How does Dubai's off-plan escrow account work?

Money paid by buyers of off-plan homes in Dubai goes into the project's escrow account, a bank account opened in the project's name, according to Dubai Land Department's FAQ (read 12 October 2026). The FAQ says money leaves that account only for the project's contractors, consultants and marketing, stage by stage, after the account trustee's engineer has checked the site.

Off-plan means sold before the building is finished. DLD is the Dubai Land Department; RERA is its Real Estate Regulatory Agency.

What is the escrow account?

DLD's FAQ describes the real estate escrow account as the bank account of a real estate project, into which buyers of off-plan units and the project's financiers pay. It says the account aims to regulate construction of units sold off-plan, "guaranteeing investors' rights".

The FAQ says the escrow account law applies to every real estate developer in Dubai that sells units off-plan and receives payments from buyers or financiers. It says the account must be opened in the name of the project and used only to develop that project. It adds that the money in it may not be held back in favour of the developer's creditors.

What is paid into it?

According to the FAQ, read 12 October 2026:

• all amounts received from buyers of units sold off-plan, including money received from the parties that entered into a mortgage with them;
• the financing for developing the project.

The FAQ says a developer that sold units before opening the account must pay into it all the money already received from buyers.

Who holds the account?

The FAQ says an account trustee manages it: a bank or financial institution licensed by the Central Bank of the UAE to take third-party deposits, operating in Dubai and approved by RERA. It says a written agreement with RERA sets the terms under which the trustee manages escrow accounts. The FAQ says the same bank may also finance the project.

DLD publishes a list of approved escrow account trustees. The plain download of that list showed 30 records, each with a name, phone, fax and website (page read 12 October 2026).

When can the developer take money out?

The FAQ says the agreement between the developer and the trustee sets out the main construction stages that must be finished on site before money is released. The developer's project manager tells the trustee when a stage is done and asks for payment to the service providers. The trustee's engineer visits the site, and once the stage is confirmed the trustee pays.

On what the money may pay for, the FAQ says payments go only to the project's contractors, consultants and marketing, and that not every expense of the developer qualifies. It gives one limit: only 5% of total sales may be paid out for marketing (FAQ read 12 October 2026).

Is anything held back after completion?

Yes. DLD's FAQ says the escrow account law requires 5% of the total paid into the account to be retained for one year after the project is completed (FAQ read 12 October 2026). It describes this as a guarantee that the developer or contractor fixes defects found on completion or appearing within one year of handover. The FAQ says the law took effect on 28 June 2007, when it was published in the official newspaper.

Two DLD service pages, read 12 October 2026, cover the end of the process:

• Receive a payment from the project's escrow account: for completed projects only, after a no-objection letter from the jointly owned property management;
• Approval to close the project escrow account: it needs a no-objection letter from the management company and a completion certificate, and the developer must have no outstanding financial obligations towards the project.

How can a buyer see the account?

DLD's page about the Dubai REST app says off-plan buyers can see a project's escrow account number, its completion percentage, actual pictures and the payments due (page read 12 October 2026). DLD's Project Status Enquiry finds a project by land number, project number or project name.

The FAQ says payment schedules follow completion rates. When a developer asks for a payment, it says, the investor has the right to know the project's completion percentage through a letter from the project consultant approved by DLD. Otherwise the investor is not obliged to pay, unless it is confirmed that the agreed stage has been reached.

Does the escrow account guarantee a refund?

None of the DLD pages read on 12 October 2026 says that an escrow account returns every payment in full. For a cancelled project, the FAQ says the liquidation section takes the money from the escrow account and distributes it to the beneficiaries "either in full or in proportion, depending on the amount available in the account".

The FAQ also says RERA may exempt some projects from opening an escrow account, in particular projects already far along with no problems for the project or its investors. It says that exemption is for RERA to grant.

Keyva's own pages

Keyva's project pages show a project's status, target completion and escrow account as the developer recorded them on the Land Department's project register, with the date of that file. They say that an escrow account on the record is not an assurance about the project.

Keyva is independent and is not part of, or endorsed by, the Dubai Land Department.

Prepared 12 October 2026 from pages read that day.