Form F (MOU) for Dubai resale explained (2026)

Form F is the Dubai Land Department's standard sale contract between the seller and the buyer of a property. Its official names are Contract F and the unified sale contract, and in Dubai's market it is simply called the MOU.

RERA, the Land Department's regulatory arm, describes Contract F as "an agreement to sell a property between the seller and the buyer". It is signed once a price is agreed and before the transfer is registered, and it sets out what each side must do in between.

This guide is about that stage of a resale: the forms, the deposit, the NOC and the transfer. If you are selling an off-plan home before handover, the costs and timing of that exit are in our guide to selling off-plan before handover.

MOU stands for memorandum of understanding. In real estate it is the agreement a seller and buyer sign once they have agreed a deal, before ownership is transferred.

In many countries an MOU is a loose statement of intent. In Dubai it is not. The MOU on a resale is Form F, and its terms bind both sides: term 26 says it comes into force once both parties sign it. It fixes the price, sets a deadline for transfer and says who loses what if either side backs out.

It is also not the transfer itself. Ownership passes only when the sale is registered with the Dubai Land Department and a new title deed is issued in the buyer's name. Until then, Form F is a contract to transfer.

They are the standard contracts of a brokered sale. Contract A ties the seller to a brokerage, Contract B ties the buyer to a broker, Contract F ties seller to buyer, and Form I ties two brokerages together when they share a deal.

RERA's 2024 Real Estate Brokerage Practice Guide requires licensed brokers to use smart contracts for marketing and sales, and names three:

Why it matters to you. Contract A shows that the broker has the owner's authority to market the property, and creating it requires the title deed details to validate. Ask to see it, or at least its number, before you pay anything. Commission is agreed in Contracts A and B, not in Contract F; how agents are paid, and what to ask them, is in our guide to agents and commission on off-plan in Dubai.

A broker creates it in the Dubai REST app or the Dubai Brokers web application, starting from the approved Contract A. The owner then approves it, and the contract is issued as a password-protected PDF with its own number.

DLD's published broker journey for Contract F runs, in short:

1. Open the approved Contract A and choose to create the unified sale contract (F).
2. Link the related active Contract B.
3. Verify the owner's details and the share being sold, then the buyer's details and share.
4. Verify any tenancy contract on the property.
5. Enter the financial details, the payment plan and the contract duration.
6. Verify the seller's and buyer's broker details and the DLD fee details.
7. Add notes and any additional terms, preview and submit for approval.

Where there is no broker, DLD's form carries the note that there is no broker in the transaction, and seller and buyer sign it themselves. Either way, read the generated contract before you approve it: the details you approve are the details you are bound by.

Three parts and a set of standard terms. Part 1 describes the property, its finances, any mortgage and any tenancy. Part 2 identifies the seller and buyer. Part 3 sets out 26 standard terms and room for additional conditions.

The standard terms that matter most:

• The seller's promise (terms 2 and 4). The seller confirms they are the owner, or the owner's representative under a valid power of attorney, will provide proof of ownership and will complete the transfer as soon as they are paid, by a stated deadline.
• Payment (term 6). A deposit cheque at signing, and the balance by manager's cheque or another guaranteed method that DLD accepts.
• Who pays the 4% (term 11). Both parties agree to pay the 4% transfer fee to the Land Department and write in each side's share.
• Dues and encumbrances (terms 17 to 19). The seller settles all penalties, charges and fees owed to the developer or anyone else before transfer, and confirms the property is free of undisclosed leases, disputes, mortgages and debts.
• Condition (term 20). The buyer confirms they have inspected the property and buy it in its current condition.
• Handover (terms 13 and 14). The seller hands over on the transfer date in the condition seen at signing, with any rent cheques from existing leases, and compensates the buyer for any delay.
• The price is fixed (term 16). Neither side may change it because the market moves.
• Language (term 25). If the Arabic and English texts differ, the Arabic prevails.

Anything not in the standard form, such as furniture, a handover date for vacant possession or a rent-back, goes into the additional conditions. Term 3 says terms in any other document that contradict Contract F are not valid between the parties, so put everything that matters into the contract itself.

The buyer gives the seller a deposit cheque when signing. The form leaves the amount blank for the parties to agree, and a deposit of 10% of the price is common practice in Dubai. What happens to it is set out in the standard terms.

Held in trust. Term 7 says the deposit cheque is kept as a trust. It may not be cashed or disposed of without a written order from seller and buyer together, and otherwise the amount can be returned to either party only under a court order.

Not cashed before transfer. Term 8 says that where the deposit counts as part of the price, the seller may not cash it until registration is complete, unless the buyer fails to complete on the agreed date.

If the buyer defaults. Term 12 lets the seller terminate and keep the deposit if the buyer fails to pay or to complete on the agreed date through their own act or omission, unless the parties agree new dates.

If the seller defaults. Term 15 says the buyer gets the full deposit back, and the seller pays the same amount again as compensation.

If the mortgage falls through. Terms 9 and 10 apply where the sale is conditional on a loan. The buyer must apply in writing within the number of working days written into the contract. If the loan is not obtained within the agreed period, the contract is void and the deposit cheque is returned to the buyer.

If you are buying with a mortgage, make the sale conditional on the loan and set a realistic period. Without that clause, a refused loan can cost you the deposit. Our guide to off-plan mortgages in the UAE explains how banks value and lend.

