--- title: "When a bank mortgage delays your commission and it isn't the bank's fault" description: "Why mortgage deals stall agent commission payments in Dubai, and how agreeing splits in writing before transfer day removes the real friction." category: "commission-cashflow" readingTime: 12 --- ## The deal is done. The bank is ready. So why is nobody getting paid? Picture the scene. Buyer and seller signed Form F six weeks ago. The listing agent — call her Agency A — brought the property. A co-broking agent — Agency B — brought the buyer. Both sides shook hands on a 50/50 split. The bank finished its valuation and issued the final offer letter. The developer NOC is in hand. Transfer day arrives at the trustee office. Then someone realises the commission cheque instruction is wrong. Or there is no written split agreement. Or Agency A's principal decides the split should be 60/40 because "we did most of the work." Agency B's agent is standing at the trustee office with nothing in writing. The buyer's bank representative is waiting. The DLD clock is ticking. Nobody is moving. The bank did not cause this. The bank processed everything it was supposed to process. The mortgage machinery ran exactly as designed. What broke down was the internal paperwork between the two agencies — the part that nobody wrote down, or wrote down too late, or wrote down in a way nobody agreed to. This article is about that gap: why it exists, why a mortgage deal makes it more painful than a cash deal, and what it looks like when it is closed properly. ## How a Dubai resale deal with a mortgage actually moves Before getting into what goes wrong, it helps to be precise about what has to happen in a mortgage-backed secondary market transaction. The sequence matters because every delay in the chain pushes the commission payment further away. The process begins with the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), also known as Form F, which outlines the terms, price, and conditions of the sale. Form F serves as the definitive agreement between the buyer and seller, capturing every material term of the deal: the property details, the agreed price, the payment schedule, the transfer timeline, penalty clauses, and the agent's commission. Once Form F is signed and the deposit cheque is handed over, the transaction enters what agents know as the "in-between" period — the weeks before transfer where most of the administrative weight is carried. Selling a mortgaged property adds extra steps before the developer NOC. First, the seller must obtain a liability letter from their bank stating the outstanding mortgage balance — a letter valid for only 15 days. Second, the parties must arrange for mortgage discharge, either through the buyer's cash payment, the buyer's bank taking over the loan, or a short-term bridge arrangement. Once the mortgage is discharged, the bank issues a No Liability Letter and releases the title deed. Only then can the seller apply for the developer NOC. From there, the mortgage registration is typically handled simultaneously with the property transfer at the trustee office, where both buyer and seller — or their legal representatives with power of attorney — must attend, along with representatives from any financing banks involved. The trustee verifies all documents, processes payments, and submits the transfer request to DLD for final registration. Cash transactions usually take 3–4 weeks, while mortgage-backed transfers can take 6–8 weeks due to bank processing times. That extended timeline is not the bank being difficult. It is the procedural reality of clearing one mortgage, registering another, and coordinating two financial institutions at the same trustee appointment. The agent's commission sits at the end of this chain. Which means every added week is a week the agent waits. ## Where the commission lives in this process The Dubai Land Department Form F covers property and financial details and the commission to be paid to the seller's and buyer's agents. That much is clear. All commissions are subject to 5% VAT. Also clear. What Form F does not govern — because it is a buyer-seller document, not an agent-to-agent one — is the split between Agency A and Agency B when two brokerages are involved in the same deal. That is the layer that most agents leave unwritten, or handle with a WhatsApp message, or assume is "understood." When two brokers collaborate — one representing the buyer, one the seller — Form I governs the commission split and professional conduct. Form I confirms which agent introduced the buyer and how commissions will be shared. In a well-documented deal, Form I is signed before anyone goes to the trustee office. In practice, a large number of Dubai co-broker deals still reach transfer day without it. The commission on the buyer's side in a standard resale deal is conventionally 2% of the purchase price, paid by the buyer. Commission should always be paid by cheque made out to the brokerage, not to the individual agent personally. This is a RERA requirement and creates a paper trail that protects both parties if a dispute arises later. Most agents consider commission earned when the buyer and seller sign the MOU — this is the standard expectation and is supported by RERA in disputes. Some agents agree to collect at transfer, but this is the exception. The problem is that "earned at MOU" and "paid at transfer" can coexist in the same deal, and often do. The buyer signs Form F and pays a deposit. The commission cheque, however, is typically prepared alongside the transfer cheques and handed