Buying off-plan in Dubai
How payment plans work, where your money is held, what you register with the Dubai Land Department, and what to check before you reserve.
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How to check an off-plan project in Dubai
Seven checks before you reserve, in the order to make them: where to find each answer, and what the law says if something goes wrong.
Check the project is registered
Buying off-plan in Dubai explains how an off-plan purchase works. This guide takes the checks in order, from the project to the paperwork after you book.
Under Article 10 of Law No. 13 of 2008, developers and brokers may not sign off-plan sale contracts for a project the authorities have not approved, and any such contract is void. Executive Council Resolution No. 6 of 2010 adds that a sale made before the project is approved and registered with the Dubai Land Department has no effect (Article 11).
- Find the project.Search DLD's Project Status Enquiry by project name, project number or land number, on the DLD website, in the Dubai REST app or on WhatsApp at 8004488.
- Read the progress.The enquiry shows the completion percentage. Dubai REST also shows site photos and the project's escrow account number.
- Compare it with what you were told.Check that the project name and developer match the brochure, and compare the completion percentage with how much the payment plan asks you to have paid by now.
If you cannot find the project, do not pay. In June 2024 DLD fined three developers AED 500,000 each for marketing projects before finishing their off-plan registration.
Check the escrow account
Law No. 8 of 2007 requires a separate escrow account for each project, held with an approved escrow agent. Buyers' payments go into it, the money can be used only to build that project, and the developer's creditors cannot attach it (Articles 7 and 9). A broker who takes your payment must deposit it in the escrow account and may not keep it or take commission from it first; any agreement otherwise is void (Article 12 of Resolution No. 6 of 2010).
- Get the number and the bank.From Dubai REST, and from the advert, which must show the escrow account number.
- Match it everywhere.The same account should appear in the sale and purchase agreement, the payment schedule and every payment request.
- Pay only into it.By bank transfer or cheque to that account, never to a person, an agency or another company account. Keep every receipt.
When it fined the three developers in June 2024, DLD's advice to buyers was to check in Dubai REST that a project is registered with an escrow account, and to pay nothing outside it.
At booking you may pay the first instalment and the DLD fee together. Ask for a written breakdown of each payment and where it goes.
Check the advert and the broker
- The permit. Every property advert in Dubai needs a Trakheesi permit. Since April 2024 a developer needs a permit for the project and a separate permit for each off-plan unit it advertises.
- The QR code. Printed and video adverts must carry a Madmoun QR code. Scanning it shows whether the permit is valid, the approved details of the property, and whether it has already been sold or let.
- What the advert must say. Off-plan adverts in newspapers must name the developer and show the escrow account number, the expected completion date and the proposed service charges.
- The broker. Ask for the broker's card and check its number in DLD's e-card verification service. A developer that sells through a broker must use a certified broker and register their contract with DLD (Article 9 of Law No. 13 of 2008).
Research the developer
A developer must be registered with DLD and licensed before it sells (Article 4 of Law No. 8 of 2007), and Dubai REST lists certified developers. Registration shows that a developer may sell; only its record shows how it delivers.
- List its completed projects.From the developer's own website, then look each one up in the Project Status Enquiry.
- Compare promised and actual dates.For each project, find the completion date first announced and when buyers actually took the keys, from news reports, old brochures and owners.
- Visit a finished building.Look at the finishes, the common areas and the upkeep, and ask residents how snagging went and how quickly defects were fixed.
- Check the service charges.DLD's Service Charge Index shows the RERA-approved charges for completed jointly owned projects, so you can see what owners in the developer's other buildings pay.
- Search for problems.News of long delays, cancelled projects or DLD fines against the developer.
Read the sale and purchase agreement
Ask for the sale and purchase agreement (SPA) before you pay, and read these clauses:
| Clause | What to look for |
|---|---|
| Completion date | The anticipated completion date and the grace period after it. Grace periods of 6 to 12 months are typical, and a delay within one is not a breach |
| Delay | Whether the developer pays compensation for delay beyond the grace period, how much, and when you may terminate. Compensation is not automatic: it is what the SPA provides or what a court awards |
| Specification and area | The finishes schedule and the net area. The developer must compensate you if the unit is more than 5% smaller than the net area in the agreement (Article 13, Resolution No. 6 of 2010) |
| Payments | Each instalment and what triggers it: a date or a construction stage |
| Default | What happens if you miss a payment, within the legal limits below |
| Resale | The share of the price you must pay before the developer issues a no-objection certificate for a resale |
| Service charges | The estimated annual charge. RERA approves the actual budget, so compare the estimate with the developer's completed buildings |
| Fees | Any developer charges. A developer may charge buyers only amounts DLD has approved (Article 8, Resolution No. 6 of 2010) |
If the developer materially departs from the agreed specification, you can ask a court to end the contract (Article 20 of Resolution No. 6 of 2010), and DLD can mediate between buyer and developer (Article 14). Off-plan payment plans explains instalments, and selling off-plan before handover the resale terms.
