Buying off-plan in Dubai, step by step
Three in four homes sold in Dubai are bought off-plan: before or while they are built, paid in stages. Here is every step from choosing a project to holding the title deed, and what to check at each.
Short answer
Choose an established developer and check the project is registered with the Dubai Land Department and has an escrow account. Reserve with a booking payment, sign the sale and purchase agreement, and the developer registers your purchase (Oqood) when you pay the 4% DLD fee. Then pay the instalments into the escrow account as the building goes up, inspect the home before handover, pay the balance and take the keys. The title deed follows.
Check these before you reserve
Most off-plan problems are easy to spot at the start. Here is what good and bad look like in Dubai.
| What to check | Good sign | Warning sign |
|---|---|---|
| The developer | Finished projects you can visit, handed over close to schedule | A first project, or past ones years late |
| Registration | The project is listed in the Dubai REST app, with its escrow account | “Registration is coming”, or an expression of interest with no project number |
| Payments | Every payment to the escrow account named in your agreement | Cash, or a transfer to a person or another company |
| The plan | Instalments linked to construction stages, written in the agreement | Most of the price due before the building has started |
| Handover | A completion date, and what happens if it is late | An open-ended “estimated” date |
| Running costs | An estimate of the service charge per square foot | “To be confirmed” on a building with many facilities |
| Reselling | Clear rules: how much paid first, and the fee | No resale allowed until handover, when you may need it |
Adverts for Dubai property must carry a DLD permit number (Trakheesi). No permit on an ad is a reason to ask questions.
From reservation to title deed, in 8 steps
Choose the project and the unit
Compare developers, locations, payment plans and service charges, then pick the floor, view and layout. At a launch, the best units go first.
Reserve it
Sign the reservation form and pay the booking amount, usually 10–20% of the price, sometimes with a smaller holding deposit first.
10–20%Sign the sale and purchase agreement
The SPA sets out the price, the payment plan, the specification, the handover date and the resale rules. Read it, or have it read, before you sign.
Within weeksRegistration: Oqood and the DLD fee
The developer registers your purchase in the Land Department's interim register, called Oqood. You pay the 4% DLD fee and the registration fees then.
4% + feesPay the instalments
Pay each instalment into the escrow account as it falls due, and keep the developer's statements of account: you need them to resell, for a mortgage and for a visa.
Inspect before handover
When the building is finished, the developer sends a completion notice. Inspect the home, or have a snagging company do it, and list the defects to fix.
Pay the balance and take the keys
Pay what is due on handover (or arrange the mortgage), the first service charges, and connect water and electricity with DEWA.
Receive the title deed
Your Oqood becomes a title deed in your name. On a post-handover plan, it is issued once the plan is paid, or with the developer's mortgage registered on it.
Advice first, then the right project
Dubai has thousands of projects and every developer says theirs is the best. We compare them for you, in your language, and tell you honestly which we would buy.
Many developers compared
Prices, payment plans, service charges and track records side by side, not one developer's sales pitch.
No fee from you on new projects
When you buy off-plan from the developer, the developer pays our fee: the price is the developer's price.
In your language
Contracts, payment schedules and the Land Department's paperwork, explained in English or Turkish.
With you to the keys
Reservation, registration, instalments, snagging and handover: one consultant from start to finish.
Questions buyers ask us
The price is the same: on new projects the developer pays the agent. A good agent compares many developers for you, knows which units are the better buys and stays with you until handover; the developer's sales team sells only their own projects.
Before a project goes on general sale, developers often take expressions of interest (EOIs) with a refundable deposit, to give early buyers first choice of units at launch prices. Check how and when the deposit is refunded if you do not go ahead.
The Land Department's interim register for off-plan homes. Registering there gives you a certificate showing the unit is yours before the building exists; it becomes a title deed at handover.
Delays of some months are common. Your money stays in escrow, released only as work is certified, and your agreement says what happens if handover is late. If a project is cancelled, the regulator can refund buyers from the escrow account.
The developer must give notice through the Land Department and a period to pay. If you still do not pay, the law lets the developer keep part of what you paid -- the share depends on how far the building has got -- so plan your payments with room to spare.
Yes. Reservations and agreements can be signed digitally, payments made by bank transfer, and a power of attorney covers anything that needs someone in person.
More guides
All guidesBuying in Dubai
Ownership, visas and protection
This guide is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Dubai's rules and fees change; figures are correct to the best of our knowledge on 15 October 2026. Check the latest with the Dubai Land Department or an adviser before you sign or pay.
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