The UAE has published new rules for UAE home damage compensation when a crisis or disaster strikes a family home. Cabinet Decision No. 135 of 2026 allows eligible citizens to claim up to Dh350,000 per case towards repairs and ruined contents, and it gives applicants a tight window of just 30 days to come forward.
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What the Dh350,000 covers
The Ministry of Community Empowerment pays relief and emergency support for damage to the home and its contents. That covers household furniture, domestic electrical appliances, and essential interior and exterior finishes and fittings. The payout follows an official damage assessment report, and no single case can exceed Dh350,000.
The definition of a crisis or disaster is deliberately narrow: five homes or fewer suffering material damage from external factors. The damage report is a technical document issued by the Federal Authority for Ambulance and Civil Defence or the equivalent local authority.
The limits and deadlines at a glance
| Item | Rule |
|---|---|
| Maximum support per case | Dh350,000 |
| Deadline to apply | 30 days from the event |
| Ministry decision | 7 working days |
| Crisis threshold | 5 homes or fewer |
| In force since | 15 August 2026 |
Who qualifies
Eight conditions apply, so UAE home damage compensation is tightly targeted:
- The applicant is a UAE citizen.
- The applicant is a permanent resident under the rules in Cabinet Decision No. 57 of 2025.
- The applicant already benefits from social support or a local government support programme.
- The damaged home is inside the UAE.
- The loss is proven by an official damage assessment report.
- The damage was not caused by negligence, trespass, default or a deliberate act.
- No relief support has been received for the same damage elsewhere.
- The data and documents submitted to the ministry are accurate.
In practice this is a programme for Emirati citizens already inside the social support system. Expatriate residents are not covered, and would need other routes such as financial help for expats in Dubai or charities including the Emirates Red Crescent.
What is not compensated
- Vehicles of any kind, ships and fishing boats.
- Property used for commercial, industrial, professional or craft activity.
- Cash, jewellery, valuables, personal belongings and clothes.
- Antiques, artworks and chandeliers.
- Books, papers and private documents.
- Animals, trees, plants and crops.
- Car parking spaces, swimming pools and their fittings.
How the claim works
The affected person files the application with the ministry on its approved form, with supporting documents, within 30 days of the event. The ministry then has seven working days to decide a complete application. If that period passes with no answer, the request counts as refused, and the decision provides a grievance route for anyone turned down.
Payment normally goes to the homeowner, or to the heirs where the property is still registered in the late owner’s name. In a rented home, the tenant is paid only for verified damage to their own belongings. Applicants must disclose compensation already received or owed from another body for the same damage, and the ministry pays only the difference. Support obtained on false information is recovered in full.
What to do next
Get the official damage report first, because nothing moves without it, then count the 30 days from the date of the incident. The schedule of assessed values sits in a separate ministerial decision and has not been published, so UAE home damage compensation stays capped at Dh350,000 whatever the assessment says. Check the form and documents on the Ministry of Community Empowerment site, and wider welfare services on the UAE government portal, before you file.
