Selling an Off-Plan Property Before Handover in Dubai

• It must be registered. Under Law No. 13 of 2008, any sale of an off-plan unit is void unless it is entered in the Dubai Land Department's interim real estate register (Oqood). Units in the register can be sold, mortgaged or otherwise disposed of.
• Developer fees are limited. The same law says developers may not charge fees on a resale except administrative costs approved by the Dubai Land Department. Developers do publish administrative and NOC fees, shown in the checker.
• The developer still has to approve it. The law itself does not say so, but in practice the developer issues a resale NOC and an amended SPA or novation agreement. Your SPA sets the conditions, usually including a minimum paid percentage.

1. Read your SPA for the resale or assignment clause, the minimum payment and any fees.
2. Get a statement of account from the developer showing what you have paid and what is due next.
3. Agree the deal. The buyer usually pays you what you have paid so far, plus or minus any premium, and takes over the remaining payment plan. Record it in a sale contract.
4. Developer approval: the developer audits the account, collects its fee and issues the NOC with a new or amended SPA or novation agreement.
5. Register the transfer in the interim register through the developer or a trustee office. The buyer is then registered as the purchaser on Oqood.

Costs to ask about

Expect the developer's administrative or NOC fee and the Dubai Land Department transfer fee. We could not confirm on an official page whether the 4% on an off-plan resale is charged on the original price or the resale price, and property portals disagree, so ask the developer or the trustee office for a written breakdown before you agree a price.

If there is a mortgage on the unit

Your lender has to agree, and the loan is settled or restructured as part of the resale. Your buyer's financing matters too: Central Bank rules cap loans on off-plan property at 50% of its value, so many buyers of off-plan resales pay in cash or bring a large deposit.

Selling before handover can release your capital and end your payment obligations, but the buyer pool is narrower and the developer controls the timing. After handover you can sell as a ready property, with a title deed, the wider resale market and mortgage buyers, but you will have paid the remaining instalments.

The apartment selling guide covers the ready-property route, and the developer NOC guide lists what each developer publishes for transfers. If you need a quick, straightforward exit, see selling to a cash buyer.