TL;DR
When two UAE companies use the same office, they need to verify four layers: the lease relationship, permitted property use, address registration, and actual occupancy. Written landlord consent is usually a necessary document, while the second company’s licensing authority still decides whether the premises can be registered as its business address. Even if the companies have the same shareholders, each entity should retain documented evidence supporting its right to use and register the address.
One business has already leased an office, and an affiliated company wants to share its reception area, meeting room, or several workstations. If the landlord agrees verbally, can the second company move in and add the same premises to its licence records?
The answer requires more than the landlord’s position. You need to establish the second company’s right to use the space, confirm that the property supports the proposed use, identify which address documents the licensing authority accepts, and ensure that the physical setup matches the filings. The four-layer authorisation chain below gives you a practical way to test the arrangement before signing, moving in, or changing a registered address.
1. What Type of Office-Sharing Arrangement Are the Companies Using?
The structure determines who can approve the arrangement and which documents are relevant. Start by describing the facts in one complete sentence, such as: “Company A is the main tenant, and Company B will use two workstations and apply to register the premises as its business address.” This produces more useful answers than asking for a broad No Objection Certificate (NOC) without defining its purpose.
Licensed Coworking Space or Business Centre
Each company signs a separate agreement with an operator authorised to provide shared-office services and receives evidence covering its workstation, office, or use of the address. The document chain is usually clearer in this structure. However, each company’s licensing authority must still confirm whether the service agreement can support its registered licence address, subject to the latest official publication.
The Main Tenant Allows Another Company to Use the Premises
If the lease names only Company A, Company B’s use may fall within provisions on subletting, partial subletting, third-party use, or the transfer of usage rights. Common shareholders and a rent-free arrangement do not override restrictions in the original lease. Review the lease first, then establish which entities, areas, activities, and period the landlord’s authorisation covers.
Both Companies Become Tenants or Authorised Users
Confirm whether the lease can name both entities and whether the property unit, floor area, approved use, and registration system support that structure. The documents should also allocate responsibility for rent, maintenance, insurance, access control, and on-site obligations.
💡 Our recommendation: Fix the office-sharing structure before approaching the relevant parties. Vague facts tend to produce vague NOCs and authority responses.
2. What Does Landlord Consent Actually Resolve?
A landlord can authorise third-party use through the property and lease relationship. The licensing authority has a separate role: deciding whether the second company’s documents qualify the premises as its business address.
Within Dubai’s tenancy framework, the Dubai Land Department’s Tenancy Guide cites Law No. 26 of 2007, Article 24. Unless the parties agree otherwise, a tenant must obtain the landlord’s written consent before transferring the use of the property to a third party or subletting it, subject to the latest official publication. This rule demonstrates the importance of lease authorisation within Dubai; it does not create a UAE-wide answer on business-address registration. (Source: Dubai Land Department, Tenancy Guide; verified in September 2026.)
A specific written authorisation should normally identify:
- the property and the relevant unit;
- the legal names of the main tenant and the second company;
- the permitted area, use, and duration;
- whether registration as a business address is permitted or access alone is authorised; and
- whether property management or building management must also approve the arrangement.
A message stating only that the landlord “agrees to office sharing” may not show whether Company B, the relevant unit, and the intended use were covered. A brief reply in an instant-messaging app may also fall short of what a later filing or review requires.
3. How Should You Test the Four-Layer Authorisation Chain?
At each layer, answer three questions: who has authority, what can that party approve, and which document records the approval. Completing one layer does not clear the next one automatically.
| Review layer | Core question | Main confirming party | Evidence to retain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lease relationship | Does Company B have the right to enter and use the premises? | Landlord and main tenant | Original lease, written consent, lease addendum, or usage agreement |
| Property use | Does the unit support the proposed activities and sharing structure? | Landlord, property manager, or building management | Approved use, unit records, and written property response |
| Address registration | Can Company B use the premises for its licence and official records? | Company B’s licensing authority | Document list, pre-approval, or a written response that can be retained |
| Actual occupancy | Do on-site operations match the submitted documents? | The companies and relevant reviewing bodies | Signage, workstations, access records, mail handling, and document-storage arrangements |
Layer One: Does the Lease Allow Company B to Use the Premises?
Read the provisions on subletting, shared use, third-party access, changes of use, and prior approval. If landlord consent is required, the written document should identify Company B and its intended use. Where the validity or interpretation of a contractual provision is in question, ask a suitably qualified local legal professional to review the wording.
Layer Two: Does the Property Support the Proposed Use?
Sufficient floor space establishes only physical capacity. You also need to confirm that the property’s approved use is compatible with both companies’ activities. If the proposal involves divided areas, dedicated workstations, separate signage, or shared facilities, check the building and local registration requirements, subject to the latest official publication.
Layer Three: Will Company B’s Licensing Authority Accept the Address?
Give the authority the companies’ trade licences, jurisdictions, business activities, lease relationship, and intended use. Ask whether it accepts a coworking agreement, affiliated-company authorisation, an NOC, a lease addendum, or a prescribed form of address evidence, subject to the latest official publication.
Dubai mainland, individual free zones, and other emirates may use different document routes. Experience with Ejari, Dubai’s tenancy registration system, should not be applied automatically to another jurisdiction. Follow the latest requirements and written response from the authority responsible for the relevant company.
