What should you check before signing a Dubai off-plan SPA?
A Dubai off-plan Sale and Purchase Agreement is drafted by the developer and allocates risk accordingly: milestone-linked payments, asymmetric penalties and narrow remedies for delay. Prosilame rebalances the agreement before signature:
- Verify the developer, the project registration and the escrow account with the competent authority.
- Review the payment schedule against genuine construction milestones.
- Negotiate delivery guarantees, delay compensation and deposit-return mechanics.
- Confirm the title regime — freehold or leasehold — and its estate consequences.
- Check that any Musataha right is registered, now a condition of validity.
Common failure points
The situations we handle.
- Off-plan contract drafted entirely for the developer
- Delivery delays with no remedy built in
- Asymmetric penalty clauses
- SPA dispute or deposit recovery
Deliverables
What you get.
SPA review
Analysis of the Sale & Purchase Agreement and delivery clauses.
Pre-purchase negotiation
Rebalancing penalties, guarantees and payment terms.
Due diligence
Verification of the developer, title and DLD registration.
Real-estate litigation
Recourse in case of delay, default or deposit dispute.
Our approach
Our approach to real estate.
The Dubai property market is fast, liquid and drafted by developers. The standard contract handed to you — often an SPA running to dozens of pages — protects the seller first: a payment schedule tied to vague milestones, asymmetric penalties, limited remedies for delay. Our role is to restore the balance before you sign.
We analyse the contract, the title and the registration, check the developer’s solidity and the project’s real progress, then negotiate the clauses that matter: conditions precedent, delivery guarantees, delay mechanisms and deposit recovery. Where a dispute is already open, we take the matter before the competent body.
Off-plan acquisition
Review and negotiation of the SPA, RERA checks and follow-up through to delivery.
Freehold & leasehold
Analysis of the ownership regime and its estate consequences before you commit.
Developer litigation
Delays, non-conformity, deposit recovery: formal notice and recourse.
Frequently asked
Real estate law — your questions.
Is off-plan risky in Dubai?
The risk is contractual as much as financial. A well-negotiated SPA changes your position entirely in case of delay.
What if delivery is delayed?
It depends on the clauses and registration. Remedies exist, notably via RERA and the competent courts.
Freehold or leasehold?
Freehold grants full ownership in designated zones; leasehold is a time-limited right. The choice commits your assets.
Related practices and analysis
Related practices, and the analysis behind them.
A matter on real estate law?
A 30-minute call to review an SPA, a delivery delay or a registration issue on your property.
See matters the firm has handled and what clients say about them.
AED 600 individuals · AED 1,000 professionals
Payable before the call, by card or bank transfer. See fee details.