If you are buying or selling a resale property in Dubai, at some point you will sign a document brokers usually just call "the MOU." Its official name is Contract F, part of the Dubai Land Department's (DLD) unified real estate contracts. It is not optional paperwork. It is the document that turns a verbal agreement into a binding sale, and it has been mandatory for secondary market transactions since the Real Estate Regulatory Agency (RERA), DLD's regulatory arm, introduced the unified contract system on 1 May 2014, alongside Contract A (seller to broker) and Contract B (buyer to broker), as reported by Gulf News. RERA's current brokerage guidance still defines it the same way: "Contract F: An agreement to sell a property between the seller and the buyer," per the Real Estate Brokerage Practice Guide.
This guide walks through what Form F actually contains, section by section, so you know what you are signing before you sign it.
What Form F is, and what it is not
Form F is generated electronically, not typed up by a lawyer or an agent from a template. Brokers create it through the Dubai Broker Web Application or the Dubai REST app, and it must be linked to an already-approved Contract B, as set out in the DLD's own Broker's Journey to create Contract F walkthrough. All brokers are mandated to use these electronic contracts to record real estate sales transactions, confirms the same Brokerage Practice Guide. In practice this means Form F cannot be improvised on a plain Word document. If a broker is involved, it has to come out of DLD's own system, which is also reachable directly through the eMart Contract F portal.
Form F is a preliminary sale agreement, not the transfer itself. Signing it commits both sides to complete the sale on the agreed terms, but ownership only changes hands later, at the registration trustee office, when the balance is paid, the title deed is handed over, and DLD registers the new owner.
The sections, in the order the system asks for them
According to DLD's own broker walkthrough, once a broker opens the "Create Unified Sale Contract (F)" option linked to the approved Contract B, the platform steps through the form in this order: Broker's Journey to create Contract F.
- Owner (seller) details. Identity information for the registered owner, verified against DLD records.
- Buyer details. Identity information for the buyer, or buyers if there is more than one.
- Financial details. The agreed sale price and how it will be structured.
- Payment plan. How and when the price is paid, including the deposit.
- Contract duration. The dates the agreement runs between, effectively the deadline to reach the transfer.
- Seller and buyer broker details. The brokerage(s) involved on each side, if any.
- DLD fee details. The registration fee due at transfer.
- Contract notes and additional terms. Any conditions specific to the deal.
The same structure is echoed on DLD's live eMart Contract F portal, which organises the form around owner details, buyer details, property details, mortgage details and commission details. Whether you access it as owner, buyer or through a broker, these are the blocks you are actually agreeing to.
Price, deposit and the cheque
The financial details and payment plan sections are where the numbers you actually care about live: the agreed price, and how the deposit and balance are staggered. Form F itself does not fix a mandatory deposit percentage or payment method. In everyday Dubai secondary-market practice, buyers commonly secure the deal with a cheque handed over around the time Form F is signed, alongside the payment schedule that has already been agreed and entered into the payment plan step. Because this is market convention rather than a DLD rule, the details, who holds the cheque, when it can be presented, and what happens if either side pulls out, should be spelled out in the contract notes or additional terms section rather than assumed. Read that section carefully; it is where the specific promises about your money actually sit.
Commission: negotiated, not set by DLD
The "seller and buyer broker details" and "DLD fee details" steps are easy to conflate but cover two different things. Broker commission is agreed separately, in Contract A between the seller and their brokerage and Contract B between the buyer and theirs, and RERA licenses and regulates brokers but does not set a fixed commission rate; it is a matter of what each side negotiated with their own broker. The DLD registration fee, by contrast, is fixed: 4% of the sale value, paid in practice by the buyer, as set out on DLD's Property Sale Registration service page. Do not assume a percentage for either figure from what a broker tells you verbally; check what was actually entered into the contract.
Dates and what happens if someone does not follow through
The contract duration section sets the window for completing the sale. If the deal breaks down within that window, disputes over Contract F are not automatically a court matter first. RERA runs an "Amicable Settlement Contract (F)" process: parties can submit a dispute through the Trakheesi system, and RERA holds a meeting to try to reach a settlement before anyone needs to go to the judicial authorities, per the Brokerage Practice Guide. This matters for a very practical reason: it means the dates and conditions you agree to in Form F are the reference point RERA itself will use if a dispute over the deposit or the deal ever gets raised.
What to check before you sign
| Section | What it fixes | What to verify |
|---|---|---|
| Owner and buyer details | Identities of both parties | Names match Emirates ID/passport and the title deed exactly |
| Property details | The unit being sold | Unit number, area and any linked parking/storage match the title deed |
| Financial details | Sale price | The figure matches what you agreed, not a placeholder |
| Payment plan | Deposit and balance schedule | Amounts, dates and cheque/transfer arrangements are all written down |
| Contract duration | Deadline to complete | Enough time for financing, NOC and trustee office scheduling |
| Broker details | Who represents whom | Commission terms sit in Contract A/B, not assumed verbally |
| DLD fee details | 4% registration fee | Who is paying it is stated, even though buyer-pays is the practical norm |
| Notes/additional terms | Deal-specific conditions | Anything about the deposit cheque, mortgage, or conditions precedent is written here, not left verbal |
FAQ
Is Form F the same as the MOU? Yes. "MOU" is the informal name brokers and buyers use in everyday conversation; "Contract F" or "Form F" is DLD's official term, defined by RERA as the agreement to sell a property between the seller and the buyer, per the Brokerage Practice Guide.
Can I sign a Form F without a broker? The document is generated through DLD's own platform, accessible via the eMart portal and the Dubai Broker Web Application described in the broker's journey guide. If a broker is involved on either side, it must be created there rather than as a private document.
Does Form F transfer ownership? No. It is a preliminary sale agreement. Ownership transfers later, at the registration trustee office, where the balance is settled and DLD issues a new title deed after registration, per the same Brokerage Practice Guide.
Who pays the DLD registration fee? DLD sets the registration fee at 4% of the sale value; in practice, the buyer pays it, as described on the Property Sale Registration page. This is separate from any broker commission, which is negotiated privately under Contract A and Contract B.
What if the buyer or seller wants to back out after signing? RERA provides an Amicable Settlement Contract (F) process through the Trakheesi system, where the agency tries to help the parties reach a settlement before the matter needs to go to the judicial authorities, per the Brokerage Practice Guide.
Sources
- Dubai Land Department, Real Estate Brokerage Practice Guide (Second Edition, Nov. 2024): https://dubailand.gov.ae/media/i31iv1n0/real_estate_brokerage_practice_guide_2024.pdf
- Dubai Land Department, Broker's Journey to create Contract F: https://dubailand.gov.ae/media/ofeb4lyy/broker-s-journey-to-create-contract-f_en.pdf
- Dubai Land Department, Broker's Journey to create Contract F (landing page): https://dubailand.gov.ae/en/about-dubai-land-department/broker-s-journey-to-create-contract-f/
- Dubai Land Department, eMart Contract F portal: https://emart.dubailand.gov.ae/Contracts/ContractFPage.aspx
- Dubai Land Department, Property Sale Registration service: https://dubailand.gov.ae/en/eservices/property-sale-registration/
- Gulf News, "Dubai Land Department announces issuance of unified real estate contracts": https://gulfnews.com/business/property/dubai-land-department-announces-issuance-of-unified-real-estate-contracts-1.1307318
