 to 2 weeks, overlapping |
| 7. Inspections and snagging | Authority and landlord inspections, snag list and as-builts | 1 to 2 weeks |
| 8. Move-in | Completion papers, landlord approval to occupy | Days |
These are our planning ranges. Landlords can be strict about the last step: one Dubai property manager’s FAQ states there is no occupation until the fit out is approved.
How long an office fit out really takes
There is no neutral Dubai benchmark by size, and much of the disagreement comes down to what the clock includes. Contractors usually quote site time, while tenants live with the time from lease to move-in.
| Office size | Contractors’ published estimates |
|---|---|
| Up to about 1,500 sq ft | 4 to 6 weeks on site in the shortest estimates, 10 to 16 weeks in the longest |
| About 1,500 to 5,000 sq ft | 6 to 16 weeks, depending on what the estimate includes |
| 5,000 sq ft and above | 20 to 28 weeks in the longest estimates, including approvals |
| Luxury or large corporate floors | 20 to 24 weeks |
On the consultant side, CBRE says unfitted space needs a further three to six months for fit-out works and occupational approvals. Add long-lead items too: joinery can take four to six weeks, and one DIFC tower manual warns that chilled water meter activation may take up to six weeks.
Who pays rent during the fit out?
Usually you do, for part of it. Lawyers put the typical rent-free period at one to three months, which is shorter than most programmes. The Central Park Towers manual also states that rent-free is not extended for delays in design, resubmission or execution. With average Dubai office rents of AED 241 per sq ft in Q3 2026 according to Savills, a 3,000 sq ft office costs about AED 60,000 a month in rent, so each month of delay is a real cost (our arithmetic). Before you sign, negotiate:
- a rent-free period that starts at handover or at NOC, not at lease date;
- what happens if the landlord’s review is slow;
- access for survey and design before the lease start.
How much space you need per employee
Two different numbers get mixed up: legal occupant load, which is about safety, and comfortable space, which is about how people work.
The legal numbers. The Dubai Building Code (2021 edition) sets these for offices:
| Item | Dubai Building Code figure |
|---|---|
| Open offices, occupant load | 4.6 m² per person, gross (about 50 sq ft) |
| Enclosed offices, occupant load | 9.3 m² per person, gross (about 100 sq ft) |
| Meeting and conference rooms | 1.4 m² per person, net |
| Toilets | 1 WC per 20 occupants for the first 100, then 1 per 50, for each gender. Same ratio for basins |
| Accessible toilets | At least one in each toilet group and at least 5% of WCs |
| Clear height | 2.5 m minimum for offices |
| Corridors | 1.5 m single-loaded, 1.8 m double-loaded |
| Daylight | Window glazing of at least 10% of room area for workstation areas |
Exit widths and exit numbers follow the UAE Fire and Life Safety Code, so a designer must confirm them. How these rules apply to a tenant using a tower’s shared toilets depends on the building, so ask your landlord.
The comfort numbers. Contractors’ guides suggest 65 to 80 sq ft for an open-plan workstation, 100 to 130 sq ft for a junior office and 150 to 200 sq ft for a senior one, or about 100 to 130 sq ft gross per person overall including meeting rooms, pantry and reception. We found no Dubai figures from the major consultants, so treat these as rules of thumb. A worked example: at 110 sq ft per person, a 25-person team needs about 2,750 sq ft.
Visa quota. You may hear that licences allow one visa per 9 m². We found no official DET or MOHRE source for this as a rule, so confirm with the licensing authority before you size your office around it.
What to check before you sign the lease
- Handover condition: shell and core, Cat A or fitted. This can change your budget by AED 120 to 180 per sq ft.
- Power and cooling: the DEWA load schedule, and whether cooling is district or building chiller, with who pays capacity charges.
- Fit-out manual: working hours, deposit, approved contractors and any tower fees. One published DIFC tower manual charges a fit-out fee of AED 20,000 or AED 4 per sq ft, and a security deposit of AED 50,000 up to 10,000 sq ft.
- Reinstatement: whether you must strip back at the end. Dubai’s tenancy law says you return the property as received, while our Cat A vs Cat B guide gives a cost range of AED 30 to 80 per sq ft. Take dated photos on day one and try to negotiate the clause at signing.
What usually delays an office fit out
- Layout changes after services have started.
- A landlord review that bounces drawings because the manual was not read first.
- Civil Defence changes found late, usually sprinkler heads, alarm devices or exit routes.
- IT, cabling and AV planned after the ceiling design.
- Furniture ordered late: imported workstations can take longer than the construction.
- A contractor who cannot work the tower’s hours. Our guide to commercial fit out contractors shows what to check.
Frequently asked questions
How long does an office fit out take in Dubai?
Contractors publish 8 to 16 weeks for most offices, with larger floors at 20 to 28 weeks. From lease to move-in in unfitted space, CBRE gives three to six months. The difference is mostly what the clock includes.
How much space does each employee need in a Dubai office?
Contractors’ rule of thumb is 100 to 130 sq ft gross per person, including shared areas. The Dubai Building Code’s occupant load factors, used for safety calculations, are 4.6 m² per person for open offices and 9.3 m² for enclosed ones.
How many toilets does an office need in Dubai?
The Dubai Building Code asks for 1 WC per 20 occupants for the first 100, then 1 per 50, for each gender, with occupants split in half per gender. By our arithmetic, a 5,000 sq ft open-plan office counts about 101 occupants, which comes to 3 WCs per gender. A designer must confirm this for your building.
Who pays for an office fit out in Dubai, landlord or tenant?
Tenants normally pay for Cat B works, and landlords may provide Cat A. Contributions are negotiated in some leases. Confirm the handover condition in writing before you budget.
Can I move in before the fit out is finished?
Usually not. Landlords commonly require the fit out to be approved before occupation, and authorities can require completion certificates. Ask your landlord what is needed before you plan the move date.
Checked in November 2026. Time ranges for offices are contractors’ estimates, not measured data. Code figures are from the 2021 edition: confirm later amendments with your designer.
Planning an office in Dubai?
We can test-fit a unit before you sign, so you know how many people it holds and what it will take to build. See our office fit out service or book a free site visit.
