A polished render and an open sales office prove nothing. The implementing bylaw to the interim register law names the conditions without which selling is not allowed at all: possession of the land and a demarcation certificate, actual control of the plot, approvals from the competent entities, and an entry on the land's registry folio. A disposition made before the project is approved and registered is declared null and void, and a broker must pay the buyer's money into the project escrow account rather than his own. Worked through the official text on the Dubai Legislation Portal.
Verified on 15 September 2026 against official sources: the text of Executive Council Resolution No. 6 of 2010 comes from the Dubai Legislation Portal (dlp.dubai.gov.ae). Source links sit next to every article and again at the end. This is not legal advice: a particular project is judged on its own documents.
An off-plan buyer usually vets the developer by name and by the portfolio of delivered towers. The law offers a sturdier check: selling at project stage has conditions of admission, and they are written down.
The document is Executive Council Resolution No. (6) of 2010 Approving the Implementing Bylaw of Law No. (13) of 2008 Regulating the Interim Real Property Register in the Emirate of Dubai, issued on 14 February 2010.
Three conditions, without which selling is not allowed
Article 4:
«A Master Developer or Sub-developer may not commence the implementation of a project or sell its units off-plan unless: (1) he takes possession of the land and receives the demarcation certificate; (2) he has actual control of the land on which the project is to be constructed; and (3) he obtains from the Competent Entities the approvals required to commence the implementation of the project.» — Executive Council Resolution No. (6) of 2010, Article 4
Note that the first and second points are not the same. Formal receipt of the land and actual control of it are listed separately — so a transfer document alone does not clear the developer to sell.
The registry entry: the project is visible on the plot itself
Article 5 turns the project's status into a record rather than a promise:
«1. The DLD must, whether on its own initiative or upon request by the concerned parties, create an entry on the Real Property registry folio of any land on which a Real Property project is to be constructed to denote that the project is a development project governed by the provisions of the Law. 2. The DLD will remove the entry referred to in the preceding paragraph upon completion of the Real Property project and registration of its units in the names of purchasers on the Real Property Register, or upon cancellation of the project for any of the reasons set forth in Article (23) of this Resolution.»
The entry lives on the land, appears before sales, and is removed in only two cases: the project is completed and its units registered to purchasers — or the project is cancelled. That is the marker separating a cleared construction site from a render.
A sale before approval is void
Article 11 is the hardest rule in this document:
«Any legal disposition made by a Master Developer, Sub-developer, or Broker which involves the Off-plan Sale of any Real Property or Real Property Unit prior to approval of the commencement of the project by the Competent Entities and its registration with the DLD will be deemed null and void.»
Three actors are named, the broker included, and one consequence: nullity. Not "voidable", not "subject to a fine" — a deal struck before admission has no legal force. It is the same principle as Article 3 of Law No. 13 of 2008 itself, which voids any disposition outside the interim register — the breakdown of default and Article 11 of that law.
The buyer's money goes to escrow, and nowhere else
Article 12 closes the most exposed link in the chain:
«Where a Master Developer or Sub-developer engages a Real Property Broker to market his project in full or in part, the Broker must deposit the sale price of the relevant Real Property Unit(s) into the project Escrow Account. The Real Property Broker may not deposit the price into his own account or deduct his commission from that price before depositing it into the Escrow Account. Any agreement to the contrary of the provisions of this Article will be null and void.»
Three prohibitions in one paragraph: not into his own account, no commission deducted before the deposit, and no agreement to the contrary. How the project escrow account itself works is covered separately.
Why these four rules hold each other up
Taken one at a time each article looks like paperwork; together they form a closed chain in which the buyer's money has no route around the project account.
Article 4 answers "what does the developer come to the buyer with": land in possession, demarcation confirmed, control actual, approvals obtained. Article 5 moves that status out of correspondence and onto the registry folio, making it a checkable property of the plot rather than a claim by the seller. Article 11 prices any breach of the order at nullity — equally for developer, sub-developer and broker. And Article 12 shuts the last gap: even where an intermediary runs the sale, the money goes to the project account and the commission is taken after the deposit, with no possibility of agreeing otherwise.
Remove any link and the chain falls apart. Without the registry entry a buyer cannot tell a cleared project from an uncleared one; without nullity a breach would cost a fine that is easy to price into the unit; without the escrow rule the money would sit with the intermediary right up to the moment the project stalls.
What an off-plan buyer should check
| What to ask for | What it proves | rule |
|---|---|---|
| the project is approved and registered | otherwise the deal is void | Art. 11 |
| land in possession, demarcation certificate, actual control | the condition of admission to selling | Art. 4 |
| the development-project entry on the plot's registry folio | created by the Land Department | Art. 5 |
| the project escrow account details | payment goes there, not to the broker | Art. 12 |
| the entry for your unit on the interim register | an Oqood, not a Title Deed | Art. 3 of Law No. 13 of 2008 |
The last row is about what the buyer holds after paying; the first four are about whether the seller was entitled to sell at all.
What we are NOT claiming here
- That a private buyer can see all of these conditions unaided. The bylaw sets out the parties' duties, not a procedure for issuing certificates to individuals.
- That a missing entry means a live breach. The entry is removed both on completion and on cancellation — different states with the same outward sign.
- A minimum percentage of construction before sales may start. We found no such requirement in this document and therefore do not state one.
- RERA's practice on any particular project. We quote the rule; we do not judge individual developers.
Sources
- Executive Council Resolution No. (6) of 2010 Approving the Implementing Bylaw of Law No. (13) of 2008 Regulating the Interim Real Property Register in the Emirate of Dubai — Dubai Legislation Portal: Article 4 (conditions for commencing implementation and sales), Article 5 (the development-project entry on the registry folio and its removal), Article 11 (nullity of a disposition made before approval and registration), Article 12 (the broker deposits the price into escrow and takes no commission first). Issued 14 February 2010.
- Law No. (13) of 2008 Regulating the Interim Property Register in the Emirate of Dubai — Dubai Legislation Portal: Article 3 (an off-plan disposition outside the interim register is void).
