Buying off-plan in the UAE: what to check

Last reviewed 9 November 2026 · about 10 minutes to read

Off-plan means buying a home before it is built, usually straight from the developer, and paying in stages. It can work well. It also asks you to trust a promise for several years, so most of the work is checking that promise.

Not advice. This is a general overview written by a private individual, not by a lawyer, adviser or agent. Fees, thresholds and procedures change; I deliberately avoid quoting numbers that go stale. Confirm current rules with the official bodies named on this page and with a licensed professional.

Why people buy off-plan, and the catch

The appeal is easy to see: a brand-new home, a payment plan spread over the construction period, and often a lower entry price than a finished unit in a similar building. Developers also run launch offers, such as covering part of the registration fee.

The catch is that you are committing money to something you cannot inspect. Projects can be delayed, finishes can differ from the show apartment, and the market can move in either direction before handover. It is also harder to change your mind: walking away part-way through usually costs you money.

Check the developer

The single best predictor of how a project will turn out is how the same developer's earlier projects turned out.

Visit buildings they have already handed over. Look at the common areas, lifts, car park and facade, not just a show flat.
Talk to residents or owners if you can. Ask whether handover was on time and how defects were handled.
Look for a pattern of delays or of projects that were cancelled or changed hands.
Look up the developer and the project on the official Dubai Land Department channels (or the equivalent regulator in other emirates). In Dubai these show whether a project is registered and how far construction has progressed.

Check the project is registered and uses escrow

In Dubai, off-plan projects have to be registered with the Land Department before units are sold, and buyers' payments go into an escrow account for that specific project at an approved bank. The developer can draw on the account as construction progresses. This is one of the main protections buyers have, so use it:

Get the escrow account details in writing and check that they match the official project record.
Pay only into that escrow account. Never pay into a personal account, an agent's account, or a "booking" account that is not the project escrow, however convenient it is made to sound.
Keep every receipt. Your payments should be traceable to the escrow account and to your unit.

Off-plan sales in Dubai are recorded in an interim register known as Oqood, and a registration fee, calculated as a percentage of the price, is due to the Land Department. Check the current rate and who is paying it in your deal. Other emirates have their own systems and rules; ask the local regulator.

Read the sale and purchase agreement

The sale and purchase agreement (SPA) is the developer's standard contract. It is usually long and written to protect the developer. Read all of it, ideally with a lawyer licensed in the UAE who is not paid by the seller. Clauses worth slowing down on:

Completion date and grace period. Is there a firm date, how long a grace period follows it, and what, if anything, you get if both pass?
Area tolerance. The finished unit may be slightly bigger or smaller than planned. Check how much variation is allowed and how the price changes.
Specifications. Wording like "or equivalent" lets the developer substitute materials. Know what is actually promised.
Payment schedule. Are instalments tied to calendar dates or to construction milestones? Milestones are generally safer for the buyer.
Buyer default. Dubai law sets out what a developer may keep if a buyer stops paying, and it depends on how complete the project is. Understand your exposure before you sign.
Resale and assignment. Many developers only allow you to sell before completion once you have paid a certain share of the price, and charge a fee for the paperwork.
Handover conditions. What must be paid before you get the keys, and from when service charges apply.

Add up the full cost

The advertised price is only part of it. Before you commit, list everything you will pay between booking and moving in or renting out:

the Land Department registration fee and any administration fees;
an agent's commission, if you use one;
mortgage costs if you will finance the later instalments: arrangement, valuation and registration of the mortgage;
service charges from handover, which can arrive before you have a tenant;
utility and district cooling connection fees and deposits;
furniture, appliances and anything not included in the unit.

Financing and payment plans

Banks in the UAE lend against off-plan property more cautiously than against finished homes. Many will only lend near completion, and the Central Bank of the UAE caps how much of the value they may lend. The caps differ for residents and non-residents and for first and later homes, so ask a bank or a licensed mortgage adviser about your own case.

Post-handover payment plans, where you keep paying the developer for some time after you get the keys, are effectively credit from the developer. They can be useful, but run the numbers as if the unit sits empty for a while: could you still keep up with the instalments and the service charges?

Handover and snagging

Before you accept the keys, inspect the unit carefully. "Snagging" means making a list of defects (cracked tiles, doors that don't close, poor sealing, air-conditioning problems) and asking the developer to fix them. Some buyers hire an independent snagging inspector; whether that is worth it depends on the size of the property and your own patience.

UAE law makes builders and developers liable for serious structural defects for a long period after completion, and Dubai rules add a shorter warranty for fittings and installations. Check the exact periods in your contract and the current law, and report defects in writing.

Selling before completion

Marketing sometimes suggests you can easily sell before handover at a profit. Sometimes you can. But you may need the developer's permission and a minimum share paid first, you will compete with the developer's own unsold units, and in a softer market buyers for unfinished units can be scarce. Buy on the assumption that you will hold to completion.

Checklist

I have visited at least one finished project by the same developer.
The project and developer appear on the official Land Department records.
I have the escrow account details in writing, and they match the official record.
A lawyer I chose has read the SPA, including completion, tolerance and default clauses.
I have listed every fee from booking to handover, plus a year of service charges.
I can keep paying if handover is late, the unit takes a while to let, or I cannot sell early.
I have a snagging plan for handover.