Maid room requirements and a setup checklist

The Decree-Law sets a standard, not a size. Under the Domestic Workers Decree-Law, the employer must provide a domestic worker with suitable accommodation (Federal Decree-Law No. 9 of 2022). As of September 2026, we found no official page that defines 'suitable', requires a separate room or sets a room size or fittings, so our checklist is advice, not law.

This guide is for a helper who will live with you, in Dubai or anywhere else in the UAE. MOHRE, the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation, issues domestic workers' work permits, and its call centre on 600 590000 is where to ask about anything an official page doesn't settle, such as whether a particular room is suitable.

Is a maid's room a legal requirement in the UAE?

Not in those words. The duty in the Decree-Law is suitable accommodation, and we found no official page that requires a separate room or says what 'suitable' means. The Decree-Law is a federal law that applies across the UAE, Dubai included. If you want to know whether any other rule applies to your home, ask MOHRE on 600 590000.

Her meals and clothing have a rule of their own. Under the Domestic Workers Decree-Law, the employer must provide a full-time domestic worker with meals and work clothing, unless they agree otherwise. We found no official figure for what either should cost.

The Decree-Law also sets a standard for how she is treated. Under the Domestic Workers Decree-Law, an employer must treat a domestic worker with respect and protect their dignity and safety, and the law prohibits sexual harassment, forced labour and human trafficking. We found no official guidance on what that means for her room day to day, so the privacy and safety points below are our own suggestions, not official guidance.

If your home is small or the room is unusual, check with MOHRE on 600 590000 before you apply for her permit. Our employer's checklist to the domestic worker law covers her other rights, and MOHRE publishes an English translation of the Decree-Law (opens in a new tab).

What should a maid's room have? Our setup checklist

A private room she can close, a proper bed, cooling, safe storage and a bathroom she can use. This is our practical advice for a live-in helper's room in a UAE home, not an official list, so adapt it to your space.

The room itself

• A room of her own, if you can. A door she can close gives her privacy and somewhere to rest away from the household.
• A lock she controls. A lock on the inside of her door, or a key of her own, so she feels safe at night.
• Cleared of your storage. If the room also holds suitcases, the water heater or the washing machine, move what you can, so it is her room rather than a store room.
• Clean and in good repair. Deal with damp, mould and pests, and check the light, the sockets and the door before she moves in.

Sleep and cooling

• A proper bed. A single bed with a good mattress, a pillow, two sets of sheets, a blanket and a mattress protector.
• Air conditioning that works. Have it serviced before she moves in, and let her adjust it: in a UAE summer, a hot room is hard to sleep in.
• Fresh air and darkness. A window she can open, or other ventilation, and curtains or a blind that shut out the light.
• A lamp and a socket by the bed. For reading, and for charging her phone.

Storage and her documents

Under the Domestic Workers Decree-Law, a domestic worker has the right to keep all their official documents, including their passport and ID, and an employer may not hold them. So give her somewhere safe to keep them: a lockable drawer, cabinet or small safe, with the key in her hands.

• Space for her things. A wardrobe or clothes rail, hangers, drawers or shelves, and a mirror.
• A small table or shelf. For her phone, her papers and a few personal things.

Bathroom, laundry and staying in touch

• A bathroom she can use in private. With hot water. If she shares one with the family, agree times that work for everyone.
• Laundry. A basket, and an agreed time to wash her own clothes.
• Wi-Fi. Give her the password on her first day, so she can call her family in her own time.
• Safety. Keep cleaning products and stored chemicals out of her room, and fit a smoke alarm if there isn't one.

A room costs money to set up: a bed, bedding, curtains, storage and an air conditioning service add up. Our guide to what a live-in maid really costs sets out a first-year budget.

Can your helper share a room with your children?

We found no official page that says whether she may. If you both agree to it, the Decree-Law's rules on accommodation and rest still apply. A domestic worker is entitled to at least 12 hours of rest a day, of which at least 8 must be consecutive.

If she will sleep in the nursery and get up for the baby at night, plan her hours so she still has that rest, and agree the arrangement with her before she starts. Our advice: even then, give her a space of her own for her things, and time to herself. Our guide to day off, working hours and rest goes further.

If two helpers will share a room, we found no official page on that either. Our advice: a bed, storage and a lockable drawer each, and the arrangement agreed with both before they start.

What if you don't have a spare room?

Check with MOHRE before you apply, and think about a helper who lives out. We found no official page that sets a minimum home size for sponsoring a domestic worker. On MOHRE's permit card, as of September 2026, housing comes up as a document for expatriate sponsors. An expatriate sponsor must submit a marriage contract, the spouse's UAE residence visa and proof of housing (a tenancy contract or title deed).

MOHRE doesn't say whether a single, divorced or widowed resident can sponsor. If that applies to you, check with MOHRE on 600 590000 or at a Tadbeer centre, and see our guide to who can sponsor a maid for the conditions in full.

In our view, a sofa in the living room or a mattress in the kitchen gives her neither privacy nor proper rest. If that is all your home allows, a live-out arrangement may suit you better.

One route MOHRE sets out is the Flexible package from a licensed recruitment office, such as a Tadbeer centre: the helper is registered with the office and works for your family by the hour, day, week or longer. Under MOHRE's operations manual for recruitment agencies, a worker on the Flexible package may not work more than 8 hours a day, and the agency provides housing and transport to and from the family, compensates the family for damage the worker causes, and refunds unused hours if the arrangement ends early.

We found no official page that says whether a helper you hire directly, without an office, may live outside your home, or whether paying her a housing allowance meets the Decree-Law's accommodation duty. Ask MOHRE on 600 590000 before you agree either. Our guide to live-in or live-out help compares the two in full.

How do you get the room ready before she arrives?

Start a week or two ahead, so there is time to buy and fix things. Our suggested order:

1. Show her the room first. Do it on a video call before she accepts, so she knows what she is agreeing to. Our interview questions cover video calls too.
2. Clear and clean it. Move out your storage, clean it thoroughly, and deal with any damp, mould or pests.
3. Fix what doesn't work. Service the air conditioning, and check the lights, sockets, door and lock.
4. Furnish it. The bed and bedding, curtains, storage, a lockable drawer and a lamp (see the checklist above).
5. Stock the basics. Towels, toiletries and hangers for her first few days.
6. Agree how her room is treated. It is her space: knock before you go in, and agree when you might need access, for example to service the air conditioning.
7. Show her round on day one. The air conditioning, the Wi-Fi, where things are kept, and who to tell if something breaks.

Our first-week onboarding checklist covers what comes next, from her contract to her day off.

How can MaidMatch help?

By letting you filter helpers by live-in or live-out, so the arrangement fits the space you have. MaidMatch is a free platform for families: they can browse every profile at no cost, with no registration or subscription required. Families contact helpers directly on WhatsApp, through the Hire button on each profile.

Most helpers listed on MaidMatch are already in the UAE and ready to work. Once you have a shortlist, a video call is an easy way to show her the room before she decides.