How to Start a Real Estate Consultancies Business in Dubai with Meydan Free Zone

Real estate consultancy is the advisory business of guiding clients on property decisions: market positioning, feasibility, portfolio strategy and transaction structuring, on a fee or contract basis. In Dubai, where the market moves quickly and draws investors from around the world, informed advice is in constant demand.

The scale of activity underpinning that demand is large. Dubai logged 2.78 million real estate procedures in 2024, the highest in its history, and drew around 110,000 new investors, a 55 per cent increase on the previous year. ¹ The market turned over AED 761 billion across roughly 226,000 transactions in the same year. ² With so many new entrants and a record volume of activity, the need for professional guidance has grown in step.

For advisers, this combination of scale and a steady influx of first-time investors makes real estate consultancy a well-supported activity to hold under a Meydan Free Zone business license, subject to the approval noted below.

A Market That Runs on Advice

Record transaction volumes and a surge of new investors have deepened the need for professional guidance. The figures below show the market consultants are advising on.

Sources: Dubai Land Department; Dubai Media Office

Who Is This Activity For?

6820.93 - Real Estate Consultancies

Activity 6820.93 sits within the broader Real Estate Activities on a Fee or Contract Basis class, which covers real estate services provided for others, including intermediation, management and appraisal. Within that class, this activity is the advisory function: guiding clients on property decisions rather than transacting on their behalf.

The activity is consultancy. It does not extend to brokering the purchase or sale of property, valuing property formally, or managing property on the owner's behalf, each of which is a separate licensed activity, as the exclusions below set out.

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It is important to note what real estate consultancy does not cover. Advising on property decisions is distinct from brokering the purchase or sale of property, which is a separate licensed activity. It also does not extend to formal property valuation, or to managing property on an owner's behalf, both of which are licensed under their own activities.

In short: if you are advising clients on property decisions, you are in. If you are brokering the deal, valuing the property, or managing it for the owner, those are separate activities.

Compliance

THIRD-PARTY APPROVAL

This activity requires pre-approval from the Dubai Real Estate Regulatory Agency (RERA) before a business license can be issued by Meydan Free Zone. This license cannot be combined with other activities except those within RERA Activity Group 3.

ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING COMPLIANCE

This business activity is not subject to AML compliance requirements.

References

1  Dubai Land Department. Record 2.78 million procedures and 110,000 new investors in 2024.

2  Dubai Media Office. Dubai real estate transactions and 2024 market performance.