Valuing Property in Dubai: What RERA Rules, IVS and the RICS Red Book Each Require

A valuation report issued in Dubai has to satisfy more than one rulebook at the same time. There is Dubai's own regulation of the profession, there are the International Valuation Standards (IVS), and, for RICS members and RICS-regulated firms, there is the RICS Red Book. They overlap heavily, but they are not the same document, and a file that meets one can still miss something the other expects.

This guide is written for valuation firms that work, or plan to work, in Dubai. It explains what each layer asks of a firm, where they reinforce each other, and what a file has to contain to stand up to all three. It covers Dubai only: other emirates, including Abu Dhabi, have their own arrangements, which we cover in Property Valuation in the UAE.

The three layers in one view

• Dubai law and regulation. The Real Estate Regulatory Agency (RERA) and the Dubai Land Department (DLD) regulate who may value property in Dubai and how the work is kept on record. This layer is mandatory for valuers and firms practising in the emirate, with limited exceptions such as government entities.
• The International Valuation Standards (IVS). Published by the International Valuation Standards Council (IVSC), of which the DLD is a member. The DLD's own valuation guide states that Dubai aligns its practice with IVS.
• The RICS Red Book. RICS Valuation – Global Standards applies to RICS members and RICS-regulated firms. It incorporates IVS and adds requirements on ethics, competence, objectivity and disclosure.

The practical consequence: in Dubai, "we followed IVS" and "we are registered with RERA" are two separate statements, and a client or reviewer may ask you to evidence both.

Layer one: what Dubai regulation requires

Three instruments set the frame, all published on the Dubai Legislation Portal and summarised in the DLD's valuation guide: Executive Council Resolution No. 37 of 2015, which regulates the profession; Administrative Resolution No. 67 of 2020, which sets the requirements and procedures; and Law No. 4 of 2019 on RERA.

Who may practise

• Individual valuers must be registered on RERA's roll of valuers, and registration is granted for a limited period and has to be renewed.
• Valuation firms must be authorised by RERA, and a registered valuer has to manage the firm.
• A valuer employed by a bank or financial institution may value property only for that employer.
• RICS membership does not replace this. The RICS jurisdiction guide for Dubai notes that RICS is acknowledged by the DLD but has no reciprocal arrangement, so RICS valuers must also register with the DLD.
• Eligibility conditions apply, including nationality, experience and qualification requirements for individuals and for the firm's applicant, and further conditions for opening a branch. Check the current text with RERA before planning market entry.

What a report must contain

Resolution 37 lists the minimum content of a Dubai valuation report. Among other items it includes the client and the purpose of the valuation, a description of the property with a site map, the basis of value and the valuation date, the valuer's relationship to the client, the assumptions made, a reference to the DLD's valuation reference, the value in figures and in words, and the valuer's name, signature and registration number.

What a firm must keep

Resolution 37 also expects a written agreement with the client covering the property, the purpose, the timeframe and the fee, and prior notice to occupants before an inspection. On records, the two resolutions together point the same way: the firm keeps the records of each assignment, including correspondence, and Resolution 67 requires scanned copies of reports, files and documents to be kept for at least five years, together with an electronic register of every valuation completed.

These are summaries of instruments that are amended from time to time. Always read the current text on the portal, and take advice from RERA or a local adviser before relying on a specific article.

Layer two: the DLD's valuation guide and IVS

The DLD publishes its valuation reference as the Dubai Real Estate Valuation Guide (first edition, 2025). Three points matter most for a firm's working file.

• Local and international standards apply together. The guide says an accredited valuer must comply with both the international and the local standards when choosing the methodology and preparing the report.
• Sources and reasoning must be visible. Its quality principles include verifying all data used, documenting information sources, stating the methodology in detail in the report, specifying assumptions, and disclosing circumstances that could affect the outcome.
• Reports can be audited and reopened. The guide describes periodic report audits by the competent authorities, field reviews, and a reconsideration process: a client can ask for a valuation to be reviewed when new data emerges, a material error is found, the legal status of the property changes, or a party objects. A valuation committee then reviews the earlier report.

