Every real estate advertisement in Dubai needs a permit issued through the Dubai Land Department’s Trakheesi system, and the Department has said the permit number must appear in all real estate ads. A listing on your agency’s own website is an advertisement, so each one should carry its permit number, match the permit exactly and come down when the property is sold or let. Beyond compliance, the agency sites that win leads are the ones that stop copying the portals and publish what the portals cannot: real knowledge of a few communities.
Does a listing on my agency’s own website need a Trakheesi permit?
In October 2020 the Dubai Land Department (DLD) fined 10 real estate companies and warned 30 more over advertising. Its announcement said companies must obtain a permit before any marketing campaign and include the permit number in all real estate ads, and that the advertiser bears the legal consequences if the number is missing. The same release said websites carrying real estate ads must give users a way to check that the ads follow their permit conditions.
The DLD’s own e-service for real estate ad permits lists electronic advertisements among the permit types, with a fee of AED 1,000 for most permits, a AED 20 Knowledge and Innovation fee also listed, and a processing time of one working day. Brokers applying for certain permit types must provide a marketing contract with the property owner.
Since 24 April 2023, the DLD, through RERA, has also required a QR code from its Madmoun service on print and audiovisual property ads. The code is issued with the permit, and anyone who scans it can check the ad’s authorised details and whether the property is already sold or rented. Showing the code next to listings online is good practice even where the rules are less explicit, because it lets a buyer check you in seconds.
💡 No permit, no listing. Build the website so a property cannot be published without its permit number, and the risk mostly takes care of itself.
Rules and fees change, and some details are not spelled out publicly, such as exactly how online listings must display the code. Confirm the current requirements with the DLD or RERA before launch. Many agencies also show their office registration number and each broker’s registration number; ask RERA which numbers your ads must carry.
What should every property listing page show?
- 1The Trakheesi permit number, near the price, not hidden at the bottom.
- 2The Madmoun QR code, where your permit provides one.
- 3Details that match the permit exactly: price, size, community, number of bedrooms. An ad that differs from its permit is the problem the rules target.
- 4Clear status: available, under offer, or removed once sold or let. Do not leave a closed deal online to collect enquiries.
- 5The name of the broker responsible, with a direct WhatsApp button to that person.
- 6Real photos of the actual unit. Developer renders are fine for off-plan, labelled as renders.
- 7Service charges and other known costs, so the price is not misleading.
- 8Your agency’s licence details in the footer of every page.
Should an agency website list every property, or leave that to the portals?
This is the most expensive mistake agencies make. The large property portals have hundreds of thousands of listings, huge budgets and years of authority in Google. A small agency that rebuilds its own mini-portal will rarely outrank them for “2 bedroom apartment for rent Dubai”. It will also spend hours keeping listings in sync, and every out-of-date listing is a compliance risk.
Your website wins in a different place. Portals are wide and shallow; you can be narrow and deep. A page that properly explains one community, or one type of service, can rank for searches the portals answer badly, and it gives buyers and landlords a reason to choose you rather than simply the cheapest listing.
| Page type | What it wins you | Effort to keep current |
|---|---|---|
| Community guides (one per area you know well) | Searches like “living in Dubai Hills with kids” or “JVC service charges” | Low: update once or twice a year |
| Landlord services | Owners looking for an agent to let and manage their unit | Low |
| Selling with us / valuation request | Owners ready to sell, the most valuable lead | Low |
| Off-plan buying explained | First-time and overseas buyers researching the process | Medium: payment plans and rules change |
| Broker profiles | Trust; people buy from a person | Low |
| Featured listings (a hand-picked few) | Proof you have stock, with permit numbers shown | High: must be removed when closed |
| Full listings feed | Completeness | Very high unless connected to your listings software |
How do you capture leads from an agency website without breaking privacy rules?
Property buyers in Dubai expect fast replies, and most would rather message than fill in a long form. A good agency site makes contact one tap away and asks for as little as possible at the first step.
- 1Put a WhatsApp button on every listing that opens a chat with the responsible broker and a pre-filled message naming the property and its permit number.
- 2Keep forms short: name, phone, what they want (buy, rent, sell, let) and budget. Do not ask for passport or Emirates ID details on a website form.
- 3The UAE’s Personal Data Protection Law (Federal Decree-Law No. 45 of 2021) generally needs consent to process personal data. Say on the form what you will do with the details, and link to your privacy page.
- 4WhatsApp’s business policy says you may only contact people who gave you their number and opted in to hear from you. Ask before adding enquiries to a new-listings broadcast.
- 5Send every form enquiry to a shared inbox or system, not one broker’s personal phone, so leads are not lost when someone leaves.
If your agency is in the DIFC or ADGM, those free zones have their own data protection laws instead of the federal PDPL. Our guide to the UAE PDPL explains the difference.
