The the rules governing real estate broker licenses a maximum of 5% of the property’s value as the maximum amount a real estate broker may request as a deposit to reserve the property, in addition to the real estate broker not being entitled to the brokerage fee if they are a second party to the sales contract. Violators will be penalized by having their real estate brokerage license revoked and being barred from registration for up to 5 years.

Yesterday, the «Wafi» off-plan sales and leasing program was announced, outlining the rules governing real estate broker licenses for off-plan sales or lease projects for small and medium-sized projects, with an area of up to 5,000 square meters for small projects and between 5,000 and 10,000 square meters for medium-sized projects.

Marketing Requirements

The system requires that real estate broker registered in the system to ensure, prior to advertising or marketing any small or medium-sized off-plan real estate project, that the requirements for having a copy of the electronic deed of ownership for the project property to be marketed are met, and to obtain prior written consent from the landowner or the owner of the right to use the land to market the project, as well as the regulatory permits and engineering and architectural designs approved by the competent authorities authorizing the project’s construction, and that the project’s construction area does not exceed 10,000 square meters unless the project has obtained a permit for off-plan sales or marketing, where the system permits the off-plan marketing of small and medium-sized real estate projects to real estate brokers who hold a license registered in the Real Estate Brokers Registry; the license is valid for one year initially and is then renewable for a period of three years.

Qualification of Real Estate Brokers

The committee has established a number of requirements for granting real estate brokers registration licenses as real estate brokers after payment of the specified fee, which include requiring the applicant to submit a certificate confirming that the applicant has passed the real estate brokerage qualification program, as well as a copy of a valid commercial registration issued by the competent authorities, and a certified copy of the ownership certificate for the brokerage office or its lease agreement, The real estate broker must also submit an application to renew their registration in the registry at least 15 days before the license expires; if 30 days have passed since the license expired without renewal, the renewal application will be treated as a new registration application.

Obligations of the Real Estate Broker

The Committee has outlined a number of obligations that real estate brokers must adhere to, including providing the Committee with the required licensing documents, registering all details of advertised projects on an electronic platform, maintaining a private record of all transactions conducted through them, retaining related documents and paperwork, and providing them to the Committee on a quarterly basis, in addition to not acting as a second party in a contract they have brokered unless authorized to do so by the contracting party, in which case the real estate broker is not entitled to a brokerage fee, and not to use the funds received from buyers or tenants for purposes other than those for which they were intended, and must disburse or deliver them in accordance with the terms stipulated, and shall be liable for any losses or damages incurred by any of the contracting parties as a result of fraudulent brokerage, deception, or failure to observe the required procedures, and to inform buyers of the terms of off-plan sales or purchases, and to clarify their rights and obligations, which are necessary to ensure they are not kept in the dark, and not to market small and medium-sized off-plan real estate projects once the license has expired, in addition to requiring that the reservation amount not exceed 51% of the property unit’s value.

Key Obligations of the Real Estate Broker

The reservation amount shall not exceed 5% of the value of the real estate unit

The real estate broker shall not act as a second party in a contract in which they acted as an intermediary

Informing buyers of the terms of off-plan sales or purchases

Be liable for losses incurred by the contracting parties as a result of fraud

Cease marketing upon expiration of the license