Off-Plan Handover Delays: Where You Stand

If an off-plan project is delivered late, your contract, not goodwill, decides what happens. Most Dubai contracts allow a grace period, commonly twelve months, before any remedy applies.

Delays are common. Knowing what your contract actually says is the difference between a nuisance and a loss.

What your contract should tell you

What usually happens in practice

A delay inside the grace period is generally not a breach, however frustrating. Beyond it, your position depends on the contract and on whether the project is still progressing.

Dubai Land Department oversees registered projects and can intervene where a developer has stopped work entirely, including cancelling the project and dealing with the escrow account. That is a very different situation from a project running eight months behind.

What to do if your project is late

1. Read the contract and find the completion date and grace period.
2. Ask for a written update with the current construction stage and revised date.
3. Check progress independently. Visit, or ask someone to. Photographs tell you more than an email.
4. Keep paying to the schedule unless it is construction-linked and the milestone has not been reached.
5. Take advice before stopping payments. Missing an instalment can put you in breach even when the developer is late.

How to reduce the risk before you buy

• Choose construction-linked payments so instalments follow progress. See how payment plans are structured.
• Check the developer's delivery record on completed projects, not announced ones. See checking a developer.
• Confirm the project is registered and payments go to escrow.

When it does complete

Inspect properly before accepting the keys. Our guide to snagging and handover sets out the checklist.

Ask us what we know about a project's progress before you commit to it.

Add near the handover section: Before handover, hire an independent inspector; see how to choose a snagging company.