Permit details must accurately correspond to the property being advertised to protect both buyers and brokers.
Dubai: Concerns over misleading “verified” property listings have prompted calls for stricter monitoring of Dubai’s online real estate portals, with experts warning that advertisements carrying verification badges must accurately match official permit details.
Prominent Dubai realtor Salman Bin Ali said the issue extends beyond fake listings appearing online, arguing that some advertisements may be shown as verified despite permit details belonging to a different property, potentially misleading buyers, tenants, and investors who rely on verification markers when making decisions.
He said, “Verified property listings must match the official permit details. The issue is not only fake listings – it is fake listings appearing verified to the public.”
Why verification matters
In Dubai’s digital real estate market, online portals are often the first point of contact between buyers and sellers. Verification badges are designed to reassure users that a listing complies with regulatory standards and represents a legitimate property.
However, Bin Ali said verification should go beyond confirming that a permit exists. Instead, platforms should ensure the permit corresponds to the exact property being advertised.
He said he had reviewed cases where apartment listings allegedly referenced permit information linked to land or plot records with significantly different classifications and sizes.
“If a permit shows land, a plot, or a completely different size, it should not be used to verify an apartment listing,” he said.
According to Bin Ali, such discrepancies could give buyers false confidence that a property has passed compliance checks when the underlying permit does not match the advertised unit.
Calls for smarter verification
Bin Ali said property portals should strengthen their automated verification systems by cross-checking official permit data against listing details before advertisements are published.
He said the verification process should compare key details including property type, size, location, building name, project, unit specifications, permit validity, and transaction type.
He also suggested that once permit data is retrieved, brokers should not be able to manually modify key listing information, helping prevent valid permits from being used to support unrelated advertisements.
“In my view, permit data should be linked directly to the actual property being marketed, rather than used as a general compliance reference,” he said.
Protecting buyers
Bin Ali noted that inaccurate “verified” listings not only risk misleading buyers but also place compliant brokers at a disadvantage.
He said misleading listings can attract enquiries and online visibility even when they do not accurately reflect the properties being marketed.
“Consumers rely on verified listings to make serious property decisions,” he said. “When a listing is approved with permit details that do not match the advertised property, it undermines trust, misleads buyers, and gives non-compliant brokers an unfair advantage.”
Tougher enforcement
Bin Ali also called for stricter penalties for agencies or brokers that repeatedly misuse permit information, arguing that simply removing misleading listings is not enough if similar ads continue to reappear.
He suggested an escalating enforcement framework, including warnings, temporary suspension of listing privileges, broker-level penalties, and referrals to relevant authorities in cases of repeated violations.
Existing safeguards
Dubai has already strengthened oversight of property advertising. In 2024, the Dubai Land Department and the Real Estate Regulatory Agency (RERA) introduced stricter rules requiring brokers to obtain advertising permits before listing properties online and limiting the number of agents allowed to market the same property. These reforms significantly reduced duplicate listings across major property portals.
Bin Ali said the next step is to ensure that verification systems confirm not only the existence of a valid permit, but also that it accurately corresponds to the property being advertised.
