How to check a Dubai developer and project: RERA, escrow, permits and a buyer's checklist

Dubai has one of the more developed buyer-protection frameworks for off-plan property, and it is built on public registers that anyone can search. The weak point is the buyer who never opens them. Most of the checks below take minutes on a phone and can be done from Poland before any money moves. This guide sets out what to check on the developer, the project, the advertisement and the broker, how money and paperwork should flow, what to watch for on resale and with a power of attorney, and what to do if something goes wrong. It complements the off-plan purchase checklist, off-plan investment risks and the general piece on how to verify a developer abroad.

Most of what follows comes from Dubai Land Department (DLD) announcements and from law-firm and portal explainers, not from a reading of the statutes. Rules and fees change, so confirm the current position with the DLD or a licensed Dubai lawyer before you pay.

The two bodies to know

The Dubai Land Department registers property and runs the services. RERA, the Real Estate Regulatory Agency, is its regulatory arm: it licenses developers and brokers, regulates off-plan sales and oversees escrow accounts. Almost every check below is a lookup in a DLD or RERA system, either on the DLD website or in the Dubai REST app.

Step 1: the developer

• Is it a licensed developer, registered with RERA and the DLD, with a valid trade licence? A registered developer appears in the DLD records. If the seller cannot or will not show the registration, stop.
• Is the legal entity selling the unit the one that holds the land and the escrow account? A well-known brand name on the brochure can sit above a separate project company. Ask for the name of the entity on the sale agreement and match it to the register.
• What is the record? The DLD project register is reported to show each developer's active and completed projects with the handover date first announced and the actual one. Compare them. Delays are common enough in Dubai that this is worth ten minutes: one broker analysis of 2020 to 2025 projects found wide differences between developers and a higher delay risk for first-time developers, but it is a single secondary source, so use it as a reason to look, not as a ranking.
• What else is the developer building at the moment? A developer that has launched many projects at once and has little finished is a different risk from one that delivers steadily. Local press reports of delays and regulator fines are a legitimate source.

Step 2: the project and the escrow account

Under Dubai Law No. 8 of 2007 on escrow accounts, a developer that wants to sell off-plan must open an escrow account approved by the DLD, and buyers' payments go into that account, not to the developer's own. As summarised by law firms and portals, the money is released against construction milestones certified by an engineer, and 5% is retained for a year after the units are registered in the buyers' names, to cover defects. The DLD has fined developers for escrow violations.

What to do in practice:

• Find the project in the Dubai REST app or on the DLD site. The project-status service (Mashrooi) is reported to show the registered developer, the completion percentage, inspection reports and photos, the projected completion date and the escrow account details.
• Match the escrow account name and number in the sale agreement and payment instructions to the one in the register. They must be the same.
• Read the payment plan as a map of risk. It should be tied to construction milestones. A buyer may seek to terminate under Executive Council Resolution No. 6 of 2010 if the developer refuses to link payments to construction progress or materially departs from the agreed specification, according to legal summaries.
• Read the handover date and what happens if it is missed. The contract should state both.

Step 3: the advertisement and the broker

Every property advertisement in Dubai needs a permit issued through the Trakheesi system, usually after the owner signs a marketing agreement (Form A) with a licensed broker. Since 24 April 2023 the ad also has to carry a QR code, called Madmoun, which opens the DLD record for that ad, so you can confirm the listing is approved and not already sold or rented. An advertiser without a permit number has been reported to face a fine of AED 50,000.

• Scan the QR code or enter the permit number on the DLD site before you reply to an ad. A listing priced far below the market for a building that looks real is the commonest bait.
• Ask the agent for the Broker Registration Number (BRN) and the brokerage's Office Registration Number (ORN). Search the BRN in the DLD broker list or the Dubai REST app: it is reported to show licence status, the firm and the permit expiry. An agent who cannot give a BRN is operating outside the register.
• The agent's commission is usually about 2% plus 5% VAT in the resale market. Agree who pays it in writing. An agent who asks for a payment outside the normal channels is a red flag.

Step 4: contract, money and Oqood

The usual order for an off-plan purchase is a reservation, then the sale and purchase agreement (SPA), then registration of your interest in the DLD's Oqood system, then construction-linked instalments, then handover and the title deed. The 4% DLD fee is paid on Oqood registration and the registration is reported to follow within one to four weeks of the SPA. Your Oqood certificate is the proof that your contract is registered.