The seller clears the property, the buyer arranges the money, and both meet at a Real Estate Registration Trustee centre to register the sale. The deadline is the one written into Contract F.

The NOC

In freehold areas the seller needs the developer's e-NOC, a no objection certificate obtained through the Dubai REST app. DLD's sale registration page lists it among the required documents. The developer checks that nothing is owed on the unit before it issues one, and charges a fee of its own; ask for the amount.

Where a ready building is run by a management company and service charges are invoiced through Mollak, there is also a building eNOC in the Dubai REST app. DLD's user guide says the management company processes it in 3 to 5 working days and replies by email. It does not replace the developer's NOC. Our Dubai REST guide walks through the request.

If the seller has a mortgage

The bank must agree, and its debt is paid at the transfer. DLD's procedure for selling mortgaged property asks for a liability letter from the bank and three manager's cheques: one to the bank or developer for the debt, one to the seller for the remaining balance, and one to DLD for the 4% fee. The registration is completed once the seller hands in the bank's mortgage release letter.

That page lists a mortgage release fee of AED 1,290 plus a registrar fee of AED 315, on top of the sale fees. If the buyer is also borrowing, the new mortgage is registered in the same process. Contract F's mortgage section, with the bank's NOC attached, should show all of this before you sign.

The transfer

DLD's property sale registration takes place at a trustee centre. The parties' documents are checked and uploaded, the transaction is entered and audited, the fees are paid and the buyer's details are entered. DLD gives the service time as 20 minutes, and the output is an electronic title deed and map in the buyer's name.

Who pays the 4%. Executive Council Resolution No. 30 of 2013 splits it equally unless agreed otherwise, and Contract F has a line for each side's share. In Dubai the buyer often pays all of it, so read term 11 before you sign. Worked examples are in our guide to the DLD fee.

Documents. DLD lists the seller's and buyer's Emirates IDs, or valid passports for non-residents, and the developer e-NOC in freehold areas. Anyone acting for a party needs a valid power of attorney; DLD says one issued outside the UAE must be formally ratified before it is accepted.

What the buyer leaves with. A new title deed in their name. Check it the same day, and verify it in Dubai REST. What a deed shows is explained in our title deed guide.

Selling an off-plan unit before handover is an assignment. There is no title deed yet, so the transfer moves the seller's Oqood registration to the buyer, who takes over the remaining instalments and the handover date.

Contract F is built to record this. Its property section has a property status and type of sale, and its financials record the original price, the amount paid and the balance. A buyer can see from the contract what they are paying the seller and what they will still owe the developer.

Three things are different from a ready resale:

1. The developer's NOC comes first. DLD says resale before registration of the completed unit is possible after obtaining a no objection certificate from the developer. Developers set a minimum percentage paid before they will issue one.
2. Developer charges are limited. Article 7 of Law No. 13 of 2008 says a developer may charge only administrative costs approved by DLD on a sale or resale of a unit sold off-plan. Ask for the NOC and transfer charges in writing.
3. The buyer pays 4% on the new price. The fee is charged on each sale, and the new buyer's Oqood registration replaces the seller's.

What Oqood is, and why an unregistered transfer is void, is in our guide to Oqood in Dubai. The exit costs, thresholds and timing for sellers are in our guide to selling off-plan before handover.

Talk first, then use RERA, then the courts. Term 22 of Contract F gives the parties seven days from notice of a dispute to settle it amicably, after which it goes to the competent Dubai courts.

RERA's brokerage practice guide describes an amicable settlement service for Contract F. Where the parties agree to apply through the Trakheesi system, RERA holds a meeting to discuss the breach and try to reach a settlement. If that fails, the parties must go to the courts.

Keep everything in writing: the contract number, the deposit cheque details, the NOC application and every message about dates. Term 5 says any change or extension of a deadline must be agreed in writing and signed by both sides.

For buyers

1. Ask for the Contract A number and check the broker's card on Dubai REST.
2. Verify the seller's title deed, or Oqood, with DLD before paying a deposit.
3. Check every field of Contract F: unit, area, price, paid amount and balance on off-plan, mortgage and tenancy.
4. Make the sale conditional on your mortgage if you are borrowing, with a realistic period.
5. Confirm term 11, who pays the 4%, and the transfer deadline.
6. Put furniture, vacant possession and any special terms in the additional conditions.

For sellers

1. Check what you owe the developer, the building and the bank, and request the NOC early.
2. Get the bank's liability letter if the home is mortgaged.
3. Confirm any tenancy and how rent cheques will pass to the buyer.
4. Set a deadline you can meet: failing to complete can cost you the deposit twice over.

• Contract F, Form F, unified sale contract, MOU. Names for the same thing: DLD's standard sale contract between seller and buyer.
• Contract A. The seller's marketing agreement with a brokerage.
• Contract B. The buyer's agreement of desire to purchase with a broker.
• Form I. The agreement between two brokerages sharing a deal.
• NOC. A developer's no objection certificate, required to sell in freehold areas and before an off-plan assignment.
• Trustee centre. A Real Estate Registration Trustee office that registers sales for DLD.
• Assignment. The sale of an off-plan unit before handover, registered as an Oqood-to-Oqood transfer.

If you are buying a ready home, verify the seller's deed and agree the deposit terms before anything else. If you are selling an off-plan unit, start with the developer's NOC conditions and our guide to selling before handover. To compare a resale with buying new from a developer, see new launches and our guide to off-plan versus ready property.