over at the trustee office on transfer day. So the agent has an earned but uncollected commission sitting in a deal that may take another four to six weeks to complete. In a mortgage deal, that gap is longer, and the chances of something going wrong inside it are higher. ## Why mortgage deals expose the split problem so effectively A cash deal moves quickly. For a straightforward cash transaction with no mortgage on either side, the entire process from MOU signing to receiving the new title deed takes 1–2 weeks. In a fast-moving deal, agents sometimes reach the trustee office before the split disagreement has had time to fully develop. The deal closes, the principal makes a decision, and — right or wrong — it gets paid out. A mortgage deal gives everyone six to eight weeks to change their mind. That is long enough for: - The listing agency to decide the split should be different from what was verbally agreed - A new manager at one of the agencies to question a deal they were not involved in structuring - Disputes about who "really" introduced the buyer — especially where a buyer visited a portal listing before an agent made contact - Confusion about whether the commission includes or excludes VAT, and who pays the VAT on the co-broker's share - Arguments over what happens if the deal extends past Form F's deadline because the buyer's bank took longer than expected to issue its final offer letter None of these problems are caused by the bank. They are caused by the absence of a binding, written, signed agreement between the two agencies at the point when everyone was still cooperating. The seller must obtain a liability letter from the bank stating the outstanding loan balance. Three manager's cheques are typically required: one to the bank for the debt amount, one to the seller for the remaining equity, and one to DLD for the 4% transfer fee. Agents know this choreography. What they sometimes fail to apply to their own commission is the same precision — a specific payee, a specific amount, prepared in writing in advance. The buyer presents the manager's cheques covering the balance of the purchase price payable to the seller, the DLD transfer fee, and any mortgage settlement amount payable to the seller's bank. Cheques must be drawn for exact amounts and made payable to exact named parties — a cheque drawn for the wrong amount, the wrong payee, or with a name spelt incorrectly cannot be substituted at the centre, and the buyer will need to return to their bank, obtain a corrected cheque, and reschedule. This is one of the most common preventable causes of transfer-day delays. The same principle applies to the commission cheque. If the commission payee and exact amount are not confirmed in advance — in writing, between both agencies — the trustee appointment becomes the moment that surfaces the disagreement. At that point, the buyer's bank representative is waiting, the seller wants to complete, and neither agent has any leverage because the deal must close. ## The three patterns that stall commission in mortgage deals ### Pattern one: the verbal split that nobody signed Agency A and Agency B agree a split in a phone call. Maybe it is 50/50. Maybe it is 60/40 because Agency A has the listing and feels it deserves more. Either way, nothing is in writing at the time. Six weeks later, at the trustee office, someone's position has shifted. The agent from Agency B is told the split was "never confirmed." There is no Form I. There is no written agreement of any kind. The buyer pays commission to the listing brokerage, as is standard, and Agency B is now in the position of having to chase another company for half of a commission that has already been collected. This is the single most common commission dispute pattern in Dubai's secondary market. The bank processed everything correctly. The DLD registered the transfer. The dispute is entirely between two agencies about what was agreed between themselves. ### Pattern two: the split agreed on Form I but collected in the wrong sequence In better-managed deals, Form I is signed. But the commission is paid as a single cheque to Agency A — the listing agency — because the buyer's commission cheque is drawn to them. Agency A then owes Agency B their share and must pay it separately. Now the timeline problem begins. Agency B has to wait for Agency A to receive its commission, process it internally, and issue a separate payment. In a well-run brokerage, this happens quickly. In a poorly run one, it takes weeks. Agency B's agent, who has a deal that closed a month ago, is still waiting. The mortgage — which is fully registered, the buyer is living in the property — had nothing to do with the delay. The delay is internal to Agency A's accounts payable process. ### Pattern three: the mortgage extension breaks the payment trigger Some Form F MOUs are written with a commission payment trigger tied to the transfer date. When a buyer's bank takes longer than expected — a valuation comes in lower than agreed and needs to be renegotiated, or a bank's credit committee requires additional documentation — the transfer date in Form F slips. If the buyer is using a mortgage, final approval and bank-to-bank settlement can extend the timeline. The standard guidance is to set clear financing deadlines in the MOU to avoid unexpected postponements. When the transfer date slips, agents in poorly documented deals sometimes face a situation where the payment trigger is no longer clear. Did the commission become payable at the original Form F date? At the actual transfer date? And if there is a