A mall tenant manual is not a UAE-wide regulation. It is a document issued by an individual landlord, and it can be stricter than the applicable authority’s own signage rules. Two malls in the same emirate can set different height limits, illumination rules or submission formats for what looks like an identical storefront sign. Criteria can also change by asset, by zone within the same mall, and by tenant category (anchor, mainline, F&B, kiosk).
Because of this, no single checklist can substitute for the documents issued on your project. Any submission should be governed by the latest tenant manual in circulation, the lease exhibits that define your unit and signage zone, the approved storefront elevation issued by the landlord’s design team, and any written comments received during previous tenant-coordination rounds. Metroplus treats these four sources as the working brief for every mall signage submission — this guide explains how they fit together and what authority-level rules sit underneath them.
In Abu Dhabi, the Department of Municipalities and Transport (DMT) Commercial Signage Regulations set baseline limits for signage on mall facades, independent of whatever the landlord’s own tenant manual additionally restricts:
| Facade Height | Sign Type | Max Sign Area | Max Letter Height |
|---|---|---|---|
| Above 15 metres | Three-dimensional (with or without background) | 12 m² | 2 metres |
| 15 metres and under | Three-dimensional (with or without background) | 6 m² | 1 metre |
These figures are baseline authority limits for Abu Dhabi mall facades. A landlord’s tenant criteria for the same building may set tighter limits, restrict illumination, or specify additional approval steps — the stricter of the two always governs the submission.
Regardless of which authority or landlord is involved, mall signage submissions are generally built around the same set of documents. See the full 12-item checklist on our mall signage page, covering cover sheets, elevations, construction details, material schedules, visualisations, electrical information, fixing calculations, samples, method statements and comment-response tracking.
Landlord design teams typically check submissions against ten recurring review areas — signage zone, identity content, scale and projection, materials and finish, illumination, electrical, structure and fixing, fire and life safety, operations, and content/screens for digital elements. The full review table is available on the mall signage page.
Send Metroplus the latest tenant manual, approved shopfront drawing, brand artwork and opening programme. We will identify the information required for a coordinated signage submission and record any design, approval or installation risks before production. We have experience with mall and landlord submission workflows across a range of UAE retail assets; final approval always remains project, landlord and authority specific.
No. A tenant manual is issued by the landlord and can be stricter than authority rules. It can also vary by asset, zone and tenant category, so the current manual for your specific unit always governs.
Signs must be three-dimensional, with a maximum area of 12 square metres and a maximum letter height of 2 metres, within a facade signage zone covering no more than 20% of the frontage.
The maximum sign area is 6 square metres with a maximum letter height of 1 metre, under the same three-dimensional and 20% frontage coverage requirements.
No. Authority rules are a baseline. The landlord’s own tenant criteria can impose additional or stricter requirements that must also be met.
The latest tenant manual, the lease exhibits defining your unit and signage zone, the approved storefront elevation, and any written landlord comments from prior review rounds.