Layer Four: Does Actual Occupancy Match the Registration?
Signage, workstations, employee access, mail receipt, document storage, and the ability to identify each company during an inspection should align with the declared structure. Banks, tax authorities, and other bodies may review evidence of actual operations under their own rules. Confirm any evidence requirements with the relevant institution, subject to the latest official publication.
⚠️ Common misconception: An NOC proves only the authorisation stated in that document. It does not automatically cover licence registration, bank records, tax records, or an on-site review.
4. Why Must Company A and Company B Be Reviewed Separately?
Reviewing the premises alone can obscure the responsibilities of two independent operating entities. Company A must show that its tenancy is valid and that it may permit third-party use. Company B needs its own basis for using the premises and must establish whether that evidence supports business-address registration.
| Party | Matters to confirm |
|---|---|
| Company A | Whether the lease and related registration remain valid; whether it may permit Company B to use the premises; which property obligations it carries |
| Company B | Which document establishes its right of use; whether its licensing authority accepts the address; whether the physical setup matches the filing |
| Landlord or property manager | What the written authorisation covers; whether the approved use and building rules fit the arrangement |
| Licensing authority | Whether it accepts the proposed structure; which originals, formats, or pre-approvals it requires |
If the companies belong to different jurisdictions, make separate enquiries and retain separate responses. Company A’s tenancy registration does not establish Company B’s eligibility to register the same address. Likewise, one free zone’s acceptance of a shared address does not establish that the original lease permits third-party use.
5. Which Office-Sharing Oversights Are Common Among Chinese Businesses?
Using Company A’s Office Because the Companies Have the Same Shareholders
Common ownership does not replace tenancy rights or address-registration evidence. The companies remain separate entities, so Company B needs its own documented basis for use and confirmation from its licensing authority.
Moving In After the Landlord Agrees and Completing the Documents Later
This puts actual occupancy ahead of the authorisation documents. If the lease, approved property use, or address evidence later proves incompatible, the businesses may need to revise both the tenancy and registration structure.
Checking the Arrangement Only at Incorporation or During an Address Change
Office sharing may continue to affect licence renewal, lease renewal, bank-record maintenance, and, where applicable, audits or other ongoing compliance matters. Review the scope of authorisation again if a company’s name, activity, staffing level, or physical layout changes.
6. In What Order Should You Set Up the Shared Office?
- Map the relationships. List Company A, Company B, the landlord, the property manager, and both licensing authorities. Record who leases, who uses, and who approves.
- Read the original lease. Check provisions on subletting, shared use, third-party use, permitted use, and prior approval.
- Obtain specific written authorisation. The document should cover the property, legal entities, purpose, area, and duration. Ask a suitably qualified professional to review contractual wording where necessary.
- Ask each licensing authority separately. Submit the same factual description and request a document list, pre-approval requirement, or written response that can be retained, subject to the latest official publication.
- Complete the registration and physical setup. Align the lease addendum, address filing, signage, workstations, and actual use.
- Update connected records. Where applicable, update banking, tax, insurance, and commercial records, and schedule a new review for licence and lease renewals.
Our recommendation is clear: document both the lease authorisation and the address-acceptance conditions before moving in or submitting an address change. If any layer still relies solely on a verbal assurance, the authorisation chain remains incomplete.
7. Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Can Two Companies with the Same Shareholder Use One Office Directly?
Common ownership alone is insufficient. Review Company A’s tenancy authority, Company B’s basis for use, the property’s approved use, and whether Company B’s licensing authority accepts the address, subject to the latest official publication.
Q: Once the Landlord Issues an NOC, Can Company B Add the Address to Its Licence?
The answer depends on the NOC’s wording and scope. Address registration also requires consideration of the lease structure, permitted property use, and Company B’s authority-specific document requirements, subject to the latest official publication.
Q: Can Dubai’s Ejari Requirements Be Applied to Other Emirates or Free Zones?
They should not be carried across jurisdictions automatically. Dubai materials inform tenancy and registration matters within Dubai. Companies in other emirates or free zones should follow the latest requirements of their own licensing authority.
Q: Why Is Licensed Coworking Different from Informal Office Sharing?
An authorised operator will generally provide service agreements and address documents aligned with its permitted operating model. With informal sharing, the parties must also prove that the main tenant may give Company B the right to use the premises and that the licensing authority accepts the resulting document set.
8. Action Checklist Before Signing or Moving In
- Define whether the structure is licensed coworking, third-party use, or joint tenancy.
- Review the original lease, the property’s approved use, and building rules.
- Obtain written authorisation identifying both companies, the property, the purpose, and the duration.
- Confirm each company’s licensing authority and address-document checklist.
- Align the registration documents, on-site identification, and actual operations.
- Schedule a fresh review for licence renewal, lease renewal, and related ongoing compliance obligations.
If the companies are registered in different jurisdictions, or the existing lease is unclear about third-party use, we can help map the relationships, review the address documents, and organise the questions requiring separate confirmation from the landlord, property manager, and licensing authorities.
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Last updated: September 2026. This content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or tax advice. Regulations, authority requirements, and document lists may change; refer to the latest publications from the relevant authorities. For professional consultation, please contact the MIRISE team.