Real Estate Commission in Dubai

Every buyer, seller, landlord, and tenant in Dubai eventually asks the same question: what is the real estate commission in Dubai, and who is actually supposed to pay it. There is no government price list for this the way there is for the DLD transfer fee. What exists instead is a market convention, and that convention is consistent enough to plan a transaction around.

Reviewed by Dr. Sina Ghaderi, AKT founder, RERA ORN 15673 · Updated: 19 August 2026

The typical real estate commission rate in Dubai right now

On a sale, the standard is 2% of the purchase price, plus 5% VAT charged on that fee. On a rental, the going rate is around 5% of the annual rent. These are typical figures rather than fixed legal caps, so quotes can sit slightly above or below them depending on the property value and how much work the deal involves.

A studio at AED 700,000 and a villa at AED 15,000,000 both sit inside the same 2% convention, though the fee obviously scales with the price. If a contract shows a number well outside this range, ask why before signing anything.

Who pays the commission on a secondary market purchase

On a resale, the common pattern is each side pays its own broker: the buyer's agent is paid by the buyer, the seller's agent is paid by the seller, each typically around 2% plus VAT. Some transactions run with a single broker representing both parties, in which case the commission is agreed once and the split is a matter of negotiation between the parties, not a fixed rule.

Either way, the number should be confirmed in writing before you view a single unit, not discussed for the first time at the offer stage.

Off-plan buyers: who pays who is asked about most

This is the question that catches first-time off-plan buyers off guard. Buy a new launch through a broker and in most cases the developer pays the commission, not you, because developers want active broker networks selling their inventory on their behalf. Practically, this means going through a broker on an off-plan unit often costs you nothing extra compared to walking into the developer's sales office directly, and you gain someone negotiating payment plan terms and checking the project's escrow status on your behalf.

The exact arrangement is set by each developer's own agreement with brokers and can differ project to project, so treat this as the general pattern rather than a guarantee written into every contract.

Who pays agent commission in Dubai on a rental

On the rental side, the tenant typically pays around 5% of the annual rent to the agent who arranged the lease, and this is the figure most renters in Dubai budget for on top of the first year's rent and the deposit. Some landlords also pay their own agent separately if that agent is managing the property on their behalf, which is a different arrangement from the tenant's commission and worth clarifying at the start rather than assuming it works one way.

What a working commission is actually paying for

A 2% fee on a 2,000,000 AED apartment is 40,000 AED plus VAT, and it is fair to ask what that buys. Done properly, it buys market comparisons across live listings, negotiation on price and payment terms, coordination of the SPA and Oqood or title transfer paperwork, and a point of contact after handover when something in the unit needs chasing with the developer or the previous owner.

Done badly, it buys a set of keys and a WhatsApp number that goes quiet after the transfer. The fee is identical either way, which is exactly why the broker you choose matters more than the percentage you agree to.

Checking a broker's RERA license before you commit to anything

Every broker operating legally in Dubai holds a card issued through the Dubai Land Department and RERA, and any licensed broker should be able to show it without hesitation. Ask to see it, or ask which brokerage the agent is registered under and confirm that name matches what is on file with DLD. Working with our agents means you are dealing with people who hold that license as a baseline, not a selling point. This single check removes most of the risk in this part of the process.

Red flags worth taking seriously

If someone offers a commission far below the typical 2%, ask what they are cutting to get there, because service quality on a resale or off-plan purchase rarely improves when the fee drops. An agent who cannot produce a license, who asks for payment in cash outside the normal transaction flow, or who pushes you toward a specific unit before understanding your budget and goals is worth walking away from regardless of how attractive the discount sounds.

The commission is a small part of a transaction that can run into hundreds of thousands of dirhams; it is not the part worth cutting corners on.

Before the next steps, the full walkthrough of steps to buy covers where commission fits into the wider timeline from offer to title transfer. If you want a straight answer on what a specific deal will cost you in fees, send us the details and we will break it down before you commit to anything.

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