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October 10, 2026 | by Michael Monday
In Dubai the contract decides almost everything else: the term, the deposit, who fits out the space, and whether you need a local company to sign. This guide sets the three contract forms side by side and then covers what a company from abroad needs in place before it signs. Flexible space is quoted per desk per month or per year; conventional leases are quoted per square foot per year, usually paid annually or in a few post-dated cheques. VAT at 5% applies to commercial rent and office fees.
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A licence agreement, typically twelve months to match the company licence, sometimes monthly. One fee per desk covers the space, utilities, internet, reception and meeting-room credits; VAT at 5% is added and a deposit of one to two months is usual. In a free zone the flexi-desk is often part of the licence package and counts as the company’s registered office for a set number of visas.
Twelve to thirty-six months for a dedicated suite or floor fitted and run by the operator or the free-zone business centre, priced per desk or per year.
Usually one to three years, rent quoted in dirhams per square foot per year and paid annually or in up to four post-dated cheques, with VAT at 5%. A security deposit of around 5% of the annual rent is common. A mainland lease must be registered with Ejari; DIFC and DMCC run their own lease registries. Fit-out needs the landlord’s and the authority’s approval, and the tenant reinstates at the end.
| Flexible office | Managed office | Conventional lease | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contract | Licence or membership | Operator agreement | Lease |
| Term | 1–12 months, rolling after | 12–36 months | Years, with a break if negotiated |
| Fit-out | Done | Operator, to your spec | Yours to fund and remove |
| Price basis | Per desk per month, all-in | Per desk or per floor per month | Rent plus taxes, service charge, utilities |
| Deposit | 1–2 months | 1–3 months | Several months’ rent or a bank guarantee |
| Time to move in | Days to weeks | Weeks to months | Months |
SquareFoot lists 39 flexible office centres in Dubai from 18 operators, collected October 2026 from the operators’ own published pages. Guide written by SquareFoot; last reviewed October 2026.
No. It is a licence or service agreement for a fitted room with one monthly fee, usually one to twelve months and rolling after that. It gives no security of tenure and no fit-out obligation, which is the trade-off against a conventional lease.
A serviced office can be taken by a foreign company for its own staff, but to trade in the UAE a company needs a mainland or free-zone licence, and the premises must match that licence. Most people take the licence and the flexi-desk together from a free zone.
The Dubai Land Department’s registration system for tenancy contracts. A mainland company’s lease must be registered in Ejari for the licence to be issued or renewed; free zones such as DIFC and DMCC have their own registries. Flexi-desk packages from a free zone cover this inside the licence.
Related: How to find office space in Dubai · Where to put an office in Dubai · Live listings in Dubai
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