Property
Choosing a real estate broker in Dubai: the card, the permit number every advert must carry, and the escrow rule that decides when commission can be taken
Dubai gives a buyer three checks that need nobody's cooperation. Every property advertisement must carry a permit number issued through the regulator's own system, so an advert without one is already outside the rules. A broker is barred from deducting commission before the buyer's money has reached the project escrow account. And an off-plan sale signed before the project was approved and registered is void by statute, not merely risky — which is the single most expensive thing to get wrong here.
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Contents
- Every Dubai property advertisement must carry a permit number, and that is the first thing to check
- How the broker card works in Dubai, and what the guide actually says about it
- Why the broker register bylaw itself is not quoted on this page
- A Dubai broker cannot take commission before the money is in escrow
- An off-plan sale signed before the project was approved and registered is void
- What a developer's broker must have, and the contract that must be registered
- The three contracts Dubai uses, and what each is for
- Commission in Dubai: no rate is set, and the guide does not say who pays
- Two further rules that affect how a Dubai broker may approach you
- Abu Dhabi is a different emirate with its own regulator, and this page is about Dubai
- What this page does not tell you
- Frequently asked questions about real estate brokers in Dubai
- More on buying in the UAE
Choosing a broker in Dubai is usually written about as a matter of picking a big agency. The regulator has given buyers three concrete checks instead, and none of them depends on the broker's goodwill.
The short answer: a broker works under a licence registered in the Trakheesi system, through which the broker card is issued, and every advertisement or marketing material needs a permit from that same system — the Land Department's own guide states that «the permit number must be displayed on the ad». Under Executive Council Resolution No. 6 of 2010, article 12, a broker may not deposit sale proceeds into their own account or deduct their commission before the money is in the escrow account. And under Law No. 13 of 2008, article 10, an off-plan sale contract for a unit in an unapproved project is null and void — a rule repeated in article 11 of Resolution 6 of 2010.
Each rule names its instrument, with the date we read it. Where the Land Department's own compilation does not publish the text we would need, this page says so rather than filling the gap.
Every Dubai property advertisement must carry a permit number, and that is the first thing to check
The Land Department's Real Estate Brokerage Practice Guide, second edition of November 2024, puts this plainly in its section on real estate permits: a brokerage must obtain a permit for any real estate advertisement or marketing material through the Trakheesi system, and «the permit number must be displayed on the ad».
The guide lists the formats this covers, and the list is broader than most people assume: newspaper advertising, SMS, outdoor advertising, electronic advertising, and promotional activity such as open days and seminars.
So the check runs before any conversation. A listing, a portal advert, an SMS or an open-day invitation with no permit number on it is not a matter of someone cutting corners on paperwork — it is advertising the regulator has not permitted.
How the broker card works in Dubai, and what the guide actually says about it
The same guide describes the route: a real estate licence «must be first be obtained from the licensing authorities», the licence is then registered in the Trakheesi system, the card application is submitted through Trakheesi, and the electronic card is issued once the fees are settled.
Two honest notes about that, because this is where other pages state more than the regulator does.
The guide describes the process but does not, in the text we read, state in terms that holding a card is mandatory — the requirement is implied by the process rather than declared. And the guide does not define or mention a BRN, the broker registration number that circulates everywhere as the thing to ask for. The number that the regulator's own guide does make a rule about is the advertising permit number, which is why this page leads with that one.
Why the broker register bylaw itself is not quoted on this page
The instrument that governs the brokers' register is Bylaw No. 85 of 2006, regulating the Real Estate Brokers Register in the Emirate of Dubai. Law No. 13 of 2008 defines a broker by reference to it, in article 2: a broker is «any person who undertakes the real estate brokering business in accordance with Bylaw No. (85) of 2006».
We could not obtain its text. The Land Department's own English legislation compilation lists Bylaw 85 of 2006 in its contents and does not reproduce it; the file we read carries the full text of other instruments and stops before that one. So this page does not state the bylaw's registration conditions, its prohibited acts or its penalties, because we have not read them.
What follows instead is what the instruments we did read require of brokers. That is less than a complete account of the regime, and it is the part you can rely on.
