Choosing a Real Estate Agency in Dubai

To check any real estate agency in Dubai, search its name in the Dubai Land Department's free Licensed Real Estate Brokers Offices list, on the DLD website or the Dubai REST app. A licensed firm appears there, and its Office Registration Number (ORN) should match the one on its contracts. Then check the agent and the Form A.

We are an agency, so read this knowing that. It is still worth writing, because the checks below are quick, they are public, and most people buying in Dubai skip them. This page is about choosing the company. For the individual person you deal with, see our guide on how to choose a real estate agent in Dubai.

How do you check that a Dubai real estate agency is licensed?

• Search the firm on the DLD list. The DLD's Licensed Real Estate Brokers Offices service shows the brokerage companies licensed by RERA in Dubai. The DLD lists no fee and says the result is immediate. If the firm is not on it, stop there.
• Ask for the ORN. Every licensed agency has an Office Registration Number. Ours is 28357. The ORN, the licence number and the licensing authority are printed fields on the DLD's own seller and broker contract, so a firm that will not give them to you has a problem.
• Check the agent too. Individual brokers are registered separately and carry a broker card with a BRN. The DLD's Licensed Real Estate Brokers list is the matching check for the person, and the name on the card should match the person in front of you.
• A real address you can visit.
• A landline, not only a mobile.

What licence should a real estate company in Dubai have?

A Dubai real estate firm needs a trade licence and a registration with the DLD. The DLD's real estate licensing service says the licence application goes through the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism, the firm then registers in the DLD's Trakheesi system, and its staff must apply for a real estate activity practice card once the licence is approved.

The licence is not one size fits all. The DLD lists the activities separately, including real estate sales and purchase brokerage, real estate leasing brokerage, and leasing and management of property for others. So match the firm to the job:

• Buying or selling: the firm should hold the sales and purchase brokerage activity.
• Renting out your home through them: leasing brokerage.
• Handing over the management of your property: the leasing and management for others activity, which the DLD prices separately from brokerage.

Ask the agency which activities are on its licence and ask to see it. A firm that does sales well may not be licensed to manage your property.

What is Form A, and what should it say?

When you sell through an agency, the DLD's standard contract between seller and broker (A), usually called Form A, is the agreement between you and the firm. Reading the form itself tells you what a proper listing agreement records:

• the broker office's name, licensing authority, licence number and ORN, and the agent's name and BRN
• your details as owner, and the property's title deed number, plot number and project
• the listed price, the service charge and the mortgage status, including the bank and the amount needed to clear it
• whether the property is rented
• the commission amount in AED, the contract type, and the start and end dates

Read the contract type and the end date before you sign. They decide whether you can list with other firms and how long you are tied in. The DLD's real estate advertising permit service also says a broker needs a marketing contract with the owner before it can get a permit to advertise the property, including online. An agency that advertises your home without a signed contract is skipping a step the DLD requires.

What services should a Dubai real estate agency provide?

For a buyer, a useful agency does more than send listings. Expect it to:

• give you the full cost of the purchase in writing, including the DLD transfer fee and the other charges in our guide to Dubai Land Department fees
• get the service charge for the specific building, which our guide on how to check service charges before you buy explains
• explain what its commission covers before you commit, as set out in agency commission in Dubai: what it covers
• check that the seller is the owner on the title deed, and whether there is a mortgage or a tenant
• stay with you through the transfer at the trustee office

For a seller, the agency should agree the price and commission in a Form A, get the advertising permit, and report on what it has done. The contract itself has a field for activity reporting.

What separates a good agency from a bad one?

• Do they tell you what is wrong with a property? A strong signal. An agent who has never mentioned a drawback is either inexperienced or selling.
• Do they know the service charge? Not the community average, the figure for that building. It is the number that decides your return and it takes a phone call to get.
• Will they say no to you? An agency that talks you out of a bad unit is worth ten that agree with everything.
• Do they answer after the sale? Ask for a client who bought two years ago and call them.
• Do they hold the keys? An agent without access cannot show you the property this week, whatever they say.

Does the size of an agency matter?

Less than it looks. Office size, awards, the number of agents and how many properties they list all sound important. A firm with ten thousand listings is not better placed to advise you on one apartment. Volume and judgement are different things. What matters is the licence, the contract, and the person who will actually handle your purchase or sale.

What should you ask an agency before you sign anything?

• What is the total cost of this purchase, including every fee?
• What is the service charge for this specific building, in writing?
• What else completes nearby in the next twelve months?
• What would you not buy in this community, and why?
• Who else is marketing this property, and at what price?
• Which activities are on your licence, and what is your ORN?

If an agency cannot answer those, the problem is not the property. Our own team, with their BRNs, is on the team page. Also useful: how to choose an agent.