How to check an off-plan payment plan and escrow account in Dubai
Before you pay any off-plan instalment, look the project up in the DLD Project Status Enquiry, confirm that the account you are paying is the project's own escrow account, and turn the plan's percentages into dated amounts you can fund. Under Law No. 8 of 2007, off-plan payments must go into an escrow account in the project's name and may be used only to build that project. A plan's split shows how much you pay before and after handover, not when each payment falls due.
Steps
Find the project in the DLD Project Status Enquiry
Who: You, with your agent
Documents:
- Project name and developer
The DLD describes the service as showing a project's completion percentage and details. Note what it shows, and keep a dated screenshot.
Get the full dated schedule
Who: The developer
Documents:
- Payment schedule
- Draft sale and purchase agreement
Every plan has a booking or down payment, construction instalments, a handover payment and, on some plans, instalments after handover. Ask whether construction instalments are tied to dates or to milestones and who certifies the milestones, and how any post-handover instalments are secured and treated on resale.
Match the escrow account
Who: You
Documents:
- Developer's written escrow account details
- Developer payment instructions
Each project must have its own escrow account with a DLD-accredited escrow agent, and payments in it cannot be attached by the developer's creditors. If a developer borrows against the project, the lender must also pay the loan into that account. Pay only after you have asked the developer for the project's escrow account in writing, checked that your agreement names the same account, and confirmed with the escrow bank that it is the project's account.
Check the advert and the broker
Who: You
Documents:
- Advert permit or QR code
- Broker's DLD e-card
A developer may not advertise off-plan units without written DLD permission, and licensed adverts carry a permit you can check. Under the implementing bylaw of Law No. 13 of 2008 (Executive Council Resolution No. 6 of 2010), a broker selling off-plan must pay the sale proceeds into the project escrow account and may not hold them or take commission out of them first; an off-plan sale made before the project is approved and registered with the DLD is void.
Sign and register in Oqood
Who: You, the developer and the DLD
Documents:
- Signed sale and purchase agreement
- Passport
Oqood registration of an off-plan sale is listed by the DLD as 2% of the sale value from the purchaser and 2% from the seller, and the contract must be registered within 90 days of signing. Keep the Oqood certificate: it is your record of the registered sale until the title deed is issued after handover.
Fund the handover payment
Who: You, with your bank
Documents:
- Bank pre-approval, if borrowing
Write down the handover amount and where it will come from. If you plan to borrow, check the off-plan loan-to-value limits in our mortgage guide well before the due date.
Costs and fees
| Cost | Amount |
|---|---|
| Oqood registration, purchaser share as listed by the DLD | 2% |
| Oqood registration, seller share as listed by the DLD | 2% |
Source: dubailand.gov.ae. Data as of .
The four parts of a payment plan
| Part | What to ask |
|---|---|
| Booking or down payment | How much, what it secures, and whether it is refundable before the agreement is signed |
| Construction instalments | Are they tied to dates or to milestones, and who certifies each milestone? |
| Handover payment | How much, and how will you fund it? |
| Post-handover instalments, if offered | How are they secured, and what happens if you sell? |
Eagle Star checklist; legal points from Law No. 8 of 2007 and the DLD Oqood service page
Deadlines
| Stage | Time |
|---|---|
| Register the sale in Oqood after signing | 90 days |
| DLD notice to a buyer in default before the developer may act | 30 days |
| Escrow retention after the completion certificate, from registration of units in buyers' names | 1 year |
Figures as of ; sources: dubailand.gov.ae, dlp.dubai.gov.ae.
Documents checklist
- DLD Project Status Enquiry result
- Dated payment schedule
- Draft sale and purchase agreement
- Advert permit and broker e-card
- Oqood certificate after signing
Common mistakes
- Paying a booking amount to a broker's or personal account.
- Reading a split as a schedule.
- Budgeting the full transfer fee instead of the purchaser's listed Oqood share, or forgetting developer admin charges: ask for them in writing.
- Leaving the handover payment unfunded in the hope of a resale.
Frequently asked questions
What is an escrow account in Dubai off-plan property?
It is a bank account opened in the project's name with a DLD-accredited escrow agent, into which off-plan buyers' payments must be made. Under Law No. 8 of 2007 the money may be used only to build that project, and the developer's creditors cannot attach it.
How do I check a project's escrow account?
Get the account details from the developer in writing, check that your sale and purchase agreement names the same account, and confirm with the escrow bank that it is held in the project's name. The DLD Project Status Enquiry shows the project's completion percentage and details, which you should check at the same time.
What happens to escrow money after completion?
The escrow agent holds back 5% of the account for 1 year from registration of the units in buyers' names, and the rest is released under the escrow rules.
Can a developer cancel my off-plan contract if I miss a payment?
Not straight away. The DLD first gives you 30 days written notice and may mediate; after that, what the developer may do depends on project completion under Law No. 19 of 2020: above 80%, keep the contract and claim the balance, ask the DLD to auction the unit, or terminate and keep up to 40% of the unit value; from 60% to 80%, terminate and keep up to 40%; below 60%, once works have started, terminate and keep up to 25%; if works never started for reasons beyond the developer's control, all payments are refunded.
Is a post-handover payment plan safe?
It can be, but the law's escrow protection is built around construction payments. Read how post-handover instalments are secured, whether the title deed is issued before they are paid, and what happens on resale.