How to Evaluate a Property Developer in Dubai

To evaluate a property developer in Dubai, start with the official registers, then look at evidence. Confirm on DLD’s services that the developer is licensed and that the specific project is registered, with an escrow account. Then look at the developer’s delivery record in DLD’s project data, the quality of communities it has finished, the fairness of its contract, and how its buildings are run after handover. This guide shows where to find each piece of evidence and what the red flags look like.

We do not rank or rate developers, and this guide names none. The method works for any developer and any project.

Start with the register: licensed developer list and Project Status

Two checks come before anything else, and both use DLD’s public services.

Is the developer licensed? Under Dubai Law No. 8 of 2007 on escrow accounts, no developer may carry on real estate development in Dubai unless it is entered in DLD’s Register of Real Estate Developers and licensed by the competent authorities. Search for the developer in DLD’s list of licensed developers, on the website or in the Dubai REST app. Make sure the legal name matches the name on the sales and purchase agreement (SPA), not just the brand name on the brochure.

Is the project registered? A licensed developer still needs each project approved and registered before it sells units. The interim register law says a developer may not sell off-plan before taking possession of the land and obtaining the required approvals, and the implementing bylaw makes an off-plan sale void if it is made before the project is approved and registered with DLD. Search the project in DLD's Project Status Enquiry (Mashrooi) on the DLD website and in the Dubai REST app. The results show the project number, status, completion, developer, escrow bank, inspection details and management company. If you cannot find the project, stop until you can.

Delivery track record: completed projects and handover against original dates

A developer’s past projects are strong evidence of how it may handle the next one. You can build a picture yourself from official data rather than from marketing material.

• DLD project data. DLD’s Real Estate Data service has a projects search. For each project it can show the developer, start date, end date, completion date, project status and percentage completed, and it lets you filter by status, including finished, active, cancelled and under cancellation. Search by the developer’s name and look at how many projects it has finished, how many are still active, and whether any are frozen or cancelled.
• Planned versus actual. Compare the dates DLD records for each finished project with what the developer announced at launch, if you can find the original sales material. A pattern of long delays is more telling than a single late project.
• Current projects. For active projects, compare the completion figure in DLD’s project status service with the developer’s own updates. Large or growing gaps are worth asking about.
• Ask directly. Ask the developer for a list of completed projects with the original and actual handover dates. If a developer will not share it, note that as part of your assessment.

A short record is not in itself a bad sign, because every developer starts somewhere. It does mean you have less evidence to go on, so the project-level checks and the contract matter more.

Project-level checks: escrow, land, approvals, ad permit

Even a developer with a strong record can have a weak project. For each project, check:

• Escrow. Under the escrow law, each project must have its own escrow account in the project’s name, held by an escrow agent accredited by DLD. DLD publishes the approved escrow account trustees. Find the escrow bank in the project status results and the escrow account number in the Dubai REST app, and compare them with the SPA.
• Land and approvals. The developer must hold the land and the approvals before selling. Ask whether the developer is the master developer or a sub-developer working on a master developer’s land, and whether the master developer has approved the off-plan sale.
• Advertising permit. Every real estate advert needs a Trakheesi permit, and the permit number and QR code must appear on the advert. A developer may not advertise off-plan units in local or international media, or at exhibitions, without written DLD authorisation. Scan the QR code on any advert you see.
• Brokers. If a broker is selling the project, RERA’s guidance sets out what the broker must confirm first. Brokers marketing off-plan must confirm RERA project registration, an escrow account and a developer marketing contract. The broker also needs a licence of their own. Brokers must be licensed and entered in the DLD Real Estate Brokers Register; registration number must appear in all correspondence.

Build quality: visiting completed communities, snagging reports, owner associations

Official data tells you whether a developer delivers. It does not tell you how well. For that, look at what the developer has already built.

• Visit a finished community. Walk round a building or community the developer completed some years ago. Look at the common areas, the facade, the lifts, the landscaping and the car parks. Wear and tear is normal. Water damage, cracking and poorly finished details are worth noting.
• Talk to owners and residents where you can. Ask how handover went, how snags were dealt with, and how the building has been maintained.
• Ask for evidence. Ask the developer how it handles snagging at handover and how long it takes to close defects. If you know owners who used a snagging inspector, the reports can be revealing.
• Owners committees. In jointly owned property, Law No. (6) of 2019 provides for an owners committee, which may report defects in the structure or common parts to the management or to RERA. A committee that has had to raise many defects with a developer is a signal worth exploring.

Contract terms as a signal

The SPA tells you how the developer expects things to go. Read it as evidence, not just as paperwork.

• Delay clauses. A clear planned completion date, a grace period with defined grounds and a stated remedy if it passes suggest a developer that expects to deliver on time. A long, open-ended list of excuses suggests the opposite.
• Default clauses. The law already sets what a developer may keep if a buyer defaults: up to 40% of the unit price if the project is 60% or more complete, or up to 25% if works have started but are below 60%, depending on progress. A contract that tries to add penalties on top deserves questions.
• Specification. A detailed schedule of finishes is a better sign than a general description with broad substitution rights.
• Resale. Reasonable conditions for resale before handover, and a clear fee, are better than open discretion.

Our SPA checklist goes through each clause in detail.

After-sales and community management

Your relationship with a developer does not end at handover. Look at:

• Handover process. How the developer schedules inspections, records snags and confirms repairs.
• Defects liability. In jointly owned buildings, the law keeps the developer liable for a period after handover for repairing defective installations. Ask how claims are handled in practice.
• Management company. DLD’s project status results show the management company for a project. Find out who will manage the building after handover and how service charges are set.
• Service charges. Owners pay a share of approved service charges, and the DLD / RERA Service Charge Index shows approved rates by project. Look up a finished community by the same developer to see what owning there costs.

Red flags

Any one of these is a reason to stop and check before paying:

• the project does not appear in DLD’s project status service, or its status is frozen, under cancellation or cancelled;
• the developer’s legal name on the SPA does not match DLD’s list;
• you are asked for cash, or for a transfer into an account that is not the project escrow account;
• the escrow account in the SPA does not match the one in Dubai REST;
• the advert has no permit number or QR code, or the details on the permit do not match the advert;
• the person selling cannot show a broker licence, or does not appear in DLD’s broker search;
• you are pressed to pay a deposit before you have seen the SPA;
• promises about the unit, the price or the payment plan are made verbally but not written into the contract.

If something does not match, you can report it to the relevant Dubai authorities. Our guide on how to verify an off-plan project and broker covers each check in detail, and our guide to escrow accounts explains what escrow protects.

How we do due diligence

When we review a developer and a project with you, we work through the same checks set out above, using DLD’s official services rather than marketing material:

1. Confirm the developer’s licence and the project’s registration, status and escrow bank.
2. Look at the developer’s other projects in DLD’s data: finished, active, delayed or cancelled.
3. Check the advertising permit and the broker’s licence.
4. Read the SPA with you and point out clauses to ask about, especially delay, default, specification and resale.
5. Talk through how the purchase fits your budget, timeline and risk tolerance.

We are a licensed brokerage and we work with developers, so ask us, as you would ask any broker, whether we have a marketing agreement with the developer of a project we discuss. We do not give legal advice. For that, use a lawyer licensed in the UAE.

Our developer due diligence service explains how we work. You can bring a project you are already considering, or ask us to compare two. Every consultation is free, with no obligation.

The risks we look for are explained in our guide to the risks of buying off-plan, and our overview of off-plan in Dubai shows where due diligence fits in the whole purchase.