Do you need an agent to buy off-plan in Dubai? Commission, who pays and how to choose (2026)

No. You can buy directly from a developer's sales office, and nothing in the law requires an intermediary. Most buyers still use one, for a simple reason: it costs them nothing extra, and a good agent can compare developers that each developer's own sales team never will.

There are three ways to buy:

Whichever you choose, the contract you sign is with the developer, and your money goes to the project's escrow account.

The developer does. On a new home bought from a developer, the buyer normally pays no agent commission. The developer pays the brokerage from its sales and marketing budget once the sale is registered.

On a resale the usual practice is different: the buyer pays the agent, commonly 2% of the price plus VAT.

Two consequences follow:

• Using an agent does not add a line to your bill. Your costs are the price, the 4% Dubai Land Department fee and the developer's administration fees. See the true cost of buying off-plan.
• The agent's client, in money terms, is the developer. That does not make the advice wrong. It does mean you should test it.

Usually not. Developers generally sell from one price list, whether the buyer walks into the sales office or arrives through a broker.

What can differ is the detail:

• Offers. A developer's campaign, such as a longer payment plan or a fee waiver, normally applies through every channel, but confirm it. Our developer offers page lists the ones running now.
• Unit access. At a busy launch, developers allocate units across their own team and their brokers. Neither route guarantees the unit you want.
• Extras. Some agents offer to share part of their commission with the buyer. Treat this as a private arrangement: get it in writing, and do not let it decide which home you buy.

Always ask for the developer's own price list and payment plan, and compare them with what you were quoted.

Because the economics favour it. Understanding why is more useful than resenting it.

• The developer pays, and pays reliably. There is no seller to find and no commission to collect from the buyer.
• There is always stock. A new launch has hundreds of units; a resale agent needs an owner who wants to sell.
• Developers run incentives. Commission can rise during a launch or a campaign, and it differs from one developer and project to the next.
• It is easier to sell. A payment plan asks for less cash up front than a ready home.

None of this is improper. Off-plan is also more than half of the Dubai market, so much of the push simply reflects where the homes are. The risk is narrower: advice that leans toward what pays best rather than what fits you.

Watch for these patterns. Each has an innocent explanation, and each is worth a question.

One question cuts through most of it: "If every project paid you the same, which would you recommend to me?" A good agent has an answer ready.

Plenty, when the job is done properly:

• Narrows the field. Hundreds of projects are on sale at any time. A good agent brings three to five that fit your budget, purpose and timeline.
• Compares like with like. Price per sq ft, payment plan, handover date and service charges, side by side, across developers.
• Checks the register. Confirms the project's registration, escrow account and construction progress with the Dubai Land Department.
• Explains the contract. Walks you through the handover date, delay terms and resale rules in the sale agreement.
• Handles the process. Reservation, documents, registration and follow-up, which matters most if you are buying from abroad.
• Stays to handover. Chases updates, and helps with inspection, snagging and letting.

If you are getting none of this and only a link to pay a booking fee, you are being sold to, not advised.

The Real Estate Regulatory Agency (RERA) sets the rules in its brokerage practice guide.

In the regulator's words, a broker marketing an off-plan project must:

1. Hold a licence and a broker card. The office must be licensed and registered, and each agent must hold a card issued through the Trakheesi system.
2. Have a marketing contract with the developer. A brokerage cannot simply start selling a project.
3. Make sure the project is licensed and registered with RERA.
4. Make sure the project has an escrow account, and instruct buyers to pay only into it.
5. Carry a permit on every advert. Any advertisement or promotion needs a permit from Trakheesi, and the permit number must appear on it.

Brokers are also bound by a code of ethics that includes honesty, fair treatment, privacy and "maintaining the interests of the contracting parties".

It takes five minutes, and a genuine agent will not mind.

1. Ask for the broker card number. Search it on the Dubai REST app, which lists licensed brokers and their offices.
2. Check the office. The brokerage should appear as a registered office. RERA also classifies offices and brokers, from general up to gold.
3. Scan the advert. The QR code or permit number on a listing should open a Dubai Land Department page for that advert.
4. Ask which developers they are contracted with. For the project you are discussing, there should be a marketing contract.
5. Check the project yourself. Use the project search in Dubai REST to confirm the registration and the escrow account.

Our guide on how to check a project and developer covers the last step in detail.

You can talk to as many as you like. Two points of practice are worth knowing:

• Developers record who introduced you. The first agent to register your details with a developer is usually treated as your agent for that developer for a period. If you later want to buy through someone else, or direct, ask the developer how it handles this.
• Do not share your passport casually. An agent needs your documents to register you. Hand them over when you are ready to be registered with a specific developer, not at the first conversation.

Neither is a legal rule. Both are how developers and brokers commonly work.

1. What is your broker card number, and which office are you registered with?
2. Does your office have a marketing contract with this developer?
3. How are you paid on this project, and do some projects pay you more than others?
4. Which three other projects did you consider for me, and why did you rule them out?
5. What is the price per sq ft here compared with completed homes in the same area?
6. What is the project's registration number, and what does the register show for construction progress?
7. What is the escrow account, and at which bank?
8. What does the sale agreement say about the handover date and about delays?
9. When can I resell, and what will it cost me?
10. Will you still be my contact at handover?

Ask for the answers by email. An agent who is comfortable with question three is usually comfortable with the rest.

• Raise it with the brokerage first, in writing, with the messages and documents.
• Complain to the regulator. RERA, the regulatory arm of the Dubai Land Department, licenses brokers and can issue violations and suspend an agent.
• Keep paying into escrow only. If you were asked to pay anyone else, stop and report it.
• Take legal advice if you have lost money.

Keep every brochure, message and payment receipt. What was promised in writing is what counts.

The same way: by developers, not by buyers. OffPlan Insider is a marketing partner of the developers it lists, and you pay nothing for the research, the shortlist or the help through to handover.

That is exactly the incentive this guide describes, so apply the same tests to us. Our answer is to show the working: prices and plans are checked against each developer and dated, lists are ordered only by things that can be measured, and facts, rules and estimates are labelled apart. The detail is on our methodology page.

• Say what the home must do: live in it, rent it out, or hold it for a visa. Browse by goal, such as rental income or a family home.
• Fix your budget and plan first. Know your limit and compare payment plans before you take a call.
• Ask for a comparison, not a recommendation. Three projects, side by side. Our compare tool does the same.
• Look at the alternatives yourself: other projects in the area, new launches, and homes near handover.
• Check availability and offers directly. See available units and developer offers.
• Sleep on it. A unit that must be bought in the next hour is rarely the only one.

• RERA: the Real Estate Regulatory Agency, the regulatory arm of the Dubai Land Department.
• Broker card: the personal licence each agent holds, issued through Trakheesi.
• Trakheesi: the department's system for broker licences and advertising permits.
• Dubai REST: the department's app for checking brokers, projects and escrow accounts.
• Marketing contract: the agreement that allows a brokerage to sell a developer's project.
• Contracts A, B and F: the regulator's standard forms for a seller's marketing agreement, a buyer's agreement with a broker, and a sale between buyer and seller. They are used mainly in resales.

• How to buy off-plan property in Dubai, step by step
• Is buying off-plan in Dubai safe?
• Off-plan vs ready property in Dubai
• Browse developers and off-plan projects by area
• Get a free shortlist of three to five projects that fit your budget and goal