DLD Valuation Guide: what a useful report should show

Dubai Land Department publishes a Dubai Real Estate Valuation Guide as a professional reference. Its landing page is dated 28 September 2026, while the linked document identifies itself as first edition 2025. The guide is useful for asking better questions, but it is not a price opinion for a particular home and says that applicable legislation and official decisions remain controlling.

Official DLD guide page, rechecked 2 November 2026: dubailand.gov.ae — dubai real estate valuation guide

Linked DLD guide document: dubailand.gov.ae — final double english.pdf

Start with purpose and valuation date

The guide describes valuation as determining value at a specific point in time and for a specific purpose. Those two fields matter before the headline figure. A report prepared for an internal sale discussion, lending process, financial reporting or another defined use may involve different instructions, evidence and acceptance requirements. Ask the issuer to state the subject property, the interest or right being valued, the intended purpose, the valuation date and the report date.

Ask why the method fits the property

DLD's guide identifies market-comparison, income and cost approaches and says method selection depends on the property's nature, the purpose of the valuation and available data. A useful report should therefore explain the chosen approach rather than present a number without a trail. For a comparison, look for the comparable transactions, dates and adjustments. For an income approach, identify the income, expenses, vacancy and capitalisation assumptions. For a cost approach, identify the replacement-cost and depreciation basis.

The objective is not to choose the method yourself. It is to see how the method connects to this property and where professional judgement enters the result. Asking prices, an automated estimate and a completed valuation report should not be treated as interchangeable evidence.

Keep assumptions and missing evidence visible

Record what was inspected, which official records or documents were checked, and what the valuer assumed. The guide highlights property rights, legal and regulatory status, condition, current or potential use and reliable data as relevant parts of the exercise. If a tenancy, permit, ownership restriction, measured area, property condition or income record is not confirmed, that limitation should remain visible rather than disappear inside the final figure.

Check issuer, validity and review route

The guide says accredited valuers should operate under the relevant Dubai licensing framework. It also gives a general report-validity range of three to six months from issue unless otherwise agreed with the client or required by the regulator, and says the validity date should be clear. Confirm the issuer's current credentials, the stated validity, the recipient's own acceptance requirements and whether a fresh report is needed after a material change.

The guide also describes reconsideration where new documents, a material error, a change in legal or regulatory status or an objection affects the result. That does not guarantee a changed value. It means the evidence and approved review channel matter when a report is challenged.

Use a five-field valuation brief

Before commissioning or comparing a report, write down five fields: the exact property and right being valued; the purpose and valuation date; the selected method and supporting evidence; the assumptions, exclusions and unresolved documents; and the valuer's identity, report validity and intended recipient. This keeps a market discussion separate from a formal report and makes missing inputs easier to resolve.

Astra Terra's valuation service page is the permanent owner for property-specific valuation enquiries: astraterra.ae — property valuation. To discuss the property, intended decision and documents available, use astraterra.ae — contact us. The relevant valuer, lender, authority and transaction documents remain controlling for any formal reliance.