A Dubai broker cannot take commission before the money is in escrow
This is the most useful rule on the page, and it is a hard prohibition rather than a best practice.
Executive Council Resolution No. 6 of 2010, article 12: the broker «may not deposit the sale proceeds in his own account or deduct his commission» before depositing them in the escrow account.
Read the two halves separately. The proceeds do not pass through the broker's own account. And the commission is not netted off on the way — the money goes to escrow first, and the commission comes afterwards.
A broker who proposes to receive your funds and forward the balance is proposing something the resolution forbids, whatever the convenience offered for it.
An off-plan sale signed before the project was approved and registered is void
Two instruments say this, and both use the same word.
Law No. 13 of 2008, article 10: no developer or broker may enter a private sale contract for off-plan units in unapproved projects, and a contract made before approval is «null and void».
Executive Council Resolution No. 6 of 2010, article 11: off-plan sales by a developer, sub-developer or broker before the project's approval and registration «will be null and void».
Nullity is not a penalty that somebody pays and the deal survives. The contract did not happen. For an off-plan purchase that is the whole of the risk in one sentence, and it is why the regulator's guide tells brokers to confirm, before marketing, that the project is licensed and registered, that an escrow account exists, and that buyers deposit funds only into that escrow account — and to hold a marketing contract with the developer.
If you are buying off-plan, those four confirmations are the ones to ask for by name.
What a developer's broker must have, and the contract that must be registered
Law No. 13 of 2008, article 9: a developer marketing through a broker must contract with a certified real estate broker on the terms set by Bylaw 85 of 2006, and must also register that contract with the Department.
Resolution 6 of 2010, article 10 says the same from the other side: where a developer markets a project through a broker, «an agreement must be entered into with a licensed Real Estate Broker».
So on a new-build project there is a registered agreement standing behind the person selling to you. Asking whether it exists and is registered is a reasonable question, and the answer is held by the Department rather than by the agency.
The three contracts Dubai uses, and what each is for
The Land Department's guide requires brokers to use the unified smart contracts for marketing and sales, and names three:
| Contract | Between | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Contract A | seller and brokerage | agreement to market the property |
| Contract B | buyer and broker | agreement of desire to purchase |
| Contract F | seller and buyer | agreement to sell |
Registration trustee offices, the guide adds, require brokers to use electronic contracts to record sales.
A note on what we did not find: Form I, which appears in a good deal of market writing about Dubai, does not appear in this guide. We leave it out rather than describe a form the regulator's current guide does not name.
Commission in Dubai: no rate is set, and the guide does not say who pays
The Land Department answers this directly, and the answer is not a number. In its own frequently asked questions it states that a broker's commission follows the agreement between the parties and, failing an agreement, prevailing custom. The brokerage guide sets no rate and does not say who pays.
So the percentage everybody quotes rests on custom by the regulator's own account, which is a different thing from resting on a rule. What is regulated is the sequence rather than the amount: article 12 of Resolution 6 of 2010 decides when the commission may be taken, and nothing we read decides how much it is. The amount belongs in the contract — Contract A or Contract B, depending on which side engaged the broker.
Two further rules that affect how a Dubai broker may approach you
The guide describes a Green List restriction: brokers are not allowed to contact owners who are not registered as part of that list, and doing so results in a violation. Where a complaint or report is made by an investor or client, operations are suspended.
And Executive Council Resolution No. 30 of 2013, article 6(b): a developer or broker who helps a person evade Land Department fees faces the same double-fee penalty as the evader. Any suggestion from an agent that the declared price could be adjusted to reduce fees is therefore a suggestion with a defined consequence attached to the person making it.
On enforcement generally, Law No. 13 of 2008, article 13 provides that where the Department proves a developer or broker breached that law or other applicable legislation, the Director General refers the matter to the competent entities for investigation. The guide states that non-compliance «will result in legal measures and violations issued against them», and that Trakheesi is the system through which violations and warnings reach a company. Neither names fine amounts, and we do not invent any.