If you stop paying, Article 11 of Law No. 13 of 2008, as rewritten by Law No. 19 of 2020, sets what the developer may do. It reports the default to DLD, which gives you 30 days' written notice to pay and may try to settle the dispute. If you still do not pay, DLD certifies the project's completion, and the developer may act without going to court:
| Project completion | What the developer may do |
|---|---|
| More than 80% | Keep the contract and claim the balance; ask DLD to sell the unit at auction; or terminate and keep up to 40% of the unit's value |
| 60% to 80% | Terminate and keep up to 40% of the unit's value |
| Below 60%, with work started | Terminate and keep up to 25% of the unit's value |
After a termination the developer refunds the rest within one year, or within 60 days of reselling the unit, whichever is sooner. If work never started for reasons beyond the developer's control, or RERA cancels the project, the developer must refund everything buyers paid, under the escrow law. Buyers keep the right to go to court.
After you book: Oqood and the 4% fee
Once you and the developer sign, the developer registers the sale in DLD's interim register, known as Oqood. DLD's service terms require this within 90 days of signing, and a sale that is not registered is void (Article 3 of Law No. 13 of 2008). You receive the registration certificate by email.
DLD's fee is 4% of the price, listed as 2% from the seller and 2% from the buyer, plus a AED 10 knowledge fee and a AED 10 innovation fee. On off-plan purchases the buyer usually pays the whole 4% unless agreed otherwise, so check what your SPA says.
Check the certificate: your name, the unit, the area and the price should match the SPA. If it has not arrived within 90 days of signing, ask the developer why.
Red flags
- A request to pay into a personal account, an agency account or any account other than the project's escrow account
- An advert with no Trakheesi permit or Madmoun QR code, or a code that does not verify
- A project you cannot find in the Project Status Enquiry or Dubai REST
- Pressure to pay before you have read the SPA, or a refusal to give you a copy
- A broker whose card does not verify
- Developer charges that DLD has not approved
- A completion date, specification or price in the SPA that differs from the advert
Any one of these is a reason to stop and ask. When the building is finished, handover and snagging covers the completion certificate, your title deed and defects, and off-plan projects in Dubai lists the projects we track.
Questions buyers ask
How do I check if an off-plan project is registered in Dubai?
Search for it in the Dubai Land Department's Project Status Enquiry, on the DLD website, in the Dubai REST app or on WhatsApp at 8004488, by project name, project number or land number. A sale in a project the authorities have not approved is void under Article 10 of Law No. 13 of 2008.
How do I find an off-plan project's escrow account?
Dubai REST shows each project's escrow account number, and off-plan adverts must show it too. Match it with your sale agreement and pay only into that account, as Law No. 8 of 2007 requires.
How can I check the construction progress of an off-plan project?
DLD's Project Status Enquiry shows the project's completion percentage, and the Dubai REST app adds site photos.
What happens if an off-plan project is delayed in Dubai?
Your sale and purchase agreement decides. Most allow a grace period of 6 to 12 months after the anticipated completion date, and compensation after that is what the agreement provides or a court awards. If RERA cancels a project, buyers are refunded under the escrow law.
How much can a developer keep if I stop paying for an off-plan property?
After DLD's 30-day notice, up to 40% of the unit's value if the project is 60% or more complete, or up to 25% below that once work has started, under Law No. 13 of 2008 as amended by Law No. 19 of 2020. The rest is refunded within a year, or within 60 days of resale if sooner.
When is an off-plan purchase registered on Oqood?
After you and the developer sign the sale and purchase agreement. DLD requires registration in the interim register within 90 days of signing, and the fee is 4% of the price plus AED 20, usually paid in full by the buyer.
How do I verify an off-plan property advert in Dubai?
Scan its Madmoun QR code, which shows whether the Trakheesi permit is valid and the approved property details. Since April 2024 a developer needs a separate permit for each off-plan unit it advertises.
Sources
- Dubai Land Department: Project Status Enquiry (Mashrooi)
- Dubai Land Department: Dubai REST
- Dubai Legislation Portal: Law No. 8 of 2007 on escrow accounts
- Dubai Legislation Portal: Law No. 13 of 2008 on the interim property register
- Dubai Legislation Portal: Law No. 19 of 2020 amending Law No. 13 of 2008
- Dubai Legislation Portal: Executive Council Resolution No. 6 of 2010, the implementing bylaw of Law No. 13 of 2008
- Dubai Land Department: registering the initial (off-plan) sale
- Property Finder: DLD fees in Dubai (July 2026)
- Dubai Land Department: Madmoun QR codes on property adverts (April 2023)
- Bayut: Trakheesi advertising permits (October 2026)
- Property Finder: Trakheesi permits (January 2026)
- Dubai Land Department: e-card verification
- Dubai Land Department: Service Charge Index
- Gulf News: Dubai Land Department fines three developers AED 1.5 million (June 2024)
- BSA Law: off-plan delays and the buyer's rights (June 2024)
- Neo Legal: off-plan delays and defects in Dubai (July 2026)
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