Off-Plan Sales, Escrow, and Developer Obligations
Off-Plan Essentials
Off-plan means selling units before or during construction. Key protections: the developer must be registered and the project approved; buyer payments must flow into a project escrow account managed under regulator oversight, released against certified construction milestones. Understand the sales purchase agreement (SPA), unit specification, handover date, delay and termination clauses, and the Oqood/interim registration of off-plan units.
Developer Obligations
Deliver on time, build to approved plans and specifications, maintain escrow compliance, obtain completion certificates, register the project, and honour defect liability periods. Brokers must verify project registration and escrow arrangements before marketing and must not collect buyer funds personally.
Traps
Questions often suggest a broker may accept a reservation deposit into the broker's own account - funds belong in escrow or as regulated. Another trap: assuming a developer can use escrow funds freely; releases are milestone-based. Watch for marketing promises (rental guarantees, guaranteed returns) that are not in the SPA - only written contractual terms bind.
Rule of Thumb
"Follow the money into escrow, and follow the promise into the SPA." If a benefit is not written in the registered SPA, treat it as unenforceable marketing.