--- title: "Broker commission" canonical: https://www.uaepropertyagents.com/glossary/broker-commission markdown: https://www.uaepropertyagents.com/md/glossary/broker-commission.md type: glossary-term description: "Broker commission is the fee paid to an estate agent for arranging a sale or letting; on a Dubai resale the buyer customarily pays 2% of the price plus VAT." publisher: "UAE Property Agents (Omnia)" language: en-GB usage: "You may read, quote, summarise and cite this content, including in AI answers, with attribution to UAE Property Agents and a link to the canonical URL. Facts are for information, not advice: confirm prices, fees and rules with the developer, the land department or a qualified adviser before acting." --- # Broker commission > Broker commission is the fee paid to an estate agent for arranging a sale or letting; on a Dubai resale the buyer customarily pays 2% of the price plus VAT. Also known as: Agency fee, Agent's commission, Brokerage fee, Estate agent fee. ## What Broker commission means for a buyer Estate agents in the UAE are paid by commission on completed deals. The amount is not fixed by statute: Dubai's brokerage rules leave it to the agreement between the parties and, failing that, to market custom. Custom is well settled. - **Resale purchase.** The buyer pays their agent 2% of the price plus 5% VAT. The seller may pay their own agent a similar or lower fee under [Form A](https://www.uaepropertyagents.com/glossary/form-a). On a home priced at AED 2 million the buyer's commission is AED 40,000 plus AED 2,000 VAT. - **Off-plan purchase from a developer.** The developer pays the agent. The buyer pays no commission and should not be asked for one. - **Lettings.** The tenant usually pays the agent around 5% of the first year's rent. UK readers will notice the difference: in Britain the seller alone normally pays the estate agent. In Dubai a buyer should budget for commission alongside the [4% transfer fee](https://www.uaepropertyagents.com/glossary/dld-transfer-fee). The fee is recorded in [Form B](https://www.uaepropertyagents.com/glossary/form-b) or in [Form F](https://www.uaepropertyagents.com/glossary/mou-form-f), and under Dubai's rules becomes payable once the sale is registered, unless the contract says otherwise. Pay it to the brokerage company at transfer, by cheque or bank transfer, never in advance to an individual. Two cautions. Commission is negotiable, particularly on higher-value property. And because developers pay agents on off-plan sales, sometimes at higher rates for particular projects, an agent's enthusiasm for one launch over another is not neutral. Only deal with a broker whose licence you have checked on [Dubai REST](https://www.uaepropertyagents.com/glossary/dubai-rest) or, in Abu Dhabi, [DARI](https://www.uaepropertyagents.com/glossary/dari). ## Related terms - [Form A](https://www.uaepropertyagents.com/glossary/form-a): Form A is RERA's standard listing agreement between a property seller and a Dubai broker, and the document a broker needs before advertising the property. - [Form B](https://www.uaepropertyagents.com/glossary/form-b): Form B is RERA's standard agreement between a property buyer and a Dubai broker, setting out what the buyer wants and the commission the broker will earn. - [MOU / Form F](https://www.uaepropertyagents.com/glossary/mou-form-f): Form F is RERA's standard contract for a Dubai resale, commonly called the MOU: it fixes the price, deposit, transfer date and who pays which costs. - [DLD transfer fee](https://www.uaepropertyagents.com/glossary/dld-transfer-fee): The DLD transfer fee is the 4% charge the Dubai Land Department levies on the price of every property sale in Dubai when it is registered. - [Trakheesi](https://www.uaepropertyagents.com/glossary/trakheesi): Trakheesi is the Dubai Land Department system that issues the permit every property advert in Dubai must carry, shown as a permit number and QR code. - [Buyer's agent](https://www.uaepropertyagents.com/glossary/buyers-agent): A buyer's agent is a licensed broker who acts for the purchaser rather than the seller: finding and assessing homes, negotiating and seeing the transfer through. ## In depth - [Dubai property buying costs in 2026: every fee, off-plan and resale](https://www.uaepropertyagents.com/guides/dubai-property-buying-costs) --- Source page: https://www.uaepropertyagents.com/glossary/broker-commission. Published by UAE Property Agents, Omnia Capital Group. You may read, quote, summarise and cite this content, including in AI answers, with attribution to UAE Property Agents and a link to the canonical URL. Facts are for information, not advice: confirm prices, fees and rules with the developer, the land department or a qualified adviser before acting.