Every resale a broker handles runs on RERA's three smart contracts and on the remuneration rules in Chapter Four of Bylaw No. 85 of 2006. The exam asks which contract fits which relationship, where disputes go, when commission is earned, who pays it, and how to calculate fees and splits.
Brokerage practice, ethics and compliance·7 min read·7 sections
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Must-know for the exam
✓Contract A: seller and brokerage, agreement to market. Contract B: buyer and broker, desire to purchase. Contract F: seller and buyer, agreement to sell (RERA Practice Guide, Nov 2024).
✓Brokers must use the smart contracts, available in the Dubai REST app; sales are registered through real estate registration trustee offices (Practice Guide, Nov 2024).
✓A brokerage agreement must be in writing, naming the parties, the property and the terms, and is entered in the Real Property Register record (Bylaw 85/2006, Art. 26).
✓Remuneration is fixed by agreement; failing agreement, by prevailing practice (Art. 27). The common 2% sale commission is market practice, not law.
✓Commission is earned on signing the sale contract and registering it with the DLD, unless the agreement says otherwise; a conditional sale waits for the condition (Art. 28).
✓Failed negotiations earn neither fee nor expenses unless the agreement provides otherwise (Art. 30); a terminated agreement still pays the agreed fee absent fraud or gross negligence (Art. 29).
✓Several brokers for one party share one fee (Art. 31); severally engaged brokers: the successful one takes the whole fee (Art. 32).
✓Each party pays the broker it appointed; a broker appointed by both is paid each party's own share, whatever they agree between themselves (Art. 33).
✓A broker holding a deposit is its trustee and must deliver it as agreed (Art. 21); the size of a Contract F deposit (often 10%) is set by the parties.
✓Contract F disputes: apply via Trakheesi for RERA's amicable settlement meeting, then the courts. Brokerage-agreement disputes: the Council, decision within 30 days (Arts. 34-38).
▸On this page · 7 sections
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Traps that cost marks
→Picking Contract F because the seller signs it, when the listing mandate is Contract A.
→Applying a per-sq-ft rate to an area in sq m without converting it first.
→Treating the deposit as the seller's money the brokerage must hand over on demand.
→Charging each brokerage a full fee, or replacing the agreed rate with the usual 2%.
→Sending a buyer-seller dispute to the brokerage dispute Council or the Rental Disputes Center.
→Applying the default signing-plus-registration rule when the agreement sets its own trigger.
→Confusing Contract B (buyer and broker) with Contract A (seller and brokerage).
→Assuming the buyer pays the full 4% by law, when that is only a common contractual arrangement.
Why it matters on the exam
Contracts and commission questions are among the most applied on the paper. Expect short scenarios that hinge on one fact (who appointed the broker, what the agreement says about timing, whether a condition has been met) and calculations that combine an agreed rate with a price, an area conversion or a split.
•Learn the three smart contracts by their parties: A = seller + brokerage, B = buyer + broker, F = seller + buyer.
•Read the stem for the agreed rate. Market practice (2% on sales, 5% on leases, 10% deposit, buyer pays the 4% DLD fee) is never the legal rule.
•Most remuneration rules in Bylaw No. 85 of 2006 start with a default and add 'unless the agreement says otherwise'.
The smart contracts and the systems
The RERA Real Estate Brokerage Practice Guide (2nd ed., Nov 2024) requires brokers to use smart contracts for marketing and sales. They are held in the Dubai REST app, which every broker must download and which also carries broker data, the green list and off-plan project details. Older forms such as Form I (broker to broker) and Form U do not appear in the 2024 Guide.
Contract
Parties
Purpose
A
Seller and brokerage
Agreement to market the property; the owner's marketing contract the DLD asks for with a resale ad permit
B
Buyer and broker
Agreement recording the buyer's desire to purchase
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Agreement to sell: the sale terms the parties set, such as price, deposit and who pays the DLD fee
RERA Practice Guide (Nov 2024); ad permit document per DLD 'Real Estate Ad Permit' service, as at 12 Oct 2026
•Sales are registered through real estate registration trustee offices, which represent the DLD; brokers must use electronic contracts to record sales.
•Real estate services trustee offices register leases and issue To Whom It May Concern certificates.
•Trakheesi handles broker cards, office registration, permits, violations and Contract F settlement applications.
•Trustee office fee on a sale: AED 4,000 + VAT at AED 500,000 or more; AED 2,000 + VAT below (DLD sale registration service, as at 12 Oct 2026).
