Off-Plan Projects in Palm Jumeirah

Nakheel is the master developer of Palm Jumeirah, which it launched in 2001. It describes the island as stretching five kilometres into the Arabian Gulf, covering 560 hectares and home to about 25,000 people.

The projects on this page come from a wide group of developers. Omniyat has three: Orla Dorchester Collection, Orla Infinity and Alba Dorchester Collection, plus Passo under its Beyond brand. Nakheel itself is building Como Residences, which it describes as a collection of 76 private residences, and the Palm Beach Towers. Others include Atlantis The Royal Residences by Kerzner International, Kempinski Hotel & Residences Palm Jumeirah and Raffles Villas The Palm Dubai by EPG, Anantara Residences by Seven Tides International, One Crescent by AHS Properties, Serenia Living by Palma Holding Properties and Vitalia Palm Jumeirah Residences by Pinnacle AKS.

Nakheel divides the island into three parts, and the part you buy in shapes daily life more than the brand does.

• The trunk. The central spine holds apartment buildings, hotels, restaurants, cafés, marinas, private beaches and retail malls.
• The fronds. Halfway down the spine, roads lead off to the gated residential communities on the fronds.
• The crescent. The outer ring is lined with beachfront resorts and residences and is reached by a sub-sea tunnel at the tip of the spine. Omniyat places Orla at the apex of the crescent, on a 29,000 square metre beachfront plot.

The island is served by the Palm Monorail, which Nakheel calls the Middle East's first monorail. Plan your commute from the exact building on the RTA journey planner.

Most off-plan homes here are apartments and penthouses. If you are looking for an off-plan villa or townhouse on the Palm, the choice is small: Raffles Villas The Palm Dubai is a villa project, and Orla Dorchester Collection, Kempinski Hotel & Residences Palm Jumeirah and Passo mix apartments with villa homes. Orla, for example, has 89 residences, two super penthouses, a sky palace and one beach mansion, according to Omniyat.

A branded residence means the operator runs services for owners. Omniyat says Dorchester Collection will manage Orla's amenities. At Alba, the residences share the site with a hotel: Omniyat lists 88 residences and 79 hotel keys there. Shared facilities and fees set by an operator are worth reading closely.

Under Dubai Law No. 8 of 2007, a developer who wants to sell homes off-plan must apply to the Dubai Land Department to open an escrow account for the project, buyers' payments are deposited into that account, and the money is reserved for building that project alone. Law No. 13 of 2008 set up the Interim Property Register, and a sale of an off-plan unit is void unless it is entered in it. The Dubai Land Department runs this register through its Oqood system. In practice:

1. Pay only into the escrow account. The account details belong in your sale contract. Do not send money to any other account.
2. Get the sale registered. Ask for proof that your contract has been entered in the Interim Property Register before you treat the purchase as done.
3. Read the brand agreement. Ask who the operator is, how long its agreement runs, which services are included and whether owners can change it. Our guide on how to check a developer covers the developer side.
4. Look up the service charges. The Dubai Land Department Service Charge Index shows approved service fees for a project by year, on its website and the Dubai REST app. A new branded tower may have no approved figure yet, so get the developer's estimate in writing and ask which hotel services sit outside it.

Once the completion certificate is issued, the law also requires the escrow agent to hold back 5% of the account, released to the developer one year after the homes are registered in the buyers' names.

Off-plan gives you a new building, often on one of the last beachfront plots, with stage payments during construction and a wait until handover. A ready home lets you see the exact view, the beach and the service charge history before you commit. Our Palm Jumeirah area guide covers the finished buildings and daily life on the island.