Answers · Off-plan vs ready

Can you sell off-plan property before handover in Dubai?

Yes, you can sell off-plan property before handover in Dubai. The unit sits on the Land Department’s interim register under Law 13 of 2008, and the contract is assigned to the new buyer with the developer’s no-objection certificate. Your sale agreement sets how much you must have paid first, and the buyer pays the 4% registration fee again.

Updated September 2026 · By Ahmed Kandil

That number is in your sale and purchase agreement, not in the law. Law 13 of 2008 says any disposal of an off-plan unit is void unless it is entered on the interim register, and the Land Department will not enter it without the developer’s no-objection certificate, so the developer decides when it will sign. Every developer sets a paid-up threshold in the SPA, and they differ from each other, which is why I ask for the SPA before I ask for the price. Two things stop an NOC in practice: an instalment you are behind on, and a threshold you have not reached. Clear both and the rest is paperwork.

1. Read the resale clause in your SPA and confirm you are past the threshold, with nothing overdue.
2. Agree the price with a buyer and sign the contract, with a deposit held by the broker. Off-plan resales are priced on the full contract value, not on what you have paid.
3. Apply to the developer for the NOC, on Dubai REST for the developers that use the electronic NOC system. The developer charges an administrative fee, and by law that has to be a fee the Land Department has approved.
4. Go to a registration trustee. The buyer pays 4% of the new price plus AED 20 in fixed fees to register the sale, and if the buyer is borrowing, the trustee charges AED 5,000 plus VAT for an off-plan mortgage registration.
5. The buyer pays you what you have paid the developer plus your premium, takes over the remaining instalments, and a new interim registration is issued in their name.

The 40% is an example, not a rule. There is no UAE tax on the gain. Broker commission is whatever you agree, and 2% is the custom.

Well, it really comes down to who your buyer is. Before handover your buyer needs cash for the paid-up amount and the premium, and banks lend less on off-plan than on a ready unit, which means the pool of people who can buy from you is smaller, and they know it. After handover the unit has a title deed, a tenant can be in it, and a resident buyer can borrow most of the price, so there are simply more of them. There is a downside, of course. Handover is also when every other buyer in the project can sell, and when the project’s own rental supply lands at once, so if the phase was heavily sold to investors the six months after handover can be the weakest window. The Grand Polo Club guide shows how I think about that on a large phased launch. For the bigger decision of whether to be in off-plan at all, read off-plan or ready in Dubai. And if you have not signed yet, the resale threshold and the transfer fee are two of the 49 items in my off-plan due diligence checklist, because the time to ask is before you pay.

Do I pay the DLD fee when I sell off-plan?

No, the buyer pays 4% on the new price to register the sale. You already paid it when your own contract was registered, and I explain the mechanics in what the DLD transfer fee is.

Does my buyer have to pay cash?

Not always. Some banks lend on off-plan, but at a lower loan-to-value than on a ready unit, so most pre-handover buyers are largely cash.

What if the project is cancelled before I can sell?

If RERA cancels a project, Law 19 of 2017 requires the developer to refund everything you paid, through the escrow account set up under Law 8 of 2007.