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Off-plan payment plans in Dubai, explained

What 80/20, 60/40 and post-handover mean, what triggers each instalment, and how to compare plans on the cash you need and when.

Updated 2 October 2026

The parts of a payment plan

  • Booking payment, or down payment: due when you reserve; 5% to 20% of the price on the projects we track.
  • Construction instalments: due on set dates, or when construction reaches set stages, as the plan states.
  • Handover payment: the balance due at completion, when you take the keys.
  • Post-handover instalments: on some plans, part of the price is paid after handover, over months or years.
  • Oqood fee: 4% of the price plus AED 20, paid to the Dubai Land Department when the sale is registered. It is not part of the price.

What 80/20, 60/40 and 50/50 mean

Plans are usually named by the share of the price paid before handover and the share paid at or after it. On a AED 1,000,000 home:

PlanBefore handoverAt or after handover
80/20AED 800,000AED 200,000
70/30AED 700,000AED 300,000
60/40AED 600,000AED 400,000
50/50AED 500,000AED 500,000

The booking payment is part of the share before handover, and the Oqood fee comes on top of both.

Plans on projects we track

Payment plans as the developers published them when we checked, on 29 and 30 September 2026. Each project page shows its plan in dirhams.

ProjectOn bookingDuring constructionAt handover
Valencia, DAMAC Lagoons (DAMAC)5%55%40%
Rosehill, Dubai Hills Estate (Emaar)10%70%20%
Avarra by Palace, Business Bay (Emaar)10%80%10%
Inaura, Downtown Dubai (Arada)10%40%50%
Binghatti Etherea, JVC (Binghatti)20%50%30%
The Horizon, Sobha Central (Sobha)20%40%40%

Off-plan with a low down payment lists every project we track that asks 10% or less at booking.

Dates or construction stages

Construction instalments are triggered either by dates or by the building reaching stages, such as a share of construction complete. With a date-linked plan you keep paying on schedule however construction is going; with a stage-linked plan your payments follow progress. The sale and purchase agreement says which, so read it before you reserve.

On a stage-linked plan, DLD's guidance says you may ask for a letter from the project consultant approved by the Department confirming the stage has been reached before you pay. Anyone can check a project's completion percentage on DLD's Project Status Enquiry, Mashrooi in the Dubai REST app.

Post-handover and 1% monthly plans

A post-handover plan leaves part of the price to be paid after you get the keys, so you can live in or let the home while you finish paying. A 1% monthly plan spreads payments at 1% of the price each month, during construction or after handover; on a AED 700,000 home that is AED 7,000 a month.

  • The title deed is issued once you have paid in full. Until then your purchase stays on the Oqood register, which developers often call a pre-title deed (Article 8, Law No. 13 of 2008).
  • If you plan to let the home, compare the likely rent with the instalment, after the service charge.
  • Check what the agreement says happens if you miss an instalment after handover.

Post-handover payment plans lists the projects we track that offer one.

How to compare two plans

  1. The cash to reserve.The booking payment plus the 4% Oqood fee and AED 20.
  2. The total before handover.The booking payment and every construction instalment.
  3. The handover payment.How big it is, and how you will pay it: savings, or a mortgage of up to 50% of an off-plan home's price.
  4. The triggers.Dates or construction stages.
  5. Missing a payment.Under Law No. 13 of 2008, as amended by Law No. 19 of 2020, a developer may terminate after a 30-day notice and keep up to 40% of the unit's value on a project more than 60% complete, or 25% below that.
  6. Selling before handover.The developer's conditions for a resale NOC, written into the agreement.
AED
Booking payment the developer asks
Highest price you can reserve
AED 714,000
Booking payment
AED 71,400
DLD Oqood fee (4% + AED 20)
AED 28,580
Still to pay over the plan
AED 642,600

An estimate. Developers may add an administration fee of their own; ask for every amount due at booking in writing. Projects that fit this budget

Questions buyers ask

What is an 80/20 payment plan?

A plan where 80% of the price is paid before handover, through the booking payment and construction instalments, and 20% at handover. The 4% Oqood fee is paid on top.

What is a post-handover payment plan?

A plan where part of the price is paid to the developer after handover, in instalments the contract sets, so you can live in or let the home while you finish paying.

What is a 1% payment plan?

A plan that spreads payments at 1% of the price each month, during construction or after handover: AED 7,000 a month on a AED 700,000 home.

Which is better, a low booking payment or a small handover payment?

Neither changes the price. A low booking payment needs less cash to start but leaves more to pay later; a small handover payment means more is paid during construction. Choose the plan whose payments you can meet at every stage.

Are payment plan instalments paid to the developer?

They are paid into the project's escrow account, which under Dubai Law No. 8 of 2007 can be used only to build the project. Pay into no other account.

Sources

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.

Read the guide

Off-plan or ready: how to choose in Dubai

How the two compare on payments, fees, mortgages, protection and moving in, using the rules that apply to each.

Read the guide