How to Buy Off Plan Property in Dubai

You buy a unit from the developer before the building is finished and pay for it in stages. Of the 2,716 projects on our off plan list, 1,280 are marked as new launches, 599 as under construction and 40 as upcoming. Another 797 are finished buildings where the developer is still selling units, so the same steps apply but there's no wait for the keys.

In Dubai, yes, inside the areas set aside for foreign ownership. Law No. 7 of 2006 on real estate registration gives non-UAE nationals freehold rights in those designated areas, and Regulation No. 3 of 2006 lists them. DLD's property status service shows whether a given unit is open to all nationalities.

The reservation is the developer's down payment, and it varies by project. Of the 1,640 projects on our list that state one, 734 ask for 10%, 623 ask for 20% and 187 ask for 5%. Fourteen ask for the full price at booking, and 12 of those are finished buildings. After the deposit, the developer and the buyer both sign the sale and purchase contract (SPA), which fixes the price, the payment schedule and the handover date.

DLD records off plan sales on its interim register, known as Oqood. On its initial sale registration page, the fee is 2% of the sale value from the seller and 2% from the purchaser, plus AED 10 knowledge and AED 10 innovation fees. Developers who register the sale themselves through the Oqood portal pay AED 1,000. On a AED 1.2 million apartment, each 2% is AED 24,000. Your contract says who covers which half, so read that clause before you sign.

Into the project's escrow account, not the developer's general account. Law No. 8 of 2007 requires every developer selling off plan in Dubai to deposit buyers' payments in an escrow account held by a bank approved by the Real Estate Regulatory Agency. DLD explains the rules on its FAQ page. Pay into the project's escrow account by bank transfer and keep the receipt.

Only for half of it. The Central Bank caps loans on property bought off plan at 50% of the value, whatever the buyer's nationality or the price, under its mortgage regulations. Most of what you pay before handover comes from your own money, which is why the payment plan matters as much as the price. The mortgage calculator shows what a 50% loan costs per month.

When the building is finished, the developer calls the balance the plan leaves for completion and hands over the unit. The sale then moves from the interim register to a title deed in your name. The handover year that comes up most on our list is 2027 (532 projects), ahead of 2026 and 2028.

Everything above is Dubai. Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah run their own land departments with their own fees, and we haven't checked their rules here. If you're buying in Abu Dhabi or Sharjah, ask the developer for that emirate's registration costs in writing.