Building a Real Estate Platform for the UAE: Ejari, DLD API and Arabic RTL

A Dubai real estate platform connects to government systems through the Dubai Land Department's API Gateway, which lists 13 APIs, including Ejari for tenancy contracts, Trakheesi for permits and listing validation, and Mollak for jointly owned property. Each is listed at AED 30,000 plus VAT a year. The licensed UAE company subscribes, not its offshore developer. Around that sit an Arabic right-to-left interface and UAE payment providers.

This guide is for founders and product teams planning a PropTech product for Dubai. RAITHub is a software studio in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It has no office in the UAE, is not a registered partner of the Dubai Land Department or RERA, and has not shipped a DLD integration. Its PropTech proof, PropDesk and BlockEstate, is non-UAE delivery. So read this as engineering guidance built from DLD's published information. Anything about licensing, permits or tenancy law is general information, not legal advice; confirm it with a UAE-qualified adviser. Other emirates have their own authorities and systems; this guide covers Dubai.

What is the DLD API Gateway, and which APIs does it offer?

It is the Dubai Land Department's single entry point for connecting your software to DLD systems. DLD describes it as a way to "integrate your apps with DLD systems like Ejari, Mollak, and Trakheesi" (DLD API Gateway). The APIs a real estate platform is most likely to need, as described on that page, checked on 29 September 2026:

API	What it does	Who it is for
Ejari	Manages the lifecycle of the Ejari tenancy contract: issue, renew, terminate	Property management companies and landlords, or software providers associated with one
Trakheesi	Licensing and real estate permit services; listing validation and delisting retrieval	Real estate offices, developers and management companies
Mollak	Syncs budgets, receipts, invoices, owner and tenant data and legal notices with a management company's application	Jointly owned property management companies and their accredited software vendors
Dubai Brokers	Real-time broker card and broker office information for verification	Platforms that onboard or display brokers
Rental Index	Rental price data across property types and areas	Market analysis and pricing features

The same page lists more, including Oqood/TAS for trust accounts, Mollak Budget, Mollak Virtual Account and Token Sale. The gateway page shows the same price for every API: AED 30,000 plus 5% VAT, with one year of support. Budget for each API you need, and confirm the current terms with DLD.

Who has to subscribe to the DLD API: the client or the developer?

The licensed UAE business. DLD's eligibility rules are written around UAE trade licences and registration in DLD systems, so an offshore development team is not the subscriber. For Ejari, a software provider needs IT or software activities on its trade licence, a Dubai trade licence with a local office, and an association with an active real estate management company; alternatively, the registered management company subscribes itself. Mollak adds that a software provider must be an accredited software vendor with the Federal Tax Authority.

In practice that gives two workable set-ups:

1. You are the licensed company. A property management company or brokerage subscribes in its own name through its DLD business account, and receives the credentials.
2. You partner with a licensed UAE software provider that meets the provider criteria and holds the subscription for your product.

Either way, the offshore team builds against the API but never owns the subscription. Credentials sit in your secrets store in your cloud account, the team gets test access, and production calls run from infrastructure you control. That matches the model in working with an offshore team from Dubai, including keeping personal data in a UAE-region account.

How do you design an Ejari integration?

As a state machine behind an adapter, so the rest of your product never calls DLD directly. A tenancy on your platform has its own lifecycle; the Ejari contract is a registration that follows it. Keep the two separate, store Ejari's contract reference against your lease, and treat every call as something that may fail and be retried.

A minimal TypeScript shape for that boundary. The endpoint details come from DLD's documentation once you are subscribed, so this is an interface to build towards, not DLD's API:

// Your product talks to this interface; one implementation calls DLD,
// another is a fake used in tests and development.
export type EjariStatus = 'draft' | 'submitted' | 'registered' | 'renewed' | 'terminated' | 'failed'

export interface EjariGateway {
  register(leaseId: string, idempotencyKey: string): Promise<{ ejariNumber: string }>
  renew(ejariNumber: string, idempotencyKey: string): Promise<void>
  terminate(ejariNumber: string, idempotencyKey: string): Promise<void>
}

// Allowed moves. Anything else is a bug, not a retry.
export const nextStates: Record<EjariStatus, EjariStatus[]> = {
  draft: ['submitted'],
  submitted: ['registered', 'failed'],
  registered: ['renewed', 'terminated'],
  renewed: ['renewed', 'terminated'],
  terminated: [],
  failed: ['submitted'],
}

Three rules make this hold up in production. Every call carries an idempotency key, so a retry after a timeout cannot register the same tenancy twice. Every request and response is logged against the lease, so an agent can answer "was this registered?" without a developer. And the fake gateway lets the whole lease flow run in automated tests without touching DLD.

Where do Trakheesi, Mollak and the broker API fit?

• Trakheesi, for listing platforms. The API offers listing validation and delisting retrieval. Check each listing when it is submitted and again before it is shown, and unpublish it when it is delisted. Which permits a listing needs is a regulatory question for your adviser; the platform's job is to hold the reference and check it.
• Mollak, for community and service-charge software. If you build for owners' associations or jointly owned buildings, Mollak's budget, receipt and invoice sync is the core integration, and the FTA accreditation requirement shapes who can subscribe.
• Dubai Brokers, for agent onboarding. Verifying a broker card against DLD at sign-up is cheaper than cleaning up an unverified agent later.

How should an Arabic, right-to-left real estate product be built?

