According to a resolution that was enacted in the UAE, by September 2023, all residential properties in the UAE would be obliged to install smoke detectors.
The resolution that requires residential householders to install fire detection devices and subscribe to the civil defence e-system in 2020 was adopted by the Cabinet under the leadership of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister, and Ruler of Dubai. The resolution was approved when His Highness was chairing the Cabinet.
The owners were given a grace period of three years from the day that the resolution was passed before they were required to comply with the obligation. This means that all homeowners have until September of this year to finish the installation.
In addition to that, householders are going to be required to sign up for the electronic civil defence system.
The resolution applies to homes that have already been built as well as homes that have not yet been erected.
The rule requires that government departments at the federal or municipal level that are responsible for providing licences verify the installation of fire detectors and the owner's enrollment in the eSystem before they will issue a completion certificate for the building of residential premises. This must be done before a completion certificate can be issued.
The federal and local governments will be responsible for paying the costs associated with the installation of these devices in the homes of people who have a limited financial means.
In the past, the federal government was responsible for covering these expenditures for property owners who were receiving financial assistance from the Ministry of Community Development.
The terms of the resolution will be carried out by the Ministry of the Interior, through the Departments of Civil Defence, together with cooperation from all parties concerned to facilitate the resolution's actual execution.