• Pay only to the escrow account named in the SPA and the register. Never to a personal account, a cash handover or a link sent in a chat.
• Do not sign before you have read the whole SPA, including cancellation, delay and penalty clauses. Developer cancellation clauses are one-sided in many contracts: ask a lawyer to read yours.
• Get a receipt for every payment and keep the bank confirmation.
• Check that the unit number, floor, area and price on the Oqood certificate match the SPA.
• "Guaranteed rental returns" are a marketing promise, not a regulated product. See the catch in guaranteed rental schemes.

For the Polish side of paying (proof of funds, bank questions, reporting) see sending money abroad for a property purchase.

Step 5: buying or selling an off-plan contract (resale)

You can often sell an off-plan contract before handover, but the developer decides when. Many developers require a share of the price to be paid first: one summary quotes 30% to 40%, with differences between developers. They also charge a No Objection Certificate (NOC) fee, quoted at AED 500 to about 5,000. If you are buying someone else's contract, ask for the developer's written NOC, the payment statement showing what has been paid, and confirmation that no service charges or penalties are outstanding. The seller's name must match the name on the Oqood record. Do not pay a deposit to a seller who cannot show the NOC process.

Step 6: power of attorney

If you cannot travel, a power of attorney (POA) lets someone sign for you, and it is also where serious fraud happens. For the DLD it has to be notarised in the UAE or notarised in the country where you sign it and then legalised through the foreign ministry and the UAE embassy, with a certified Arabic translation. Reports put the chain at three to six weeks.

• Give a special POA for one named transaction, not a general one. A general POA is the instrument behind the reported frauds: an unauthorised resale, a mortgage taken out against your title, or a forged document used by someone claiming to represent an overseas owner.
• Give an expiry date that covers the deal and no more. Trustee offices may refuse an old POA even if it states no end date.
• Name a person you can check: a lawyer, not an anonymous "representative" supplied by the seller or the developer.
• Ask your lawyer whether you can complete the signing by video or at a trustee office instead.

If something goes wrong

• Put the problem to the developer in writing and keep the evidence: the SPA, payment receipts, messages and photos of the site.
• If that fails, complain to the DLD and RERA. Off-plan buyer disputes are reported to start with mediation at the DLD before court.
• A cancelled project has its own route. Under the Dubai laws on cancelled projects, RERA can cancel a project and a liquidator distributes the escrow balance among buyers in proportion to what they paid. One source puts refunds at six to 24 months.
• The Rental Dispute Centre (RDC) decides landlord-tenant disputes, not purchase disputes. Claims about ownership or against a developer go to the Dubai Courts after the DLD stage.
• Get a Dubai lawyer who is licensed to appear in the Dubai courts. Fees are a cost to weigh against the sum in dispute.

Common traps, without the scare statistics

• A listing copied from a real agency with the phone number changed, priced under the market.
• A "developer" or "agent" who wants a deposit to a personal or foreign account, or in crypto.
• A promised "guaranteed" return or buyback.
• A seller under pressure ("three other buyers are waiting") who will not let you check the register.
• A POA drafted by the counterparty.
• An unregistered or foreign-looking company name that does not appear in the DLD records.

The checklist

1. Identify the exact legal entity that will sign the SPA and find it in the DLD or RERA records. 2. Find the project in the Dubai REST app or on the DLD site and note the escrow account details and the completion percentage. 3. Compare the announced and the actual handover dates of the developer's earlier projects. 4. Scan the Madmoun QR code or enter the Trakheesi permit number for the ad. 5. Check the agent's BRN and the firm's ORN in the DLD broker list. 6. Read the whole SPA with a lawyer, including delay, cancellation and penalty clauses. 7. Confirm that the payment plan is tied to construction milestones. 8. Pay only to the escrow account named in the register, and keep every receipt. 9. Check the Oqood certificate against the SPA: unit, area, price, your name. 10. On a resale, get the developer's written NOC and a statement of what is paid. 11. If you use a POA, make it a special POA with an expiry date and a lawyer as the agent. 12. Keep copies of everything. If a dispute starts, put it in writing first.

We can walk you through these checks on a specific project, but we are not a law firm: the final check should be made by a licensed Dubai lawyer. For service charges and the yearly cost of holding a unit see Dubai service charges and ownership costs, and for the market overview see the UAE country page.