What Dubai Land Department publishes about brokerage, written agreements and how two brokerages share one fee — and why the “A2A” label itself is not an official term.
The reviewed Dubai Land Department sources do not define “A2A” or “agent to agent”. The term does not appear in the published rules and regulations index, in the full text of Bylaw No. (85) of 2006 as published in the legislation compilation, in the published brokerage and viewing agreement forms, or in Circular 02-2026. No official model agreement between two brokerages was found either. Treat the label as market shorthand, not as an official category.
Every provision below is transcribed from a Dubai Land Department source linked at the bottom of this page. Nothing here is a summary of broker practice.
Brokerage : A service provided under an agreement whereby a Broker undertakes to a client to find another party to conclude a contract with, and to represent that client in the contract negotiations, in return for a fee.
Bylaw No. (85) of 2006 Regulating the Real Property Brokers Register in the Emirate of Dubai
No Person may conduct the Brokerage activity in the Emirate unless he is licensed by a Competent Entity and is registered on the Register.
Bylaw No. (85) of 2006 Regulating the Real Property Brokers Register in the Emirate of Dubai
A Brokerage agreement must be in writing and must state the names of the contracting parties, the specifications of the Real Property, and the Brokerage terms. An entry shall be created on the registry folio of the Real Property to denote that it is subject to the Brokerage agreement.
Bylaw No. (85) of 2006 Regulating the Real Property Brokers Register in the Emirate of Dubai
Broker’s fees shall be determined by agreement. In absence of an agreement, the fees shall be determined according to the prevailing customary practice.
Bylaw No. (85) of 2006 Regulating the Real Property Brokers Register in the Emirate of Dubai
Where more than one Broker participates in the Brokerage or negotiation process on behalf of one party for the purpose of concluding a contract, and this leads to the conclusion of the contract, they shall share the fees as if they were one Broker. The fees shall be distributed among these Brokers in accordance with the terms of the contract entered into by them.
Bylaw No. (85) of 2006 Regulating the Real Property Brokers Register in the Emirate of Dubai
Subject to Article (30) above, if a party enters into separate agreements with several Brokers for the same Brokerage or negotiation assignment, and only one Broker succeeds in concluding the transaction, that Broker shall be exclusively entitled to the full fees.
Bylaw No. (85) of 2006 Regulating the Real Property Brokers Register in the Emirate of Dubai
A Broker shall be entitled to receive fees only from the party who engages him to broker a deal. If the Broker is engaged by both parties, each party shall be severally liable to pay his own share of the fees even if they both agree that one of them shall pay the Broker’s fees in full.
Bylaw No. (85) of 2006 Regulating the Real Property Brokers Register in the Emirate of Dubai
Where several Brokers are engaged under one contract, they shall be jointly responsible for the work assigned to them unless they are authorised to work severally.
Bylaw No. (85) of 2006 Regulating the Real Property Brokers Register in the Emirate of Dubai
The published owner-broker form records an agreement start date and end date, a commission to be paid by the owner and a commission to be paid by the tenant, each entered as an amount in AED or as a percentage, and an Exclusive or Non-Exclusive election. The form prints no fixed amount and no fixed percentage.
DLD/RERA/RL/LP/P210 No.1 Vr.4 (issued August 2022)
All real estate brokerage offices are strictly prohibited from obtaining any data or information related to property owners or investors from any source through unlawful means. Direct contact with them via phone or other communication channels for the purpose of offering, marketing, or purchasing properties is also strictly prohibited. An exception is made for clients who have duly documented prior transactions with the office, provided that the office maintains an approved record evidencing the contractual relationship or previous transaction and submits it to the Authority upon request.
Dubai Land Department Circular 02-2026 (DLD/OUT/2026/0001641, 26/02/2026)
Suspension from practicing the activity for three (3) months. Imposition of a financial fine of AED 50,000 (fifty thousand dirhams). In the event of repeated violations, the broker’s registration will be permanently revoked in accordance with the applicable regulations.
Dubai Land Department Circular 02-2026 (DLD/OUT/2026/0001641, 26/02/2026)
These stay unknown rather than guessed.