split with another agency, which date governs that payment? These questions do not have good answers when the only record is a WhatsApp exchange from six weeks earlier. ## What the mortgage bank actually controls — and what it does not It is worth being precise about this, because agents regularly blame the bank for delays that sit elsewhere. What the bank controls: - Issuing its valuation and final offer letter on its own timeline - Coordinating with the seller's bank to settle the existing mortgage at the trustee appointment - Registering its own mortgage at DLD simultaneously with the transfer The buyer's bank issues its final offer letter and, at the appointment, settles the seller's loan on their behalf, registers its own mortgage, and the transfer completes. It works routinely, but the paperwork has to line up on the same day, so it pays to get your own approval finished early. What the bank does not control: - The split agreement between Agency A and Agency B - Whether Form I was signed before or after transfer day - Whether the commission cheque payee was confirmed in writing - Whether Agency A pays Agency B on time after collecting commission If the property is financed, the seller must obtain a mortgage clearance certificate from the bank before the transfer can proceed. This step can take time, especially if loan repayments are still pending. That is the one part of the mortgage process that can genuinely push the transfer date. But once the clearance certificate is issued, the bank steps back. Everything that follows — including whether the agent gets paid, and how quickly — is decided by what the agents wrote down before transfer day. ## The documentation that actually protects you ### Form A, Form B, Form F, and Form I — in that order Form A (listing agreement), Form B (buyer representation agreement), Form F (memorandum of understanding), and Form I (final commission agreement) are the standard RERA forms that govern the agency relationship and commission obligations in a transaction. These forms need to be signed before an agent can legally claim commission on a deal. Form I is the one agents most often skip, and it is the one that protects the co-broker most directly. Commission-split agreements — commonly 50/50 — are recorded in Form I. When one agency introduces a buyer to a unit listed by another brokerage, both agencies sign Form I to record the introduction and guarantee an equal commission split after the sale. If you are the agent bringing the buyer, you should never allow a transaction to reach the NOC stage without a signed Form I in your file. Once the NOC is issued and both parties are committed to a transfer date, the listing agency has significantly less incentive to negotiate the split fairly. The leverage sits in the period before the deal is irreversible. Use it. ### What the split agreement should specify A workable split agreement — whether on Form I or a supplementary signed document between the two brokerages — should record: - The exact split percentage or fixed amount, expressed in AED and inclusive or exclusive of VAT - Which party pays any VAT on the co-broker's share (this matters; do not leave it ambiguous) - The payment trigger — whether the split is paid on commission collection by the listing agency, or simultaneously with the client's commission payment at the trustee office - The payment method — cheque payable to which brokerage, within how many business days - What happens if the deal falls through after Form F is signed That last point matters more in mortgage deals than cash deals, because the extended timeline creates more opportunities for a deal to collapse. Form F can be cancelled only by mutual written agreement between buyer and seller, by satisfaction of a condition precedent that triggers termination (such as mortgage refusal where the form is conditional on financing), or through legal action. If the deal collapses because the buyer's finance was refused and the Form F had a financing condition, the commission position is complicated. Know in advance how the split agreement handles that scenario. ### The cheque schedule conversation One of the most practical things an agent can do in a mortgage deal is request a cheque schedule from the listing brokerage at least a week before the trustee appointment. This is a written list of every cheque being presented at the transfer — payee, amount, purpose. Conveyancers prepare a written cheque schedule in advance and verify each cheque against it before the appointment. If you are Agency B and your commission share is supposed to be paid directly by the buyer on transfer day — rather than channelled through Agency A — then your brokerage name and the exact amount must be on that cheque schedule. If it is not, the buyer arrives at the trustee office without a cheque made out to your firm. You will not get paid that day. The transfer will complete without you. This is not a bank problem. It is a coordination problem. The solution is a single conversation and a piece of paper, done before the bank's final offer letter even arrives. ## When things go wrong: the dispute route and its costs If a split dispute reaches the point where informal resolution fails, the formal route in Dubai runs through the DLD's dispute mechanisms. The DLD's Amicable Settlement Centre has access to all database information pertaining to registered properties, holds significant experience in resolving such disputes, and any decision passed will be binding and enforceable on the parties as it is mutually agreed by way of settlement. For