The Dubai property ad permit and its QR code, on Meta

What the rule is

On 18 April 2023 the Dubai Land Department announced that its Real Estate Regulatory Agency had issued a circular introducing Madmoun, a QR code attached to each real estate advertisement permit. It became a requirement on 24 April 2023.

The code is activated through Trakheesi, the Land Department's permit system. Anyone who scans it sees the details of the advertisement, the company behind it and the state of the property, including whether it has already been sold or let. A buyer can check in a few seconds that a listing is real and still on the market.

The permit itself was not new in 2023. What changed is that it became visible: the advertisement now carries the proof that it was allowed.

Which advertisements need a permit

The Land Department's permit service lists fourteen kinds of advertisement and event. Alongside newspaper, outdoor, vehicle, printed and billboard advertisements it names electronic advertisements, SMS advertisements, classified advertisements, promotional campaigns and real estate promotion platforms.

The announcement of the QR code speaks of print and audiovisual advertisements and does not mention Facebook or Instagram by name. The cautious reading is that an advertisement for a specific Dubai property on social media is an electronic advertisement, and needs its permit like any other.

Where the position of the code on a social media ad is unclear, the regulator is the authority to ask. An agency's opinion, including this one, is not a ruling.

• A standard permit: AED 1,000, plus a AED 20 knowledge and innovation fee.
• A project launch event permit: AED 5,000.
• Requested through Trakheesi on the Land Department's website; one working day by its own estimate.
• A broker supplies the marketing contract signed with the property's owner.

What it changes in a Meta campaign

A Meta campaign is usually planned around audiences and budgets. For Dubai property it has to be planned around permits first, because the advertised listing or project needs its permit before the ad goes live.

That changes the order of work. The permit is requested when the listing is signed, the creative is built with the QR code in it, and someone keeps a simple register of which ad carries which permit. When a property sells, its code says so to anyone who scans it, and an ad still running for it is advertising something that is no longer for sale.

It also limits a habit that is common on Meta: one generic ad for many properties. A carousel of ten listings raises the question of ten permits. A campaign built around one property and one idea fits the rule without effort.

• Request the permit when the listing is signed, not when the campaign is due.
• Put the QR code on the creative, clear enough to scan.
• Keep a register: ad, listing, permit number, start date.
• Switch the ad off when the listing is sold or let.

What it costs to ignore

On 8 February 2024 the Land Department announced that 30 real estate companies had each been fined AED 50,000 for failing to comply with the terms set for real estate advertisements. Its statement told companies to obtain advertising licences, to give accurate information and to include the QR code, and it told the public to avoid advertisements without a permit and a code.

The second cost is quieter. In a market where buyers have been told to scan before they enquire, an ad that cannot be verified loses the careful buyer first, and the careful buyer is the one a sales team wants.

What this guide is, and is not

This is a working guide for marketing teams, written from the Land Department's own published pages, which are listed below. It is not legal advice. Rules and fees change, and the regulator's current guidance takes precedence over anything written here.