Checking a developer before you pay.

Why this step matters so much

When you buy off-plan, the building does not exist yet. What you are really assessing is a developer's ability to deliver a quality project on schedule, and the legal framework around your payments.

Dubai has built a clear framework for this. Law No. 8 of 2007 requires buyers' payments to go into the project's escrow account, released to the developer according to construction progress under RERA oversight. Your job, and mine, is to confirm that the project you are looking at sits properly within that framework. It takes a little time and saves a great deal of it later.

Registration with the DLD and RERA

The developer and the project must be registered with the Dubai Land Department and RERA, its regulatory arm. A registered project has an official project number, and its details can be checked through official channels.

I ask for the project's registration details and cross-check them against the official sources. The name of the project, its location and the developer's identity should match exactly across the brochure, the reservation form and the official record.

The escrow account

Every registered off-plan project has an escrow account opened for it. All your payments, from the first deposit to the final instalment, go into that account, never to a personal account and never to an intermediary.

Before paying, check that the account details on your payment instructions are the project's escrow account, and keep every transfer receipt. If anything on a payment request looks unusual, pause and verify it with the developer through its official contact details. A short delay is always better than a payment to the wrong place. My guide on paying for a Dubai property from abroad covers this step.

Dubai REST and Oqood

Dubai REST is the official app of the Dubai Land Department. It lets you access property and project information through official channels, and owners use it to follow their assets. I encourage clients to use it so that they can see the official picture with their own eyes.

Once your purchase is made, it is recorded in Oqood, the interim register for off-plan sales. This registration protects your rights before handover. Ask for confirmation of the Oqood registration and keep it with your contract. The Dubai Land Department fee of 4% of the price, plus administrative fees, is paid at this stage.

The developer's track record

Registration tells you that a project is properly set up. Track record tells you how the developer works. I look at buildings the developer has already delivered: the finish, the common areas, how the building is maintained a few years on, and whether handovers have broadly followed the announced schedule.

Where possible, I visit delivered buildings and speak with people who live or manage property there. For clients abroad, I share photos and videos so that they can judge for themselves. This qualitative view is often the most telling part of the analysis.

Reading the sale and purchase agreement

The sale and purchase agreement (SPA) is the contract that binds you to the developer. It is usually signed electronically, and you should read it in full before signing. These are the clauses I go through with every client.

• The exact unit: number, floor, area, layout and specification
• The payment plan: amounts, dates and construction milestones
• The expected completion date and how delays are handled
• Handover conditions and the snagging inspection
• The process and conditions for reselling before completion
• What happens in case of late payment, on both sides
• Service charges and how they are set, by reference to RERA

Points to check, from abroad

Being in London, Montreal or Casablanca does not prevent you from running these checks. Most of them rely on official documents and channels that can be consulted remotely. What matters is to do them in the right order, before the first payment.

I also recommend reading every document yourself, even when an adviser has already reviewed it. You know your own plans best: your timeline for handover, how you intend to rent, whether you might resell before completion. A clause that looks neutral to someone else may matter a great deal to you.

Finally, keep a single folder for the project: the brochure, the registration details, the reservation form, the SPA, the Oqood confirmation and every payment receipt. It is the file you will need at handover, for your bank and tax adviser at home, and when you resell. My guide to the handover of an off-plan property explains the last stage.

A clear file before any commitment

My rule is simple: no reservation until the checks above are done and the answers are in writing. It is the same standard I would apply to my own money.

Book a free 30-minute call and we can review a project you are considering, or start from your goal and select one together. For the wider context, read buying off-plan in Dubai and my guide to the off-plan payment plan.