Dubai Off-Plan Due Diligence: The 15-Point Developer Checklist

Why the Stakes Are High

Suppose you commit $500,000 to an off-plan unit with a 2028 handover. Your capital is now locked in a two-year construction window with a developer you know largely through a sales brochure. If that developer stalls, the legal and practical process of recovering funds, even through Dubai's escrow protections, takes time, legal fees, and nerve. Getting the due diligence right before signing costs nothing. Getting it wrong costs everything.

Step 1: Confirm RERA Registration

The Dubai Land Department's Real Estate Regulatory Agency registers all legitimate developers. Check the developer's registration number directly on the DLD portal. If it is absent or expired, stop.

Step 2: Verify the Escrow Account

Dubai law requires developers to hold buyer payments in a project-specific escrow account, released in stages tied to construction milestones. Ask for the escrow bank name and account number. Confirm it independently with the bank if possible.

Step 3: Check Project Registration

Every legitimate project has a DLD registration number (the Oqood system). Demand it. Without it, your purchase agreement has no legal standing.

Step 4: Review the Developer's Track Record

How many projects have they completed? Were they delivered on time? Completed projects are verifiable through DLD records. A developer with no completed projects is a different risk category than one with ten.

Step 5: Inspect Previous Handover Quality

If the developer has delivered units before, visit one. Speak to owners. Build quality, snagging resolution, and post-handover service are all visible in existing stock.

Step 6: Scrutinise the Payment Plan

Suppose that same $500,000 unit offers a 60/40 plan: $300,000 during construction, $200,000 on handover. Map every instalment against the stated construction milestones. Front-loaded plans that demand large payments early, before verified construction progress, favour the developer, not the buyer.

Step 7: Read the SPA in Full

The Sales and Purchase Agreement is the legal document. The brochure is not. Verify that the unit size, specification, handover date, and penalty clauses for developer delay all appear in the SPA, not merely in marketing materials.

Step 8: Understand the Delay Penalty Mechanism

Dubai's RERA framework includes compensation provisions for significant developer delays. Know what yours are before you sign, not after the project runs six months late.

Step 9: Check the Project's Construction Financing

Is the project bank-financed? A development backed by institutional construction finance is structurally less likely to stall than one dependent entirely on buyer instalments.

Step 10: Confirm Freehold Eligibility

If you are a foreign national, confirm the project sits within a designated freehold zone. Freehold status must be explicitly stated in the SPA, not assumed from the area's general reputation.

Step 11: Clarify the Service Charge Estimate

Developers are required to provide a projected annual service charge. This is an ongoing cost that affects net yield. Get it in writing.

Step 12: Understand the Finishing Specification

"Fully furnished" and "fitted kitchen" mean different things to different developers. The SPA's schedule of fixtures and fittings is the binding document.

Step 13: Verify the Handover Quarter

Never rely on verbal assurances. The handover date in the SPA is the only date that carries legal weight. Note the exact quarter and year.

Step 14: Check for any Outstanding Violations

The DLD portal allows checks on developer compliance history. Outstanding regulatory violations against the developer or its principals are a credible warning sign.

Step 15: Engage an Independent Solicitor

A Dubai-licensed property solicitor reviewing the SPA before signature is the single most cost-effective thing a buyer can do. Their fee is trivial against the contract value.

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