Who pays a Dubai property adviser, and what does independent mean?

By law the party who appoints a broker pays, at the agreed or customary rate (Dubai Land Department, By-law 85 of 2006). By custom a resale buyer pays about 2 per cent plus VAT and the seller a similar fee; an off-plan buyer pays nothing, because the developer pays the broker (Property Finder, 9 Jul 2026). No licence confers independence. It is conduct: a written appointment, disclosure of who pays, and a shortlist from the whole market.

Key facts

• Commission rate in law: none; remuneration is by agreement, otherwise prevailing practice (Dubai Land Department, By-law 85 of 2006).
• Developer-to-broker commission on off-plan sales, as published: 2 to 8 per cent (Bayut, 27 Apr 2023); 4 to 6 per cent (The National, 30 Oct 2025); 2 to 5 per cent (Khaleej Times, 9 Feb 2026).
• A broker who acts in the other party's interest, or accepts a promise of a benefit from it, forfeits the fee (Dubai Land Department, By-law 85 of 2006).

What does the law say about brokerage fees?

Under By-law No. 85 of 2006 the brokerage agreement must be in writing, stating the parties, the property and the terms (Art. 26). Remuneration is set by agreement and, absent agreement, by prevailing practice (Art. 27); there is no statutory rate. It is earned only once a contract is concluded, by default on signing and registration with the Land Department (Art. 28); nothing is due if negotiations fail unless agreed otherwise (Art. 30). Article 33 settles who pays: the broker "will be entitled to remuneration paid by the party that appoints him", and where both sides appoint the same broker each pays its own share (Dubai Land Department, By-law 85 of 2006).

What do a resale buyer and seller each pay by custom?

Property Finder puts the buyer's commission at 2 per cent of the price and the seller's at 2 per cent, each plus 5 per cent VAT, recorded in Form A for the seller and Form B for the buyer (Property Finder, 9 Jul 2026). Bayut gave the same 2 per cent and noted "no established regulations around who legally must pay" (Bayut, 27 Apr 2023). Article 27 leaves the rate to the parties.

Why does an off-plan buyer pay no commission?

A developer marketing through a broker must register the project, sign an agreement with a licensed broker and register that marketing agreement with the Land Department (Art. 10); the broker "may not deposit the sale proceeds in his own account or deduct his commission from such proceeds" before paying them into the project escrow account (Art. 12) (Government of Dubai, Executive Council Resolution 6 of 2010). The developer may not charge the buyer any fee on a sale beyond administrative costs the Department has approved (Government of Dubai, Law 13 of 2008).

The broker is therefore paid by the developer under a registered contract, at a rate on which the published ranges disagree. Developers' in-house sales staff are paid a salary, targets and commission of 0.3 to 0.5 per cent (The National, 30 Oct 2025).

Who may act as a broker, and how do you verify one?

Nobody may practise brokerage in Dubai without a licence and an entry in the brokers register (Dubai Land Department, By-law 85 of 2006). The firm holds a real estate activity licence, AED 5,000 a year, and an office registration number, the ORN; each individual holds a practice card, the BRN, issued through Trakheesi once the annual RERA test is passed (Dubai Land Department, 2026). Both are public: search the brokers and brokerage companies lists by name, mobile number or ORN, and verify the e-card in Dubai REST, which also shows each office's classification (Dubai Land Department, 2026).

What do Forms A and B commit each side to?

RERA requires brokers to use its smart contracts. Contract A is "an agreement to market a property between the seller and the real estate brokerage"; Contract B is "an agreement of desire to purchase a property between the buyer and the real estate broker" (Dubai Land Department, Nov 2024). A broker cannot obtain a permit to advertise a ready property without a Form A number (Dubai Land Department, 2025). Form B records the buyer's identity, requirements, financial details and "contract duration and commission", and is submitted to the buyer for approval (Dubai Land Department, 2026); the buyer may end it on seven days' written notice with Form U (Property Finder, 8 Jul 2024).

How are conflicts of interest regulated?

A broker represents one party (Art. 19), must disclose to the client everything needed "to make the right decision" (Art. 17), and "will forfeit his right to remuneration" for acting in the other party's interest or accepting a promise of a benefit from it (Art. 23). Sanctions run from warning to suspension for up to six months, blacklisting and cancellation of registration (Dubai Land Department, By-law 85 of 2006). Unlicensed brokerage, or brokering an unregistered project, is fined AED 50,000, doubling on repetition within a year to a cap of AED 1 million (Government of Dubai, Executive Council Resolution 25 of 2009). Complaints against a firm or broker go to the Real Estate Violations System, answered within five business days (Dubai Land Department, 2026).

What does independent mean when there is no adviser licence?

The Department licenses activities, not titles. "Real estate consultancy" and "real estate sales and purchase brokerage" are separate licensed activities at the same annual fee, under the same RERA card (Dubai Land Department, 2026; Government of Dubai, Executive Council Resolution 25 of 2009). Nothing in By-law 85 or the licensing rules defines independence, so the word describes conduct. Four kinds can be checked.

Which developers the firm has agreements with: every marketing agreement is registered with the Department (Government of Dubai, Executive Council Resolution 6 of 2010), so a firm can say which it holds and whether a shortlist came from the whole market or only from those projects. Whom the broker represents: one party (Art. 19), the fee forfeited for acting in the other's interest (Art. 23). Whether the source of the fee is disclosed: Article 17 requires whatever the client needs "to make the right decision", which includes anything a developer will pay on a recommended project. Whether it is in writing: Article 26 requires a written agreement stating the terms, and Form B is the buyer's version (Dubai Land Department, By-law 85 of 2006). Each is a document or a register entry, not an assurance.

Who pays whom, by transaction

Sources: Dubai Land Department, By-law 85 of 2006; Government of Dubai, Executive Council Resolution 6 of 2010; Property Finder, 9 Jul 2026.

Our view

In our experience "who pays you?" really asks "whose side are you on?", and By-law 85 answers it: the broker represents the party who appointed him and forfeits the fee for serving the other side (Dubai Land Department, By-law 85 of 2006). We advise settling three things in writing before the first viewing: the appointment itself, on Form B, so that the duty runs to you; every fee the adviser will receive on the transaction, including anything payable by a developer; and the shortlist criteria, so you can see which projects were considered and why some were set aside. Each is a document you keep.

For Davies+Harrison clients the curated projects and documents sit in D+H Invest, our private investor platform, and the adviser is a message away.

Davies+Harrison is DAH Real Estate Brokerage L.L.C., RERA ORN 53447.