Updated
Who actually approves a move in JLT
JLT has around 80 towers arranged in lettered clusters around the lakes. DMCC is the master developer and free zone authority, and its facilities arm, Concordia, looks after the community's shared areas and approves fit-out works. Neither issues a routine residential move permit.
Under Dubai's jointly owned property law, every multi-owner building has a registered owners association, and that association appoints a management company, which is why JLT towers are run by a mix of firms. Some towers use their manager's resident app or web portal for move requests; others still take a form by email or at the building management office. Your tenancy contract, your landlord or the tower's reception will tell you which company manages your building.
When you give a mover or the building your address, always include the cluster letter and the tower name. Several JLT towers have similar names, and a truck sent to the wrong cluster loses its lift slot.
Documents buildings usually ask for
Lists vary, but most JLT buildings ask for broadly the same set, often at least 48 hours before the move. One tower's published process, Lakepoint Tower's, asks for a title deed copy, the lease, a DEWA connection certificate, the tenant's passport and visa, and proof that service charges are paid for a move in. For a move out it asks for the owner's NOC, a zero-balance service charge statement, a DEWA disconnection certificate and the return of access cards and remotes.
- Move in: tenancy contract and Ejari (or title deed if you own), Emirates ID or passport and visa, DEWA account in your name
- Move out: landlord's NOC, service charges cleared, DEWA final bill or disconnection, access cards and remotes back
- The moving company's trade licence and the vehicle details, which some buildings ask for with the form
- A refundable deposit against damage to lifts, lobbies and corridors
Notice, deposits and lift slots
Published sources put the notice period for a JLT move request at anywhere from two to seven working days, and some buildings approve faster in quiet weeks. Seven days is the safe assumption, and more at month-end, when tenancies turn over and lift slots in popular towers fill first.
The refundable deposit is set by each building. Figures quoted for JLT towers generally sit between AED 1,000 and AED 2,500; Lakepoint Tower, for example, publishes AED 1,500. It is returned after the building inspects the common areas, so photograph the lift and corridor before and after.
The service lift is booked separately once the move is approved, commonly 24 to 48 hours ahead, in fixed slots of about two hours. Passenger lifts are off-limits for furniture. Lakepoint's slots run from 8am to 7pm with a break in the afternoon, only one slot per booking, and a shorter window on Fridays; other towers set their own hours, so confirm yours before booking the crew.
Loading bays and the truck
Loading arrangements vary more than the paperwork. Some clusters have a dedicated residential loading bay and dock; in others residential moves share a commercial delivery area with office couriers during business hours. Ask building management where the truck is to stand and whether the bay needs its own booking alongside the lift.
JLT's roads are busy at office rush hour, so an early start or a late-morning slot is usually easier than arriving at 9am. Where a tower allows only one lift slot per booking, a larger home may need two bookings or a second day; tell the building the size of the move when you apply.
Office moves in JLT and DMCC
An office move has two tracks. The physical move follows the same building process as a residential one, and many towers prefer, or require, commercial moves outside office hours or at weekends so the service lift is not tied up during the working day.
The licence side runs through DMCC. A DMCC company changing its office address raises a licence amendment in the DMCC Member Portal with the new Ejari or lease, and DMCC's guidelines say a new operational fitness certificate is needed for a new physical unit. A company also cannot move to a smaller unit if its visas exceed the quota for the new space. DMCC quotes two business days for the amendment itself, before fitness certificate processing. If the new office needs fit-out works, that is a separate Concordia approval with its own deposit, so start it well before the move.
What we handle, and what only you can
The move request, deposit and any DMCC licence amendment must come from the resident, owner or company on the lease. What we do around that: send the trade licence and vehicle details your building asks for, confirm the cluster, tower, loading bay and lift slot with building management, protect the lift and corridors, and size the crew so the job fits inside the slot you have booked.