Dubai launches housing plan for Emirati families

The National

17-03-2025

Dubai Municipality on Monday launched the Home First initiative to enhance housing facilities for Emirati families and cut bureaucracy on residential planning. It introduces a set of urban planning amendments designed to strengthen family stability, foster social cohesion and improve quality of life, state news agency Wam reported. It supports the Sheikha Hind bint Maktoum Family Programme, which was established by Sheikha Hind bint Maktoum, wife of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, in January. The initiative updates the Dubai Building Code, allowing for greater flexibility in residential planning and enabling Emiratis to more easily make amendments to their homes. The new regulations allow the construction of a side family annexe before the main villa, offering additional living spaces such as bedrooms, living rooms and kitchens. Emirati homeowners can build a separate villa for a son within the existing family property and the initiative also allows families to expand their villas with a full 100 per cent extension on the second floor. Setback regulations (the minimum distance which a building or other structure must be away from a street or road) have also been revised, reducing the minimum setback for villas to 1.5 metres and introducing an additional 1.5-metre setback for rooftop floors across all construction boundaries. Additionally, setbacks between service annexes and the main villa have been removed, with the updated regulations permitting service annexes to reach a height of up to eight metres across two floors. Townhouses can now be built adjacent to each other across two plots. 'The Home First initiative reinforces Dubai Municipality's commitment to a flexible and sustainable urban planning framework that supports family well-being and community stability,' said Marwan Ahmed bin Ghalita, acting director general of Dubai Municipality. 'These new allowances provide Emirati families with adaptable housing facilities that meet their evolving needs while upholding Dubai's high architectural standards.' In January, Sheikh Mohammed approved a housing project worth Dh5.4 billion ($1.47 billion) for young Emiratis planning to start families. The initiative includes the construction of more than 3,000 housing units in Dubai. Of these, 1,181 homes will be built in Latifa City for beneficiaries under the housing loan category. For beneficiaries in the housing grant category, 606 new homes will be created in Al Yalayis 5, a total of 432 in Wadi Al Amardi, 398 in Al Awir 1, another 200 in the Makan area of Hatta, 120 in Oud Al Muteena and 67 homes in the countryside and rural areas of Dubai.