Part IV — Off-Plan & Developers
The Interim Register (Oqood) & Off-Plan Buyer Protection
How an off-plan unit is registered before it exists — the Interim Property Register (Oqood), the rule that unregistered off-plan deals are void, the four-tier purchaser-default cascade under the amended Article 11, and area-variance protection.
An off-plan unit cannot go on the main Property Register — there is nothing built to register. So Dubai created a parallel record: the Interim Property Register, known in practice as Oqood. Law No. 13 of 2008 governs it, and it is the off-plan counterpart to everything you learned in Chapter 4.
The Interim Property Register is the record kept by DLD in which sale contracts, off-plan sales, and other off-plan dispositions are registered before the property is included in the main Property Register (Law No. 13 of 2008, Art. 2). The registration process is commonly called Oqood. When the project completes, the unit migrates to the main Property Register and a title deed is issued.
The golden rule, off-plan edition
Article 3: any disposition of an off-plan unit must be entered in the Interim Property Register — and any sale or disposition that transfers or restricts ownership is void unless entered in that register. This mirrors the main-register rule (Chapter 4): off-plan too, no registration = no valid transfer. Off-plan units already on the Interim Register can themselves be sold, mortgaged or otherwise disposed of (Art. 6) — this is the legal basis for legitimate off-plan resale (“flipping”).
Guardrails on the developer
The law hems the developer in at every step:
- No project without land and approvals (Art. 4): a master or sub-developer may not start a project or sell units off-plan before taking possession of the land and obtaining the required approvals. DLD marks the entry “under development.”
- Only approved projects (Art. 10): no developer or broker may enter an off-plan sale contract for a project not approved by the competent entities — any such contract is null and void.
- Use a certified broker, register the contract (Art. 9): to market through a broker, the developer must use a certified broker (Bylaw 85/2006) and register the brokerage contract with DLD (you saw this in Chapter 6).
- No hidden resale fees (Art. 7): developers may not charge fees on the sale/resale of units beyond the administrative costs DLD approves.
- Register completed units (Art. 8): on receiving the completion certificate, developers must enter completed projects — and the sold units in the purchasers’ names — in the main Property Register.
What happens when the buyer defaults
This is the most misunderstood provision in Dubai off-plan practice, and the one most likely to appear on the exam. Article 11 of Law 13/2008 was replaced in its entirety by Law No. 9 of 2009. There is no single “cancellation cap” — what the developer may keep depends on how far the project has progressed.
If a purchaser breaches the off-plan sale contract, the developer must notify DLD, and DLD gives the purchaser thirty (30) days’ notice — in person, by registered mail or by email — to perform (Art. 11(1) as amended). Only once that period expires without performance does the cascade below apply.
| Project completion | What the developer may do |
|---|---|
| 80% or more complete | Retain all payments made and claim the balance of the contract value from the purchaser. If unpaid, the developer may request sale of the property by public auction to recover it. |
| 60% or more complete | Terminate and retain a maximum of 40% of the value of the unit stated in the contract. |
| Construction started, below 60% | Terminate and retain a maximum of 25% of the value of the unit stated in the contract. |
| Construction never started, for reasons beyond the developer’s control and without negligence | Terminate and retain a maximum of 30% of the payments made by the purchaser. |
Trap 1: “the developer can never keep everything” is false. At 80%+ completion the developer may retain all payments and still pursue the balance. Any revision guide that tells you to reject an option because it sounds absolute will cost you this question.
Trap 2: the base changes between tiers. The 40% and 25% tiers are percentages of the value of the unit stated in the contract. The 30% tier is a percentage of the payments the purchaser actually made. These are very different amounts, and swapping them is a favourite distractor.
Three further rules complete the picture:
- Refund timing (Art. 11(4)): in the 60% and sub-60% tiers, the developer must return any amount owed to the purchaser within one year of termination, or within 60 days of reselling the unit — whichever comes first.
- RERA can cancel the whole project (Art. 11(5)): on a reasoned report, RERA may revoke the development entirely, in which case the developer must return all payments to purchasers under the escrow procedure in Law 8/2007 (Chapter 9).
- It applies retrospectively (Art. 11(7)): the amended Article applies to all contracts concluded before the 2009 Law came into force. The 12 April 2009 amendment did not grandfather older contracts.
⚠️ Article 11 does not govern plain land sales. Under Art. 11(6), contracts for land not disposed of by off-plan sale are governed by the terms the parties agreed, not by this cascade.
The other buyer protections
- Area variance (Art. 12): the sold unit’s stated area is deemed correct. If the delivered area is larger, the developer cannot charge more; if it is smaller, the developer must compensate the purchaser (unless the shortfall is inconsequential). The risk of measurement sits with the developer.
- Enforcement (Art. 13): if a developer or broker breaches the law, the Director General prepares a report and refers the matter for investigation.
- Cheque disputes have their own tribunal. Decree No. 56 of 2009 established a Special Tribunal for the Settlement of Cheque Disputes Relating to Real Estate Transactions — relevant because off-plan payment plans are so often secured by post-dated cheques.
Resale vs off-plan — the register map
| Stage | Which register | Governing law |
|---|---|---|
| Off-plan sale, project under construction | Interim Property Register (Oqood) | Law 13/2008 (+ escrow, Law 8/2007) |
| Project completed, title issued | Property Register, new title deed | Law 7/2006 |
| Later resale of the completed unit | Property Register (trustee transfer) | Law 7/2006 |
The broker’s off-plan checklist
Before you market or sell an off-plan unit, confirm: the developer is registered, the project is approved and marked under development, there is a RERA-accredited escrow account, your brokerage contract is registered, and any off-plan resale is entered in the Interim Register. Every one of these has a specific article behind it — and skipping any can render the deal void.
Off-plan headline facts: register is the Interim Property Register (Oqood); unregistered off-plan transfers are void; contracts on unapproved projects are null and void; area shortfall → developer compensates, surplus → no extra charge. On purchaser default, do not memorise a single percentage — memorise the ladder: 80% → keep everything and claim the balance · 60% → 40% of unit value · started but under 60% → 25% of unit value · never started → 30% of payments made. Pair this with escrow (Ch 9) and you own Part IV. Next: tenancy and management.