This answer applies 3 methods from the guide, led by one.
Create once, adapt with purpose
Build one checked explanation, then adapt it only for channels and formats the audience uses.
- 1Verify one useful answer before creating.
- 2Write the clearest full explanation first.
- 3Adapt it into shorter or visual forms without dropping the boundary.
- 4Reserve time to answer genuine responses.
Hold when: Do not assume a platform algorithm or posting formula. Reject generic filler, hype and engagement bait.
Read it in Broker Brain →Choose a useful territory
Work at the intersection of audience questions, actual knowledge and a service you can deliver.
Read it in Broker Brain →Give advice the client can inspect
State the conclusion, evidence, uncertainty, alternatives and what would change the view.
Read it in Broker Brain →What needs a permit
The Dubai Land Department's Real Estate Ad Permit service covers fourteen kinds of advertising: newspaper, SMS, outdoor, vehicle, print, electronic and billboard adverts, promotional campaigns, open houses, classified adverts, real estate exhibitions, project launch events, real estate promotion platforms and seminars. For most agents, the day-to-day ones are electronic and classified adverts: portal listings and social posts.
- 01A listing on Bayut, Property Finder or any other portal.
- 02A reel, story, carousel or post that shows a specific unit or project, its price, its payment plan or its availability.
- 03A paid social ad for a property or a launch.
- 04An SMS campaign about a property or project, which is one of the listed permit types.
- 05An open house, a launch event, an exhibition stand or a seminar.
Commentary that markets no property
The DLD pages describe permits for advertisements and marketing material. They don't set out a separate rule for general commentary, so the practical test is whether a post invites someone to buy or rent a particular property or project. Explaining what Oqood is, how service charges work or what a payment plan means, with no property named, reads as commentary.
Once a post names a project or building with a unit for sale, shows a price or payment plan for something you are marketing, or ends with "DM me for this one", treat it as an advert. When you are unsure, ask your brokerage's compliance lead or RERA before posting, not after.
Who applies, and what the advert must show
The permit is your brokerage's, applied for through the Trakheesi system on the DLD website. For a property marketed for an owner, the DLD service asks for the marketing contract with the owner, the Form A. For off-plan, RERA's practice guide says the project must be licensed and registered with RERA, have an escrow account, and be covered by a marketing contract between the developer and your brokerage.
The advert carries the permit number. Since 24 April 2023, DLD has expected companies to show the permit's QR code, its Madmoun service, on print and audiovisual adverts, so a buyer can scan it and check the advert is genuine and valid. The DLD service page lists the current fee and processing time; check it there rather than relying on a figure someone quoted you.
What happens if you skip it
In 2020, DLD announced fines on companies for advertising without permits, misusing permit numbers and using expired permits, describing each fine as a progressive AED 50,000 and warning that repeated breaches can reach cancellation of the licence. Penalties can change, so check DLD's current position rather than relying on that figure.
The bigger cost is trust. Buyers are told to check adverts by scanning the QR code, so a post without one tells them to be careful of you.
Build the check into how you post
The guide's method, Create once, adapt with purpose, verifies one answer, writes the full version, then adapts it into shorter forms without dropping the boundary. For Dubai, the boundary includes the permit: when a listing becomes a reel, a story and a carousel, each version keeps its permit number and QR code.
This is general information, not legal advice. Your brokerage's compliance lead and RERA have the final word on whether a piece of content needs a permit.
- 01Does it advertise a specific property or project? If yes, it needs a permit.
- 02Is the permit active, in your brokerage's name and for this property or project?
- 03Are the permit number and QR code visible in every version, including stories and short videos?
- 04Do the price, size and details match the permit and the owner's or developer's documents?
- 05If it is general commentary, does it stay clear of naming a unit, a price or a call to enquire about one?
What gets in the way
Posting nothing useful because you fear the advertising rules.
Post commentary that answers your clients' questions without marketing a property, and give every post that does advertise one its permit and QR code.
Turning an investor's private summary into a public post without a permit.
Keep material for one client as one-to-one advice, and if it will be posted or shared widely as marketing, get the permit before it goes out.
Thinking a glossy reel of a unit is content rather than an advert.
Treat any post that shows a specific unit or project for sale or rent as an advert: permit number and QR code on, details matching the permit.
Running out of ideas and reposting listings as your only content.
Answer the questions buyers ask before they call, such as what Oqood is or what service charges cover; those need no property to work.
Questions agents ask next
Do I need a Trakheesi permit for an Instagram story about a listing?
If it advertises a specific property, yes. Electronic adverts are one of the permit types on DLD's Real Estate Ad Permit service, and the permit number and QR code should appear on the story.
Can I post Dubai market updates without a permit?
General commentary that markets no property or project isn't what the permit service describes. Once a post names a unit, shows a price or payment plan for something you are marketing or invites enquiries about it, treat it as an advert.
Who applies for the permit, me or my brokerage?
Your brokerage, through the Trakheesi system. For an owner's property it needs the marketing contract with the owner, the Form A; for off-plan, the project's registration and a marketing contract with the developer.
What is the QR code on Dubai property adverts?
It comes from DLD's Madmoun service and is issued with each advert permit. Buyers scan it to check that the advert is genuine and valid and to see details of the advertising company and the property.
What are the fines for advertising without a permit in Dubai?
In 2020 DLD described fines of a progressive AED 50,000 for advertising without a permit, misusing permit numbers or using expired permits, with licence cancellation possible. Check DLD for the current penalties.