How do I check if an off-plan project is registered in Dubai?

Look the project up on the Dubai Land Department's Dubai REST app or website, which list registered developers and projects. A project being sold off-plan must be registered with the DLD and have its own escrow account.

Where should I pay my off-plan deposit?

Only into the project's escrow account, named in your sale and purchase agreement. Never pay a developer's operating account, an agent or anyone in cash.

The Dubai Land Department's register for off-plan sales. Once your booking is registered you get an Oqood certificate, which records your interest in the unit until the title deed is issued at completion.

What if the project is delayed?

Your SPA sets the expected completion date and what happens if it slips. Read those terms before you sign, and check the project's construction progress with the DLD before each instalment.

How do I check the agent selling the project?

Every agent in Dubai should have a RERA broker card with a BRN, which you can check on the Dubai REST app, and every advert should carry a DLD Trakheesi permit.

Guide Buying off-plan

How to check an off-plan project in Dubai

Dubai's rules protect off-plan buyers, but only if the project, the account and the paperwork are what they should be. The checks we run before a client pays anything.

Updated 20 October 2026 · 5 min read

In short

Dubai law requires an off-plan project to be registered with the Dubai Land Department and to have its own escrow account before units are sold.
Check the developer, the project and the agent on the DLD's Dubai REST app or website, and pay only into the escrow account named in your SPA.
After booking, the sale is registered on Oqood; ask for the certificate, and read the SPA's completion date and delay terms before you sign.

Seven checks before you pay

In the order we run them.

01The developer
Look the developer up on the DLD's Dubai REST app or website, and ask which of its projects have been handed over and how close to the promised date.
02The project's registration
An off-plan project must be registered with the Dubai Land Department before units can be sold. Find it by name on the DLD's channels.
03The escrow account
Each registered project has its own escrow account at a bank, under Law No. 8 of 2007. Its details should match the account named in your SPA.
04Construction progress
The DLD records how far each registered project has progressed. Check it before you buy, and again before each instalment.
05The SPA
Read the completion date, what happens if it slips, the payment schedule, the unit's area and specification, and the resale terms before you sign.
06Oqood registration
Once you've paid the booking amount, the sale is registered on Oqood. Ask for the certificate: it is your record of the purchase until the title deed.
07The agent
Check the agent's RERA broker card (BRN) on Dubai REST, and that any advert carries a DLD Trakheesi permit.

Walk away if you see

Being asked to pay into an account that isn't the project's escrow account
Cash payments, or payments to an agent or an individual
A project you can't find on the DLD's channels
No SPA, or pressure to pay before you've read it
Guaranteed returns or prices promised in writing by an agent

How the money is staged is in off-plan payment plans, and what happens at the end in handover and snagging. Still deciding? Compare off-plan and ready.

General guidance as of October 2026, not legal advice. These checks reduce risk but don't guarantee completion dates or returns; take legal advice on the SPA if you're unsure.

How to check an off-plan project in Dubai

In short

Seven checks before you pay

Walk away if you see

Questions off-plan buyers ask us.

Send us the project. We'll run the checks.