Buying guide
Before you pay: six checks for an off-plan purchase in Dubai
Dubai's off-plan rules protect buyers when the money goes where the rules say. These six checks are worth doing before the first payment, and again before each instalment. They help you verify payment instructions and purchase documents; they do not guarantee completion or an automatic refund.
Sources reviewed 4 October 2026
Pay into the project's escrow account
Under Dubai Law No. 8 of 2007 (Article 7), payments by off-plan buyers go into an escrow account in the project's name, held by an account custodian accredited by the Dubai Land Department; under Article 9 the funds are ring-fenced for that project and paid out under the approved escrow arrangements. Match the project and developer with the DLD's record in the Dubai REST app, then compare the escrow account shown there with the developer's written payment instructions before you transfer. A transfer to a personal or unrelated account is outside that system.
Make sure the sale is registered
Before booking, ask how and when the sale will be registered. The developer registers an off-plan sale in the Dubai Land Department's interim register through the Oqood portal, and the DLD requires this within 90 days of signing the sale and purchase agreement. Once it is registered, the buyer receives a provisional registration e-certificate; ask for it. Under Dubai Law No. 13 of 2008 (Article 3), an off-plan sale that is not entered in that register is void.
Check the developer and the project
Before paying, confirm that the developer is registered with the DLD and that the project has the approvals needed to sell off-plan (Dubai Law No. 8 of 2007, Article 4; Law No. 13 of 2008, Articles 4 and 10). The Dubai Land Department's Dubai REST app has a Project Status service (Mashrooi) that shows a project's status and completion percentage, the developer, the escrow account and inspection details.
Get the booking terms, then read your contract
Before you pay a booking amount, get the reservation terms in writing: the unit, the price, who receives the payment, how it is credited to the price, and the cancellation and refund conditions. Do not assume a booking amount is refundable. After that, the sale and purchase agreement sets each payment, whether it falls on a date or on a construction milestone, and who pays the DLD fee. Brochures and our cost timelines are guides; the contract decides.
Check your broker
Look up the brokerage's RERA office number (ORN) in the Dubai Land Department's list of licensed brokers. Ask the individual broker for their current RERA e-card and check its type and number with the Validate E-Card service in the Dubai REST app. NOWAD's office number is 60169; you can look it up before you share anything with us.
Get every fee in writing
Ask for the DLD fee, the developer's registration or admin charges and any brokerage fee in writing, itemised, before you commit. Under Dubai Law No. 13 of 2008 (Article 7), a developer may charge administrative costs on a sale only where the Dubai Land Department has approved them.
General information, not legal advice. For a specific purchase, read your contract and, where you need to, ask a lawyer licensed in the UAE.
Where these figures come from
- Dubai Law No. 8 of 2007 concerning escrow accounts for real estate development in the Emirate of Dubai, Articles 4, 7 and 9 (Dubai Legislation Portal, read 4 October 2026).
- Dubai Law No. 13 of 2008 regulating the interim property register in the Emirate of Dubai, Articles 3(1), 4, 7 and 10 (Dubai Legislation Portal, read 4 October 2026); the Dubai Land Department's Oqood registration service.
- Dubai Land Department: service "Request to register the initial sale" (fees, 90 days, provisional registration e-certificate), read 4 October 2026; Dubai REST app, project status (Mashrooi: project, developer, escrow account and inspection details, per the DLD's service guide) and e-card (broker card) services.
Your shortlist
Request a shortlist for your budget
- Tell us your budget and bedrooms. It takes under a minute.
- We check with the developers. Which units are available now within your budget, across the projects that fit.
- A written shortlist or availability update within one business day. If nothing matches, we say so and ask whether you would like alternatives.
- RERA office 60169
- Trade licence 1604866
- Advice in English, Arabic, French, German, Turkish and Armenian
Who answers. NOWAD Real Estate, Office 1143, Al Quoz First, Dubai, by WhatsApp, phone or email as you choose. Before you commit, ask us to confirm every fee in writing, including any brokerage fee.