Worked example: a six-broker agency in Jumeirah Village Circle
Imagine a boutique agency with six brokers, focused on rentals and resales in Jumeirah Village Circle, Jumeirah Village Triangle and Arjan, with a growing landlord management book. It lists all its stock on the portals already. Its website plan could look like this:
- 1Home: the three communities it knows, its services, its licence details, and a “Request a valuation” button.
- 2Three community guides: what it is like to live there, typical rents and service charges as published by official sources, schools, transport, and the agency’s brokers who cover it.
- 3Landlords: lettings and property management, fees, what is included, and how rent is paid out.
- 4Sellers: how it values, markets and sells a unit, with a short valuation form.
- 5Tenants: the rental process in Dubai step by step, documents needed and costs to expect.
- 6Featured listings: six to ten hand-picked units, each with permit number, QR code and the broker’s WhatsApp.
- 7Team: six broker profiles with photos, languages spoken and communities covered.
- 8Free extras: FAQ, privacy and contact pages.
That is around 15 pages, inside a 25-page Growth plan, leaving room to add a guide for a new community or an off-plan page later. The listings stay few on purpose, so keeping them accurate is a five-minute WhatsApp message to whoever updates the site, not a daily job.
What about Abu Dhabi and the other emirates?
The Trakheesi permit and Madmoun QR code are Dubai systems. Abu Dhabi and the northern emirates have their own real estate regulators and their own advertising rules. If your agency advertises in more than one emirate, check each regulator’s requirements and show the right reference numbers on the right listings. A website can handle this easily, with a field per listing for the permit reference, provided someone has confirmed what that reference must be.
What does a real estate website cost in Dubai, and when is Adyft the wrong choice?
Published UAE price guides (2026) put business websites at about AED 999 with a freelancer and AED 8,000–25,000 with an agency, and a site with a live listings feed connected to your property software usually costs more again. With Adyft Sites, the Growth plan is AED 7,999 setup plus AED 449 a month for 25 pages, built in about 12 days. We write the community guides and service pages, show the permit number you give us on every listing page, host and secure the site, set it up to be found on Google and read by AI assistants, send a monthly visitor report, and update featured listings when you message us on WhatsApp. Checking which permit details your ads must carry stays with you and the DLD. The domain is registered in your agency’s name.
We are the wrong fit if you need a full portal-style search with hundreds of listings updating automatically from your listings software every hour. That is a custom build. You can talk to us on a free call about a larger project, but for most small agencies a focused site plus the portals does the job better and for far less.
Adyft Sites also has an estate agency design among its 42 industry templates, so you can see the layout before you commit.
Questions about real estate websites in Dubai
Do I need a Trakheesi permit for listings on my own website?
The Dubai Land Department has said all real estate ads need a permit and must show the permit number, and its permit service covers electronic ads. Treat every listing on your site as an ad and confirm current requirements with the DLD or RERA.
What is the Madmoun QR code?
Madmoun is a DLD service that issues a QR code with each advertising permit. Since 24 April 2023 it has been required on print and audiovisual ads. Scanning it shows the ad’s authorised details and whether the property has been sold or rented.
How much does a property advertising permit cost in Dubai?
The DLD e-service page lists AED 1,000 for most permits and also shows a AED 20 Knowledge and Innovation fee, with a project launch event permit at AED 5,000. Fees can change, so check the DLD site before budgeting.
Should my agency website show all our listings?
Usually not. The portals will outrank a small site for generic listing searches, and every stale listing is a compliance risk. Show a few featured units and put your effort into community guides, landlord and seller pages.
Can I collect buyer passport details through my website?
It is better not to. Ask only for what you need to reply, such as name, phone and what they are looking for. Collect identity documents later through a secure process, and explain your use of data on the privacy page.
How long does it take to build a Dubai agency website?
A 25-page site on the Adyft Sites Growth plan takes about 12 days once you have answered our questions. Larger builds with live listing feeds take longer and are quoted after a call.
Sources: Dubai Land Department, Real estate ad permit e-service — https://dubailand.gov.ae/en/eservices/real-estate-ad-permit · Dubai Land Department, DLD fines 10 real estate companies and warns another 30 (20 October 2020) — https://dubailand.gov.ae/en/news-media/dld-fines-10-real-estate-companies-and-warns-another-30-for-not-adhering-to-advertising-requirements/ · Dubai Land Department, Madmoun service to verify real estate ads via QR codes (18 April 2023) — https://dubailand.gov.ae/en/news-media/dubai-land-department-provides-madmoun-service-to-verify-validity-of-real-estate-ads-via-qr-codes · WhatsApp Business Messaging Policy — https://whatsappbusiness.com/policy/ · UAE Government portal, data protection laws — https://u.ae/en/about-the-uae/digital-uae/data/data-protection-laws
An agency website that wins the leads portals miss
Tell us your communities and services on WhatsApp. We write the guides, build listing pages that show each permit number, and host and update the site. Growth is AED 7,999 plus AED 449 a month.