Sadat HMReal Estate Investment Intelligence
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Before paying a Dubai booking amount: check the developer and project on DLD’s Project Status Enquiry, pay only the escrow account, get Oqood registration, check construction progress, read the SPA, verify the title deed, and confirm the broker’s licence and ad permit.
Dubai has strong buyer protection on paper: escrow accounts, official registration and project tracking. It only protects you if you use it. Do these checks before you pay any booking amount, especially for off-plan.
Why: Dubai law requires a developer to be registered before selling off-plan.
Open the Dubai Land Department (DLD) Project Status Enquiry (in the Dubai REST app, under Mashrooi). Search the project. It shows the developer, completion status, inspections and escrow details. No record means no booking.
Why: Off-plan payments must go into a bank escrow account for that one project (Law No. 8 of 2007), used only to build it.
Match the account number on your payment request with the escrow details in the Project Status Enquiry. Never pay an agent, a personal account or an account in another company’s name.
Why: For off-plan, DLD records your purchase in the interim register (Oqood) before the title deed exists. Under Law No. 13 of 2008 a sale must be registered there to be valid.
Ask when the Oqood registration will be done and who pays the 4% DLD fee. Get the Oqood certificate in your name.
Why: About half of the homes due in 2026 have slipped to 2027 or later.
Check the completion percentage and last inspection in the Project Status Enquiry. Compare it with the handover date in the sale agreement, and ask what happens if it is late.
Why: The SPA decides your rights if anything goes wrong.
Read: the completion date and delay terms, what happens if you miss a payment (forfeiture), the allowed change in unit size, service charges, and any resale limits. Have a UAE lawyer read it for large amounts.
Why: You must know the seller owns it and there is no loan or unpaid charge on it.
Ask for the title deed and verify it with DLD (the Dubai REST app has a title deed check). Ask for the developer’s NOC confirming service charges are paid. A mortgaged home needs the bank’s release.
Why: In Dubai only licensed brokers may advertise property, and each ad needs a DLD permit (Trakheesi).
Ask for the broker’s registration card (BRN) and the brokerage’s office registration number (ORN). Real Dubai property ads carry a permit number or QR code.
Why: For Indians living in India, the route and limits are set by the RBI.
Read the money rules for Indians. Get your bank’s written confirmation for every instalment before you book.
Use the Dubai Land Department’s Project Status Enquiry in the Dubai REST app (Mashrooi). It shows the developer, completion status, inspection details and the escrow account.
Only into the project’s escrow account, which is dedicated to building that project under Law No. 8 of 2007. Never into an agent’s or a personal account.
Oqood is the Dubai Land Department’s interim register for off-plan sales. It records your purchase before the title deed is issued.
General information, not legal, tax or investment advice. Rules and figures change; check with your bank and a chartered accountant before sending money. Dubai purchases are handled through a Dubai-licensed brokerage I work with, and I may receive a referral fee. I am a TS-RERA registered agent in Telangana (A02200001905); how I am paid.
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