Content for Dubai real estate agents: reels, listings and off-plan launches inside the rules

The two permits behind every post

Our Trakheesi guide covers the law in detail. The short version for planning content:

• The property permit. The Dubai Land Department issues one advertising permit through Trakheesi, and its service page lists 14 ad types, including electronic ads, classified ads and real estate promotion platforms. Since 15 April 2023 the ad must carry the permit's QR code. Brokers need a marketing contract with the owner to get one.
• The person permit. A broker who posts listings on a personal account needs an NMA Advertiser Permit, mandatory since 1 February 2026 and free for residents for three years, then AED 1,000 a year.

What the permit costs: sources now agree

Earlier, the only figures came from agency blogs, such as AED 1,000 plus AED 20 per property. The DLD service page now publishes them itself:

Source: DLD real estate advertisement permit, checked 13 October 2026. The page lists the AED 20 fee once, so confirm in Trakheesi whether it applies to launch permits too.

At roughly AED 1,020 a permit, posting ten units a month costs about AED 10,200 in permits alone. Plan content around the units you will actually push, and get extra mileage from formats that need no unit permit.

Reel formats that work inside Trakheesi

Split your content into two groups. Formats that show a specific unit need a permit and QR. Formats that show the market, the area or you as an expert carry no unit and no price. If a video names a building and says "available", treat it as an ad.

Where to put the QR in a vertical video: the bottom corner of a 9:16 reel sits under the platform's buttons and caption. Use a clean end card of two or three seconds with the QR and permit number, and repeat the permit number in the caption.

Article 33 of the media regulation bans exclusivity claims, exaggeration and attacks on competitors. "The best deal in Dubai Marina" and "only unit at this price" are lines to cut from scripts.

Personal brand: what to post without a unit

Content that builds trust in you and needs no unit permit:

• Explain costs. DLD transfer fees, agency fees, service charges, mortgage steps. Link to official sources in the caption.
• Area guides. A 60-second tour of a community from a resident's point of view.
• Answer real questions. Take the five questions you hear on every viewing and record one reel per question.
• Process. What happens between offer and transfer.

Your NMA permit covers you as the advertiser on all of these. The Trakheesi permit comes in only when a specific unit appears with an invitation to buy or rent.

Off-plan launches

Off-plan content has one extra gate. Dubai Law 8 of 2007 bars a developer from advertising off-plan units in local or foreign media, or showing them at exhibitions, without written DLD permission. DLD also says off-plan Dubai properties need registration with its escrow account department before they appear at an exhibition, and a launch event needs its own AED 5,000 permit.

For a broker this means: get the project permit, its QR and the approved materials from the developer before you post. A typical launch sequence:

1. Teaser with renders and the QR, after the developer's permit is issued.
2. Launch event coverage, under the event permit.
3. Payment plan explainer, with numbers taken from the approved brochure.
4. Construction progress updates every few months, which keep the project in front of buyers who did not buy at launch.

Renders must match the approved materials. A reel that adds a beach or a view the project does not have is a misleading ad.

Listing media: what the portals want

Property Finder and Bayut score listings and badge the verified ones, so shoot to their rules.

Property Finder. Its quality score checklist asks for:

Photos must be landscape, bright, high resolution and unique; a subtle watermark is allowed. The checklist says more photos beyond the minimum won't raise the score.

Bayut. Enter the unit's Trakheesi number to get the Checked badge when details match the permit. TruCheck adds a second step: 1 to 5 live photos taken at the unit through the Profolio app, for an apartment with the door open and the unit number visible.

The production consequence: portals want horizontal photos, Instagram wants vertical reels. Shoot both on the same visit. Instagram now recommends reels up to 3 minutes to non-followers, enough for a full walkthrough, but keep a 30–45 second cut for ads.

Drone shots need GCAA and DCAA approvals; see our drone filming guide.

Leads: speed decides

Content brings messages, mostly on WhatsApp and Instagram DMs. We found no published Dubai statistic on how response time affects closing, so we won't quote one. The practical rules:

• Reply on the same channel the lead used.
• Ask budget, area, timing and cash or mortgage in the first exchange.
• Message only people who contacted you or agreed to marketing; our WhatsApp marketing guide explains consent under UAE law.

Savage Sales, our AI assistant, answers every lead in 30 seconds, qualifies it and sends hot leads to you in Telegram or WhatsApp. Special offer: AED 3,999 a month.

What Savage Media shoots for brokers

Prices from our real estate videography page:

You bring the permit and QR, and we leave room for them in every edit.