A new regulation allowing only certified real estate brokers to operate in the emirate was announced on Tuesday by the Dubai Land Department. The department also implemented a new measure which would allow individual companies to auction properties, whereas previously, only the Land Department and Master Developers were allowed to do so.
The new brokerage law, aimed at streamlining the real estate sector, has been long-awaited, according to Khaleej Times.
The move marks the end of an era of freelance real estate agents who have been proliferating on the back of a property boom.
Under the law all contracts entered into by a broker and buyer will have to be registered with the department to ensure the legitimacy of the transaction, while all brokerage agents will have to get the accreditation of the Land Department.
The new law will come into effect in January.
"Once the law comes into force, the department will not allow any transaction that is routed through a non-registered brokerage firm," said Marwan Ahmed bin Ghalaita, Technical Administration Director of Dubai Land Department.
Currently, an estimated 1,600 real estate agents are part of Dubai's brisk property business where the brokerage fee charged from buyers, and in some case from sellers as well, varies from 0.5 per cent to five per cent.