The guide also has a chapter on technology. It accepts automated models and digital tools only under the supervision of a certified valuer, who reviews the output and ensures compliance before a valuation is approved, and it points to the IVS requirement to document methodologies, models and assumptions.

Layer three: the RICS Red Book in Dubai

The Red Book expressly allows for local rules. The RICS jurisdiction guide for Dubai explains that compliance with local statutory or regulatory requirements does not stop a valuation from being declared as performed in accordance with the Red Book. It also observes that market value is the commonly adopted basis of value in Dubai, and that a Red Book-compliant valuation by a valuer with the necessary experience of the Dubai market should meet the requirements of almost all organisations that own property there.

One caution on dates. That jurisdiction guide was published in 2019 for the 2017 edition of the standards. The current edition, with six mandatory Valuation Practice Statements, has applied since 31 January 2025 (we explain it in What Is RICS Red Book Compliance?). RICS members should check RICS's current guidance for Dubai rather than rely on the 2019 text.

What one defensible Dubai file contains

Read side by side, the three layers ask for the same things at the same stages. A file that evidences each of the following should satisfy the overlap, and leaves you to add only the items that are specific to one layer.

1. Before the work starts. A written agreement with the client (property, purpose, timeframe, fee), plus the competence, independence and conflict-of-interest check. Dubai law asks for the agreement; the Red Book (VPS 1) asks for terms of engagement agreed before the valuation is reported; the DLD guide asks you to avoid conflicts and disclose anything that could affect the outcome.
2. Inspection. The extent, date and limitations of the inspection, with notice given to occupants. This is the Red Book's VPS 4, and Dubai regulation adds the notice requirement.
3. Evidence and sources. The comparables and data used, with where each came from. The DLD guide asks you to verify data and document sources; IVS and the Red Book expect evidence that can be reconstructed by someone who was not there.
4. Method and assumptions. Why the market, income or cost approach was chosen, the assumptions made and the basis of value. Common to all three layers.
5. Models. If a model or spreadsheet drives the figure, its inputs and the valuer's review of its output, as VPS 5 and the DLD's technology chapter both expect.
6. The report. Every item Resolution 37 lists, including the registration number and site map, in addition to what VPS 6 requires.
7. The record. The final report, the file and the correspondence, retained for at least five years from completion (keeping the drafts as well is good practice), and the entry of each valuation in the electronic register the regulation requires.
8. Readiness to be reopened. A file from which another valuer or a committee can understand how the value was reached, because reports can be audited and reconsidered.

Items one to five describe what a good valuation audit trail already holds. That is the main point of this guide: in Dubai, a good audit trail is the core of the file that answers the regulator, the lender and the committee, alongside the Dubai-specific items above.

Where a platform helps, and what InterVal does not cover

InterVal is valuation report software for firms working to RICS and IVS standards. It incorporates the 2025 RICS, IVS and IFRS standards, guides each assignment from conflict check and terms of engagement through inspection records and valuation methods to the report, and builds the audit trail as the work is done. That covers much of the common ground above. It does not make a valuation for you, and it provides no market data: your valuers keep the judgement and use their own evidence.

InterVal does not cover the DLD's valuation guide today. Dubai-specific requirements are not built into the platform: the RERA registration details that must appear on the report, the electronic register of valuations, and the DLD's formal reporting requirements remain your firm's responsibility. A firm in Dubai can use InterVal for the RICS and IVS workflow, and add the Dubai items to its own templates and procedures. If you are weighing InterVal for Dubai work, tell us during the demo which local requirements matter most to your firm.

The bottom line

Dubai asks valuation firms to be registered, to follow IVS, to keep five years of records and to produce files that can be audited and reconsidered. RICS member firms add the Red Book on top. These are compatible: the same disciplined, contemporaneous file can serve all three, as long as the local items are added deliberately and not assumed to be covered by an international standard.

This guide is provided for general information and reflects the sources named above at the date of publication. It is not legal advice and not a substitute for the instruments themselves: refer to the current text of the Dubai resolutions, the Dubai Real Estate Valuation Guide, the International Valuation Standards and RICS Valuation – Global Standards, and take local advice before relying on any requirement.