Escrow: where your off-plan payments are kept

If you take one thing from my writing about off-plan, take this: your payments belong in the project's escrow account, never in a personal one. Dubai made this a matter of law many years ago, and it is one of the strongest reasons buyers feel comfortable buying a home that is still being built.

What escrow means

An escrow account is held with a bank under a written agreement. Instead of your money going straight to the developer's general funds, it goes into an account set up for that one project. Dubai Law No. 8 of 2007 covers this.

What the law says, in plain words

• Off-plan payments go into an escrow account opened in the project's name with an approved escrow agent.
• Each project has its own account.
• The account is meant to be used for the construction of that project, and the developer's creditors cannot take the money that is in it.
• The escrow agent provides regular statements of income and spending, which the Dubai Land Department can audit.
• If the project cannot be completed, the escrow agent must take steps to protect the buyers' rights, either by seeing the project completed or by refunding.
• A small part, 5 percent, is kept back after completion and released one year after the units are registered in the buyers' names.

The law also makes it a criminal offence to misuse money paid for a project.

How you check it for your project

You do not have to take anyone's word for it. The Dubai Land Department's Project Status page shows a project's registration, its escrow bank and its escrow account details, with inspection photos. The Dubai REST app shows off-plan buyers the percentage of completion and the escrow account number.

What I would do

• Ask for the escrow account details in writing before you pay anything.
• Check them against the Dubai Land Department's information for the project.
• Pay only into that account, and keep every receipt.
• If anyone asks you to pay a personal account, stop and ask why.

For family offices and larger investors

With larger sums, I would ask for written confirmation of the escrow account before each instalment, and have your own legal adviser read the payment schedule against the escrow arrangements. Keep a file of every receipt and statement you are given, and check the project's status page before each payment. I would also decide, in advance, how much of your capital you are comfortable having in any one project.

My view

Escrow does not remove every risk. A project can still be late, and you should still read your contract carefully. But it changes the picture a great deal. Your money has a home that is separate from the developer's day-to-day business, and the rules about it are public. That is a real strength of buying in Dubai.

If you would like to talk it through before you decide, you are welcome to contact me.

Sources: Dubai Law No. 8 of 2007 on escrow accounts for real estate development (dlp.dubai.gov.ae); Dubai Land Department, Project Status Enquiry and Dubai REST (dubailand.gov.ae). The law is a summary in plain words, not legal advice; the Arabic text prevails. Checked on 24 October 2026. Rules and fees change, so confirm for your own purchase.