disputes between brokers and clients over unpaid commission — as opposed to agent-to-agent disputes — RERA's regulatory complaints process also applies. If the issue involves a broker, agent, or developer, such as unlicensed brokerage activity or misleading claims, it can be filed through the Real Estate Violations System on the Dubai REST app or the DLD website. It is free, must be filed within six months of the violation, and RERA typically makes contact within about five business days. But here is the practical reality for any agent considering the formal route: the process takes time, you may need legal support for a contested case, and the cost in distraction and energy often exceeds the commission being disputed — particularly for the co-broker whose share on a standard 2% commission on a two-million-dirham property is a commission already split between two agents and the brokerage. The formal route is there as a backstop. It should not be the plan. The only deal in which you never need the formal route is one where the split was signed before anyone needed to be reminded of what was agreed. ## The compounding problem in a market with no exclusive mandates Dubai's secondary market does not require exclusive listing mandates. A seller can — and frequently does — list with multiple agencies simultaneously. In Dubai's cooperative brokerage ecosystem, multiple agencies often work together. That cooperation is efficient when it works, and expensive when it breaks down. Without exclusivity, the listing agency has no guaranteed right to the commission if a different agency closes the deal. This creates an environment where the question of "who brought the buyer" is contested more often than it should be. Two agents from different agencies may both claim to have introduced the same buyer — one through a portal inquiry and one through a direct introduction — and the split becomes a contested fact rather than an agreed term. The way to resolve this is the same as for any other split dispute: the introduction and the split need to be documented at the point of introduction, not at the point of transfer. Form I exists precisely for this purpose. When two agencies agree to cooperate on a deal, signing Form I at the beginning of that cooperation — when both sides are motivated to transact — is categorically more effective than attempting to reconstruct an agreement six weeks later at a trustee office when one side has already collected the money. ## The mechanic the bank has nothing to do with Experienced agents already know what is being described here. The gap between "the bank is causing delays" and "our own documentation is causing delays" is one that most agents have crossed in both directions. A deal where the bank genuinely held things up — a valuation dispute, a delayed credit committee, a bank-to-bank coordination failure — feels different from a deal where the transfer was clean but the commission did not arrive for three weeks because Agency A was slow to pay Agency B. In a mortgage deal, the bank's part and the agent's part overlap in the same timeline, and it is easy to attribute the whole delay to the institution with the most procedural visibility. But the bank's approval process is largely out of the agent's control. The split agreement is not. The transfer day at the trustee office is the wrong place to resolve a commission dispute. All parties — buyer, seller, brokers, and any attorneys holding Power of Attorney — must be present at the appointed time, or the appointment will be rescheduled. Everyone's incentives at that moment push toward completing the transfer, not toward an honest negotiation about commission. The listing agency knows that. If your split is not already in writing when you walk into that office, you are negotiating from the weakest possible position. ## The principle that removes the problem The cleanest version of a Dubai co-broker deal — mortgage or cash — is one where every agent involved is paid at the same moment the client pays, from the same transaction, against the same written and pre-agreed instrument. Not paid by another agency after the fact. Not chasing a cheque that was promised verbally. Not waiting for a brokerage's accounts department to process an internal transfer. Paid at the moment the deal closes, from the money already in the room. That outcome requires one thing to be true before transfer day: the split must be agreed, documented, and signed by both agencies before the deal reaches the trustee office. Not when the NOC arrives. Not when the bank issues its final offer letter. When the deal is agreed and Form F is on the table — that is when the split agreement should be written and executed. When the split is signed up front, the transfer day is a mechanical event. Cheques are prepared to the right payees in the right amounts. Both agencies receive their share simultaneously. The bank processes its side of the transaction. The DLD registers the transfer. Everyone leaves with what was agreed. When the split is not signed up front, the transfer day is a negotiation under the worst possible conditions — time pressure, client expectations, and a bank representative who does not care about the agent's internal dispute and needs to finish the appointment. The agents who consistently get paid on time in Dubai's co-broker market are not the ones with the best clients, the fastest banks, or the most experienced conveyancers. They are the ones who treat the split agreement with the same seriousness as Form F itself — and who sign it before the leverage disappears.