Part I — The Market & Its Regulators

The Dubai Land Department (DLD)

The government body that registers property and regulates the entire sector — its objectives, its wide-ranging functions, and how it is run under Law No. 7 of 2013.

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The Dubai Land Department (DLD) is the government entity at the centre of the whole system. It traces back to a 1960 declaration establishing the Tabou (Land) Department, but its modern powers come from Law No. 7 of 2013 Concerning the Land Department. If you remember one thing: DLD is the regulator and registrar of Dubai real estate — everything else, including RERA, sits under it.

The objectives of DLD

Article 5 sets nine objectives. You do not need them word-for-word, but the exam rewards knowing the shape of DLD’s mandate — it is both a promoter of investment and a regulator of the market. In summary, DLD exists to:

1. create a world-class, pro-investment real property environment;
2. achieve the Government’s strategic goals in the sector;
3. keep pace with the latest international registration systems;
4. improve the effectiveness of regulation and control;
5. manage and develop the rental sector;
6. modernise registration systems;
7. encourage investment by creating a favourable environment;
8. increase the sector’s contribution to the Emirate’s development; and
9. plan an integrated strategy for real property development.

Notice objectives 1, 7 and 8 pull toward growth, while 4 and 5 pull toward control. That deliberate balance — attract capital and protect the market — runs through everything DLD does.

What DLD actually does — its functions

Article 6 lists twenty-two duties and powers. The ones that matter for a broker’s daily work, and for the exam, are these:

• Register real property using modern registration systems (this is DLD’s core function — the register is the source of truth for title).
• Regulate real property activities, including setting the rules for escrow accounts, real estate brokerage offices, and joint ownership.
• License and supervise real property activities and monitor those engaged in them.
• Regulate the landlord–tenant relationship and register lease contracts.
• Set measures, with other competent bodies, to protect and stabilise the real property market.
• Provide real property valuation services.
• Conduct land surveys and issue maps.
• Disseminate real property knowledge — including the training programmes that qualify developers and real estate brokers (this is the legal basis for the broker training and exam you are sitting).
• Maintain a unified central database of all Real Property Activities.

How DLD is governed

The law gives DLD a clear command structure — useful when a question asks who approves what.

Role	Appointed by	Key powers (Law 7/2013)
Chairman	Decree of the Ruler	General supervision; approves the general policy, strategic plans, organisational structure, draft budget, and the fees for DLD services (Art. 7). May delegate powers to the Director General.
Director General	Decree of the Ruler	Runs administrative, technical and financial affairs; represents DLD before third parties; proposes policy, structure, budget and fees for approval; supervises the executive body and affiliated entities (Art. 8).
Executive body	—	Administrative and technical employees, under the Dubai Government HR Law No. 27 of 2006 (Art. 9).

A simple rule of thumb: the Chairman approves, the Director General proposes and executes.

Fees, money and affiliated entities

• Fees (Art. 11): DLD charges fees for registering real property dispositions and for its other services. The specific fees are fixed by a resolution of the Chairman of the Executive Council — i.e. fees are set by regulation, not negotiable per deal.
• Financial resources (Art. 12): government budget support, service fees and charges, and any other resources approved by the Executive Council.
• Financial year (Art. 13): 1 January to 31 December, on Government accounting standards.
• Affiliated entities (Art. 10): DLD may have specialised entities affiliated to it that regulate, conduct and develop real property activities — and it can propose to redefine, merge or dissolve them. This is the legal hook for RERA, the Dubai Real Estate Institute (DREI), and the trustee/registration ecosystem: they are entities that operate under DLD.

Where DLD’s authority comes from

Article 14 lets the Chairman of the Executive Council issue the resolutions needed to implement the law; Article 15 repeals the old 1960 declaration and the 1997 land-registration-fees law, and overrides any conflicting provision. The law came into force on the day it was issued — 18 September 2013. Practically, this means the current DLD framework is a 2013 consolidation sitting on top of earlier property laws (2006–2009) that remain in force where not contradicted.