Dubai: Dubai’s property industry watchdog, the Real Estate Regulatory Agency (Rera), has announced that property agents must pass a test annually to renew their license in a move aimed to professionalise the property sector.
Rera, which comes under the Dubai Land Department (DLD), has said real estate brokers in Dubai must undergo the annual test to sell property in the emirate.
Under the new rules, every broker must pass the licensing test administered by the Dubai Real Estate Institute (DREI), DLD’s training and education arm, to renew their brokerage licence.
Dubai requires both brokerage agencies and the individual agents to undergo licensing procedure. Rera requires all sales, property managers, rental and letting agents employed by a registered broker to must also be registered on the Brokers’ Register.
In a statement, the authority said it had informed all brokerage agencies and offices in Dubai through an official notice about the new rule.
The letter stated that the regulator will not process any application for brokerage licence renewal unless it comes with the results of the test.
The test fee is Dh700.
DLD stated the new rule “aims to ensure that Dubai's real estate brokers are fully equipped and prepared to serve clients in the real estate sector”.
Moreover, Rera’s Real Estate Licensing Department requires licensed brokers to register and apply for the test one month before their brokerage licences expire.
Failure to comply with the registration requirement within the prescribed time means a broker must undergo a training course to get their licenses renewed, according to the authority.
The course fee will be Dh2,500.
The official notice Rera sent out to brokers also included a notice referring to the cancellation of expired brokers’ licenses. A licence expired for six or more months will be cancelled 10 days from the date of the circular’s issuance, it stated.
All brokers were urged to immediately renew their licences in order to avoid cancellations.