Field notes / payment plans / off-plan / escrow
How an off-plan payment plan works in Dubai
A construction-linked plan is a schedule of instalments tied to the building, not the calendar. What the percentages mean, where the money goes, and what to check before each one.
Drafted with the studio for Savio’s review
An off-plan payment plan is a schedule. You pay the developer in instalments while the building goes up, and the shape of that schedule tells you a lot about the project before you have read a single clause of the sale and purchase agreement.
The three common shapes
Developers in Dubai describe plans as two numbers: the share paid during construction and the share paid at handover. A 60/40 plan means 60% of the price is paid in instalments while the building is under construction and 40% on completion. 70/30 and 80/20 follow the same logic with more paid up front. A post-handover plan carries part of the price past completion, paid over a stated number of years while you already hold the keys.
None of these shapes is better in itself. A lower share during construction means less of your money is exposed while the building is a hole in the ground; a post-handover plan means you are financing the developer with the developer's own asset as the only security. The right shape depends on whether you are buying to live, to let or to resell, and on how long you can hold.
Construction-linked, not date-linked
The better plans tie each instalment to a construction milestone: the slab of a certain floor, structure complete, facade complete. The weaker plans tie instalments to dates. A date-linked plan asks you to pay on time whether or not the building is on time. A construction-linked plan asks the developer to show progress first. When you see a plan, ask which it is. If the answer is dates, ask why.
Where the money goes
Every off-plan project sold in Dubai must have a project escrow account under Law No. 8 of 2007. Your instalments go into that account, not to the developer's general funds, and the escrow agent releases money against certified construction progress. Before your first payment, confirm the escrow account number on the receipt matches the one registered for the project. The Dubai REST app shows a project's registration and escrow status.
The registration step
An off-plan sale is recorded in the interim real property register (Law No. 13 of 2008), which is what the Oqood certificate evidences. The Dubai Land Department fee for registering the purchase is 4% of the price, usually paid at booking alongside the deposit. A receipt from the developer is not the same as the Oqood certificate; ask for the certificate in your name.
What I check before each instalment
- The completion percentage the developer reports, against what a site visit shows.
- That the instalment falls due after the milestone it is tied to, not before.
- That the escrow account on the payment instruction has not changed.
- Closer to handover: the completion certificate, the snagging list, and when service charges start.
The Build Ledger on the home page draws an illustrative 60/40 plan storey by storey with these checks in the margin. It is a worked example, not a quote; your plan will differ.