Buyer Guides · Due Diligence

How to Verify a Developer and Its Escrow Account Before Paying a Deposit

The short answer: Before any off-plan payment in Dubai: (1) find the project in the DLD project directory (Dubai REST app / dubailand.gov.ae) and confirm it is registered with a completion status; (2) confirm the RERA-supervised escrow account — mandatory under Law No. 8 of 2007 — and check the account named in your sale agreement matches it; (3) pay only into that escrow account. If any of the three fails, walk away.

Off-plan protection in Dubai is structural, not promised — but only if the money actually enters the structure.

Updated 4 Jul 2026 · Regulatory figures per Dubai Land Department and UAE Central Bank published rules — always confirm current schedules

Step 1 — verify the project, not the brochure

Every legitimate Dubai off-plan project is registered with the Dubai Land Department and appears in its public project directory with a registration number and an inspected completion percentage. Search the exact project name on the Dubai REST app. Not listed means not registered — and not registered means no escrow supervision over your money.

Step 2 — verify the escrow account

Dubai's Law No. 8 of 2007 requires developers to collect off-plan payments into a dedicated escrow account per project, supervised by RERA and released against construction milestones. Your sale agreement must name that account. Match the name and number against the project's DLD registration before transferring anything.

Step 3 — route every dirham through it

Pay into the named escrow account only. Booking fees "to reserve the unit" into other accounts are where losses happen.
Get the Oqood. Your purchase should be registered with DLD as an Oqood; ask for the certificate.
Compare payments to progress. DLD publishes completion percentages — a payment schedule far ahead of inspected construction is a risk you should consciously price, not discover.

The red flags, plainly

Requests to pay a personal or unrelated company account; a project absent from the DLD directory; "limited-time" pressure to pay before documents are produced; agents offering to hold deposits themselves. Any one of these ends the conversation — there is always another unit.

Ras Al Khaimah

RAK's off-plan market — including the Al Marjan and Hayat Island corridor — is regulated through RAK Municipality, with escrow requirements for registered projects. The corridor's roster is institutional (RAK Properties, Aldar, branded operators), which helps, but the discipline does not change: registration first, escrow named in the agreement, money only into it.

Questions buyers ask

How do I check if a developer is RERA-registered?

Look the developer and the specific project up in the Dubai Land Department's project directory on the Dubai REST app or dubailand.gov.ae. A legitimate Dubai off-plan project shows its registration, its completion percentage and its escrow details there.

What is an escrow account and why does it matter?

Under Dubai's Law No. 8 of 2007, every off-plan project must collect buyer payments into a dedicated, RERA-supervised escrow account, released to the developer only against construction progress. It is the single structural protection off-plan buyers have — which is why you never pay outside it.

How do I verify the escrow account before paying?

The escrow account name and number must appear in your sale agreement and match the project's DLD registration. Pay only by transfer into that named account — never to a personal account, a general company account, or an agent 'holding' the money.

How can I check construction progress on an off-plan project?

DLD publishes project status including inspected completion percentages. Compare the published percentage with the payment schedule you are being asked to follow — payments running far ahead of construction is a risk you should price.

Does RAK have the same escrow protection?

Ras Al Khaimah regulates its own off-plan market through RAK Municipality, with escrow requirements for registered projects. The verification discipline is identical: confirm the project's registration and pay only into the escrow account named in your agreement.