DLD, RERA and the Dubai REST App: Who Does What

The Dubai Land Department registers property and runs the transaction system. RERA is its regulatory arm, which licenses brokers and developers and oversees escrow and rents. Dubai REST is the app that lets you check all of it yourself.

Knowing which body does what saves you from being told something is impossible when it is simply someone else's counter.

Who does what?

Structure and services current as of August 2026.

What can you check yourself in the REST app?

• Your own title deeds and property records.
• Your Ejari tenancy registration.
• Whether a broker is licensed, and their BRN.
• Whether a project is registered, and its escrow status.
• The rental index for a renewal, and an official valuation request.
• Service charge information published for a building.

Two checks are worth doing every time. Verify the broker before you view, and verify the project before you pay a developer anything. Both take under a minute and both prevent the situations people write to us about after the fact.

Where does each body appear in a purchase?

You meet a RERA licensed broker, sign a Form F, and the transaction completes at a registration trustee office, which is an outsourced Land Department counter. The Land Department issues the title deed and registers any mortgage. If the property is off plan, RERA's escrow oversight is what keeps your payments in a project account rather than in a developer's pocket, and the Oqood registration records your interest until the deed is issued.

Our guide to property transfer shows the whole sequence, and title deed and Oqood explained covers the two registrations.

Where does each body appear in a tenancy?

The contract is registered through Ejari, which is what gives it standing. The RERA rental index is the reference for what increase is permitted at renewal, and the Rental Disputes Centre decides any argument that follows. See Ejari and tenancy contracts, renewing your tenancy and how the Rental Disputes Centre works.

Which fees go to which body?

The 4 percent transfer fee and registration charges go to the Land Department, along with the mortgage registration fee where you are borrowing. Trustee office fees are for completing the transfer. Ejari registration is a small separate fee. Agency commission is not a government fee at all, and neither is the developer's No Objection Certificate charge. Our guide to Dubai Land Department fees lists the current amounts.

Why does this matter to you?

Because it tells you where to go when something stalls. A refused No Objection Certificate is a developer matter. A rent increase argument is the index and then the Rental Disputes Centre. A broker behaving badly is a RERA matter and their licence is on the line. A delay in issuing a deed is the Land Department. Knowing which door to knock on is most of the solution.

Ask us if you are not sure who handles what in your situation, and read buying property in Dubai as a foreigner for the full picture.