Bilingual from the data model up, not translated at the end. The page-level mechanics, dir="rtl" on the html element and logical CSS properties instead of left and right, follow the W3C's guidance (W3C: structural markup and right-to-left text), and a Next.js layout for it is in the Dubai offshore guide. Real estate adds its own points:

• Two fields, not one. Listing titles, descriptions, community and building names need an English and an Arabic value, each edited and reviewed on its own.
• Mixed-direction text. Arabic descriptions contain English building names, unit numbers and prices. Use dir="auto" on user-written text so each block takes its own direction.
• Numbers and prices. Decide whether Arabic pages show Western or Arabic-Indic digits, and format prices in AED consistently in both languages.
• Search. Buyers search in both languages, so index both fields, and test how Arabic spelling variants match.

A simple database rule stops half-translated listings going live:

CREATE TABLE listings (
  id           bigserial PRIMARY KEY,
  title_en     text,
  title_ar     text,
  permit_ref   text,        -- the reference your adviser says the listing needs
  status       text NOT NULL DEFAULT 'draft',
  -- A listing can only be published with both languages filled in.
  CONSTRAINT published_needs_both_languages CHECK (
    status <> 'published' OR (title_en IS NOT NULL AND title_ar IS NOT NULL)
  )
);

One caveat on delivery: RAITHub works in English only. It can build and test the Arabic interface and right-to-left layout, but Arabic copy and its review should come from a native speaker on your side or a translation partner.

Which payment providers does a UAE real estate platform need?

Card acquiring for deposits, fees and rent, and possibly instalments for smaller charges. Stripe is available in the UAE (Stripe global availability). Local options founders ask about include Checkout.com (Checkout.com docs) and Network International's N-Genius (N-Genius docs) for cards, and Tabby (Tabby docs) and Tamara (Tamara docs) for buy now, pay later.

Money flow	Engineering point	Question for your adviser
Online rent collection	Match each payment to a lease and instalment; reconcile against settlement reports	Can the platform collect on the landlord's behalf?
Deposits	Hold state and history per tenancy; refunds tied to the move-out record	Who may hold deposit money, and where?
Agency and service fees	Invoices with VAT shown; idempotent webhooks	How is VAT applied to each fee?
Trust or escrow accounts	Treat as a separate ledger, never mixed with platform revenue	Which rules and accounts apply to the funds?

The payment patterns are the same across providers: the webhook is the source of truth, every handler is safe to run twice, and money moves are recorded in a ledger. Rent-specific detail is in building an online rent collection system.

What does RAITHub bring to a UAE real estate build?

Shipped PropTech platforms, delivered outside the UAE, and a clear line on what has not been done.

• PropDesk, property management with Stripe rent collection, 4 user roles and 1,024 automated tests: the lease, rent and permission patterns an Ejari-connected product needs. See the PropDesk case study.
• BlockEstate, a multi-tenant listing and inquiry platform with lead routing, agent dashboards and a document workflow; MVP in 6 weeks. See the BlockEstate case study.
• What has not been done: no DLD, Ejari, Trakheesi or Mollak integration has shipped, there is no UAE office, and RAITHub is not a DLD or RERA partner. A DLD integration would be quoted as new work once your subscription is in place.
• Fixed scope. A free 15-minute technical audit, then a written fixed quote. You own the code; an NDA is standard. RAITHub signs DPAs and follows your controls, and makes no PDPL compliance claim.

When you don't need us

• You need a vendor with shipped DLD integrations or a registered UAE software provider to hold the subscription. Choose a licensed local firm for that part.
• You need a team in Dubai for on-site meetings, or delivery in Arabic.
• You want an existing property management product configured for Dubai. The vendor's implementation team will be quicker.
• You need advice on RERA rules, permits or tenancy law. That is for a UAE-qualified adviser.

For the wider PropTech picture, read the PropTech software development guide; for integration-heavy backends, see the API and backend development service; and the real estate industry page covers what RAITHub builds. When you are ready, book the free 15-minute technical audit and bring which DLD APIs you need and who will hold the subscription.

Last reviewed: 29 September 2026. DLD information checked on 29 September 2026.

Frequently asked questions

What is the DLD API Gateway?

It is the Dubai Land Department's gateway for connecting software to DLD systems such as Ejari, Trakheesi and Mollak. Its page lists 13 APIs, each at AED 30,000 plus 5% VAT with one year of support.

Can a developer outside the UAE subscribe to the Ejari API?

Not in its own name, going by DLD's criteria. A software provider needs a Dubai trade licence with a local office and an association with a real estate management company, or the registered management company subscribes. The licensed client holds the subscription; the developer builds against it.

How much does DLD API access cost?

The DLD API Gateway page lists AED 30,000 plus 5% VAT for each API, including one year of support, as checked on 29 September 2026. Confirm current terms with DLD before you budget.

What is the difference between Ejari, Trakheesi and Mollak?

Ejari registers tenancy contracts. Trakheesi handles licensing and permits, and its API validates listings. Mollak is for jointly owned property, syncing budgets, receipts and invoices with a management company's software.

Has RAITHub built a DLD or Ejari integration?

No. RAITHub's PropTech proof, PropDesk and BlockEstate, was delivered outside the UAE. It has no UAE office and is not a DLD or RERA partner. A DLD integration would be scoped as new work once your subscription is active.

How do I build an Arabic right-to-left real estate site?

Set the direction in the markup with dir="rtl", use logical CSS properties, store English and Arabic values as separate fields, and use dir="auto" for user-written text. Have a native speaker review the Arabic copy.