Abu Dhabi is a different emirate with its own regulator, and this page is about Dubai
Everything above is Dubai law and Dubai Land Department practice. The UAE has no single federal real estate brokerage regime that we have verified, and Abu Dhabi regulates its own market through its own department.
So a page about Dubai brokers is not a page about brokers in Abu Dhabi, and we are not going to imply otherwise by writing "the UAE" over rules that say Dubai. If you are buying in Abu Dhabi, the questions are the same three — registration, advertising permission, escrow sequencing — but the instruments that answer them are not the ones cited here, and we have not read them.
What this page does not tell you
It does not name brokerages or rank them. It does not state a commission percentage, because the Land Department itself says the figure follows agreement and custom rather than a rule. It does not state the conditions for entering the brokers' register, because the bylaw that sets them is not published in the compilation we could reach. And it does not cover what the purchase costs or what it does for residence, both of which are in our UAE pages.
Frequently asked questions about real estate brokers in Dubai
Does every Dubai property advert need a permit number?
Yes. The Land Department's Real Estate Brokerage Practice Guide requires a brokerage to obtain a permit for any advertisement or marketing material through the Trakheesi system, and states that the permit number must be displayed on the advert. The requirement covers newspaper, SMS, outdoor and electronic advertising, and promotional activity such as open days and seminars.
Can a Dubai broker hold my money or deduct their commission from it?
No. Article 12 of Executive Council Resolution No. 6 of 2010 bars the broker from depositing sale proceeds into their own account and from deducting their commission before the proceeds are deposited in the escrow account.
Is an off-plan purchase in Dubai safe before the project is registered?
It is void. Article 10 of Law No. 13 of 2008 makes a private off-plan sale contract in an unapproved project null and void, and article 11 of Resolution No. 6 of 2010 says the same of off-plan sales before approval and registration. Before buying off-plan, confirm that the project is licensed and registered, that an escrow account exists, that your funds go only into it, and that the broker holds a marketing contract with the developer.
What is a BRN and should I ask for it?
The number in general circulation as a BRN is not defined or mentioned in the Land Department's own current brokerage guide, so this page does not build a check on it. The number the guide does make a rule about is the advertising permit number, which must appear on the advert itself.
What contracts will I sign with a Dubai broker?
The guide names three unified smart contracts: Contract A, between seller and brokerage, to market the property; Contract B, between buyer and broker, an agreement of desire to purchase; and Contract F, between seller and buyer, the agreement to sell. Registration trustee offices require electronic contracts to record sales.
Is there a standard broker commission in Dubai?
No. The Land Department's own frequently asked questions state that the commission follows the agreement between the parties and, failing that, prevailing custom — so the figure in general circulation is custom rather than a rule. What is regulated is when the commission may be taken: after the proceeds reach escrow, under article 12 of Resolution 6 of 2010.
What happens if a broker offers to under-declare the price to save fees?
Article 6(b) of Executive Council Resolution No. 30 of 2013 makes a developer or broker who helps a person evade Land Department fees liable to the same double-fee penalty as the evader.
Do these rules apply in Abu Dhabi?
No. These are Dubai instruments and Dubai Land Department practice. Abu Dhabi regulates its own market through its own department, and we have not verified those rules here.
More on buying in the UAE
What the golden visa route requires and what changed in 2026 is in UAE golden visa rules. What living there costs is in living in the UAE. Why Abu Dhabi answers both questions differently \u2014 ownership confined to designated investment areas, and an individual broker's licence reserved to UAE nationals \u2014 is in buying property in Abu Dhabi. The equivalent rules for choosing an agent elsewhere in this set — a €150,000 insurance floor and a void unwritten contract in Portugal, a criminal sanction and an eight-month cap on exclusivity in Greece, a licence that only became compulsory at the end of 2021 in Malta — are in estate agents in Portugal, estate agents in Greece and estate agents in Malta. The instruments named here, with the date we read them, are on the sources page: the regulator's guide at the DLD brokerage practice guide, the legislation at the DLD legislation compilation, the fee resolution at Executive Council Resolution 30 of 2013 and the commission answer at the Land Department's own FAQ.