Real Estate
An off-plan purchase is the one property transaction where you pay for years before you can stand inside what you bought. So when the handover date passes, the site goes quiet, or a message arrives saying the project has been cancelled, the question is always the same: what happens to the money already paid?
In Dubai the answer depends on which of three situations you are actually in, and the law treats each one very differently. This guide sets out all three, and the point at which it is worth speaking to a real estate lawyer in Dubai.
First, work out which situation you are in
Before anything else, establish the facts. Is the project late but still active? Has RERA cancelled it? Or is the developer saying that you are the one in breach? Two checks usually answer that: the project's registration and status at the Dubai Land Department, and whether your payments went into the project's escrow account under Law No. 8 of 2007 rather than directly to the developer.
If RERA has cancelled the project
This is the clearest position in the law. Where a project is cancelled by a final reasoned decision of RERA, the developer must refund all payments made by purchasers, following the escrow procedures in Law No. 8 of 2007. The same applies where the developer never started work for a reason outside its control and without negligence on its part.
Cancelled and stalled projects are then handled by the Special Tribunal for Unfinished and Cancelled Real Property Projects, now governed by Decree No. 33 of 2020 and based at the Land Department. It liquidates cancelled projects and settles the rights attached to them, determines what purchasers and investors in unfinished projects are owed, and can decide that a different developer will complete a stalled project. It covers projects in Dubai outside the DIFC.
If the project is late but still alive
There is no automatic right to a refund simply because a project is behind schedule. What you can do comes from your sale and purchase agreement: the anticipated completion date, any grace period the developer reserved, what the contract says happens on delay, and whether any of that has actually been triggered yet. Our off-plan SPA checklist explains which clauses to read.
The mistake to avoid is stopping your own instalments in protest. That turns you from the party with a complaint into the party in breach, and opens the procedure described next. Where a delay is serious, the stronger routes are a documented complaint to the developer and RERA, a negotiated exit or extension, or a claim — decided with advice rather than in frustration.
If the developer says you are in breach
Law No. 13 of 2008, as amended by Law No. 19 of 2020, gives developers a route that does not pass through the courts. The developer notifies the Land Department; the Land Department serves you a 30-day notice to perform and may try to mediate a settlement; if that period ends without performance or agreement, it issues a document certifying the project's percentage of completion. What the developer may then do depends on that percentage:
More than 80% complete: keep the contract alive, retain everything you have paid and claim the balance; or ask the Land Department to sell the unit at public auction to recover what is owed; or terminate and retain up to 40% of the unit's value under the agreement.
Between 60% and 80%: terminate and retain up to 40% of the unit's value.
Below 60%, where construction has genuinely started: terminate and retain up to 25% of the unit's value.
Anything above what the developer is entitled to keep must be refunded within one year of termination, or within 60 days of a resale of the unit, whichever comes first. Note the wording: those percentages are of the unit's value stated in the contract, not of what you have paid so far, which is why the figures are often larger than buyers expect. The rules are treated as part of public order, and they do not prevent you going to court or arbitration. A real estate lawyer in Dubai will check that each step was followed properly and that the certified completion percentage matches reality, because both are open to challenge.
What to gather before you take advice
The signed SPA and every addendum
Payment receipts and the escrow account details
The Oqood or interim registration certificate
Every notice, email and message exchanged with the developer
Any RERA or Land Department correspondence
From these documents alone a real estate lawyer in Dubai can usually tell you which of the three situations applies, what recovery is realistic, and what to do first. If you hold several units, our guide to real estate investment law in Dubai covers the structuring questions that follow.
How MAX Legal Consultancy helps
Real estate law in Dubai is a core part of our practice, and off-plan disputes are among the matters our real estate lawyers in Dubai handle most often for buyers and investors. We read the SPA and the payment record, verify the project's status and escrow position with the Land Department, tell you plainly which position you are in and what it is realistically worth, and then act: a documented demand to the developer, a complaint to RERA, a negotiated settlement, or a claim before the Tribunal or the courts.
MAX Legal Consultancy FZ LLE is a licensed legal consultancy based at the Dubai Supreme Court Complex. Where a matter requires representation in court, we work alongside UAE-licensed advocates so the preparation and the advocacy stay aligned, and you know the fee before any work starts. See how we handle buyer and developer disputes, read what a lawyer checks before you buy property in Dubai, or browse the property questions in our legal FAQ.
Speak to a real estate lawyer in Dubai
Send us the SPA, the payment record and the latest message from the developer, and we will tell you where you stand and what we recommend. Message MAX Legal Consultancy on WhatsApp, call +971 52 213 5555, or contact us.
This article is general information about off-plan property in Dubai, current at the date of publication. It is not legal advice for your specific situation.
