UAE Labour Accommodation Rules 2026: MOHRE Resolution 122

Quick answer

New UAE labour accommodation rules under MOHRE Ministerial Resolution No. 122 of 2026: who must comply, the key standards, and the deadlines employers face.

9 July 2026 — Insight Advisory — insightadvisory.ae

Employers that house lower-income workers anywhere in the Emirates are now operating under a rewritten rulebook. The new UAE labour accommodation rules, issued as Ministerial Resolution No. 122 of 2026 by the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MOHRE) on 18 February 2026, were published in Official Gazette No. 818 on 27 February 2026 and took effect the same day, replacing the framework that had governed worker housing since 2022. This briefing explains who falls within scope, what the upgraded standards require, the enhanced obligations for large accommodation complexes, and the steps employers should take now that enforcement is under way.

Background

Worker accommodation in the UAE was most recently governed by Ministerial Resolution No. 44 of 2022, as amended, together with Ministerial Resolution No. 516 of 2024. Those instruments sat on top of older federal standards, including Cabinet Resolution No. 13 of 2009 and Ministerial Resolution No. 212 of 2014, producing a framework that was workable but fragmented.

Ministerial Resolution No. 122 of 2026 repeals the 2022 and 2024 resolutions and consolidates the applicable requirements into a single, updated regime with a clear emphasis on worker welfare, health and safety, and accessibility. It forms part of a wider MOHRE overhaul of employment infrastructure this year, alongside Ministerial Resolution No. 340 of 2026 on the Wage Protection System, which took effect on 1 June 2026. Both reforms point in the same direction: tighter, digitally monitored compliance obligations for employers of large blue-collar workforces.

Who must comply with the UAE labour accommodation rules

The Resolution applies to private-sector employers registered with MOHRE that meet two cumulative conditions:

the employer has 50 or more workers; and
the workers concerned earn a monthly wage not exceeding AED 1,500.

Workers engaged on a commission basis who fall within occupational level 5 or above are excluded from the wage threshold, so commission structures do not automatically pull an employer out of scope.

Two features of the scope provisions deserve attention. First, the thresholds are not static: local authorities may, in coordination with MOHRE, expand the Resolution’s application within their emirate by lowering the headcount threshold or raising the wage cap. An employer that sits just outside the federal thresholds today could be brought into scope by an emirate-level decision tomorrow. Second, the obligations attach to the employer, not the landlord. Companies that outsource worker housing to third-party accommodation operators remain responsible for ensuring the facility is MOHRE-approved and meets the new standards.

The upgraded accommodation standards

The Resolution consolidates and raises the baseline standards that approved accommodation must meet. The requirements fall into four broad groups:

Worker welfare: accessibility facilities for people of determination, and written guidance in multiple languages covering workers’ rights and responsibilities, health and safety instructions, and complaint procedures.
Health and safety: adequate ventilation, clean drinking water, hygienic food preparation and access arrangements, pest control, safe gas installations, emergency signage, documented evacuation plans with regular drills, and fire prevention procedures.
Infrastructure and services: elevators where required, personal lockers, free internet access for residents, and functioning channels through which workers can raise concerns with the operator and the authorities.
Security and upkeep: 24/7 security arrangements including CCTV coverage, and cleaning managed through specialised contractors rather than ad hoc arrangements.

Individually, none of these items is novel. What changes under Ministerial Resolution No. 122 of 2026 is that they are now consolidated, updated and expressly tied to MOHRE’s approval and monitoring of each accommodation file, which makes gaps far easier for inspectors to identify and act on.

Extra requirements for large accommodation complexes

The Resolution scales its demands with the size of the facility. Complexes housing 1,000 or more workers must operate a 24-hour medical clinic, and the largest sites are expected to maintain on-site doctors, nurses and ambulance access, together with first-aid rooms and isolation areas for contagious illness. Large facilities must also provide recreational areas, financial service facilities so workers can manage remittances and payments, and organised social and recreational activities during official holidays.

Location standards apply as well. New accommodation should be situated close to industrial zones and transport networks, and at a suitable distance from family residential areas and sources of environmental hazard. Employers planning new capacity should factor these siting rules into land selection before committing to a development.

Enforcement and employer exposure

Compliance is monitored through the accommodation files employers maintain with MOHRE. Employers must house in-scope workers in MOHRE-approved accommodation and keep the associated worker data accurate and up to date. Where incorrect data or breaches of the standards are identified, MOHRE may suspend the accommodation file, which in practice disrupts an employer’s ability to process work permits and related transactions. Repeated violations, or breaches that result in labour stoppages, expose the employer to further administrative action.

Because the Resolution has been in force since 27 February 2026, there is no grace period left to rely on. Inspection findings against the new standards are already possible, and the reputational and operational cost of a suspended file typically far exceeds the cost of remediation.

Employers in construction, facilities management, hospitality, logistics and manufacturing are the most likely to be affected, since these sectors combine large headcounts with wage bands at or below the AED 1,500 threshold. Group structures should take particular care: the 50-worker test is applied to the employing entity, so workforce data needs to be assessed licence by licence rather than at group level.

Action steps

Map your workforce against the thresholds: 50 or more workers earning AED 1,500 per month or less brings you into scope.
Audit existing accommodation, whether owned or outsourced, against the new welfare, health and safety, infrastructure and security standards, and document the findings.
Verify that every facility you use holds current MOHRE approval and that the worker data on your accommodation file is accurate.
If any site houses 1,000 or more workers, budget for the clinic, medical staffing and recreational requirements now.
Watch for emirate-level decisions that widen the scope, particularly if your headcount or wage profile sits near the federal thresholds.
Brief HR and PRO teams so accommodation data is updated whenever workers are moved, hired or separated.

Sources

Need tailored advice?

If your business houses workers in the UAE and you are unsure whether your facilities meet the new MOHRE standards, our government liaison team can review your accommodation files, coordinate approvals with MOHRE and the local authorities, and keep your work permit pipeline running without interruption.