The definition of Brokerage, the written-agreement requirement, the fee-sharing rules for several Brokers, and the cold-calling prohibition with its published penalties are transcribed from the reviewed official instruments.
“A2A” and “agent to agent” are not defined in the reviewed official sources. The page uses the label only because people search for it.
No official fee percentage or cap appears in the reviewed instruments, so none is stated here. The in-force status of Bylaw No. (85) of 2006 was not separately certified through the legislation portal, and no enforcement outcome, dispute outcome or remedy is asserted.
Keep your own dated record of who said what before you sign anything. Nothing here is submitted, uploaded, saved or analysed.
Each one is tied to a published provision.
A published provision requires a brokerage agreement to be in writing, to state the contracting parties, the property specifications and the brokerage terms, and to be noted on the property folio. If a second brokerage is involved, ask which agreement covers that involvement — verbally saying “we work together” is not a written term.
The published rule for this exact situation: where more than one Broker participates in the brokerage or negotiation on behalf of one party and the contract concludes, they share the fees as if they were one Broker, and the split follows the contract between those Brokers. Your own agreement still decides what you pay.
A second published rule covers the other arrangement: if a party enters separate agreements with several Brokers for the same brokerage or negotiation assignment and only one of them concludes the transaction, that Broker is exclusively entitled to the full fees. This is why signing several agreements for the same property deserves a direct question before you sign.
Circular 02-2026 prohibits brokerage offices from obtaining owner or investor data unlawfully and from contacting owners and investors directly by phone or other channels to offer, market or buy property, with a documented prior-transaction exception. If a brokerage you did not engage keeps calling you about your property, that conduct is addressed by the circular.
Dubai Land Department publishes a service to view brokers licensed by RERA. Keep your own dated notes on what each office told you, which agreement you signed, and what is still unclear. Nothing you type here is submitted, uploaded, saved or analysed.
The written brokerage agreement you actually signed, with the contracting parties and the fee terms as written.
Anything in writing about which other office is participating and how a single fee is shared.
The office and broker registration details (ORN/BRN) as published on the DLD forms, checked against the DLD licensed-brokers service.
The reviewed official instruments determine fees by agreement and publish no percentage. This page therefore states no percentage, cap or “standard” commission, and any figure you are told to expect should be checked against what you signed.
This is a transcription of published provisions with links, not legal advice, not a brokerage service, and not a recommendation about any office or agreement.
The negative finding about the acronym covers the reviewed sources listed on this page. www.rera.gov.ae, www.dubai.gov.ae and 04.gov.ae were not reachable from the review host, and the Dubai Legislation Portal public search returned no usable result set, so no claim is made about them.
Open each one before relying on a provision, a fee term or a scope.
Dubai Land Department · verified 16 Sept 2026
Open source ↗Official sourceDubai Land Department · verified 16 Sept 2026
Open source ↗Official sourceDubai Land Department / RERA · verified 16 Sept 2026
Open source ↗Official sourceDubai Land Department / RERA · verified 16 Sept 2026
Open source ↗Official sourceDubai Land Department · verified 16 Sept 2026
Open source ↗Official sourceDubai Land Department · verified 16 Sept 2026
Open source ↗Not in the reviewed sources. The reviewed Dubai Land Department instruments define Brokerage and how several Brokers share one fee, but do not define the acronym “A2A” or the phrase “agent to agent”. Treat it as market shorthand.
The published rule for one party with several participating Brokers is that they share the fees as if they were one Broker, split per the contract between them. What you pay is still governed by the agreement you signed — so read the fee clause before you sign.
No percentage appears in the reviewed instruments. Bylaw No. (85) of 2006 determines broker fees by agreement, with prevailing customary practice only in the absence of an agreement. This page states no figure.
Circular 02-2026 prohibits offices from contacting owners and investors directly by phone or other channels to offer, market or buy property, subject to a documented prior-transaction exception, and publishes penalties including a three-month suspension, an AED 50,000 fine and permanent revocation of the broker registration for repeat violations.
What an office calls the arrangement is not the same as what a written agreement says.