How to Check Construction Progress of an Off Plan Project in Dubai 2026

The only official record of construction progress of an off plan project in Dubai is the project status kept by the Dubai Land Department (DLD). Developers must register every off plan project with DLD before selling units, so every project on sale has a record you can look up.

DLD project status inquiry: 3 ways to search

• Dubai REST app: the official DLD app for iPhone and Android, where the service is called Project Status (Mashrooi)
• DLD website: the Project Status Inquiry service, where you can search by project name, project number or land number
• WhatsApp: the DLD service on 8004488, using the same project details

Searching by project number gives the cleanest result, because many projects share similar names. Ask the developer or your agent for the DLD project number before you book, and keep it with your purchase papers.

Off plan completions in Dubai in 2026

The number of buildings reaching handover keeps rising, which makes tracking your own project more important. In the first half of 2026, Dubai completed 104 real estate projects worth more than AED 111 billion, adding 24,537 new units, compared with 75 projects in the first half of 2025.

The Dubai REST app is the quickest way to look up a registered project from your phone.

1. Download Dubai REST from the App Store or Google Play.
2. Open Project Status (Mashrooi) from the home screen or the services menu.
3. Type the first few letters of the project name.
4. Check the project status shown in the result.
5. Open the project to see its full details.

If 2 projects carry almost the same name, open both and compare the developer name and project number before you rely on either one. Phases of the same community can be registered as separate projects with their own numbers.

Each project record has several fields, and the completion percentage is only one of them. Reading them together gives a far truer picture than the headline figure alone.

DLD project status details explained

• Completion percentage: the share of the building finished, as recorded at the last inspection
• Inspection details: when the site was last inspected, which tells you how current the percentage is
• Project photos: actual pictures of the site, which you can compare with the developer's own updates
• Project start and completion dates: the dates registered with DLD for the build
• Project status: the project's current status in the DLD register
• Developer name: the registered company behind the project
• Escrow account: the bank and account number for the project's escrow account, into which buyer payments go

New launch with no construction progress yet

A fresh launch can show little or no progress, and that is normal. A project such as Emaar Faro at The Heights Country Club & Wellness recorded 0 percent construction at its 26 March 2026 inspection, against a handover date of 30 June 2030. What matters is how the figure moves over the following inspections.

Last inspection date in the DLD record

The completion figure is only as current as the inspection behind it. A project showing 45 percent from an inspection 6 months ago may be well past that today, or may not have moved at all. Always read the inspection date next to the number before you rely on it.

A building goes up broadly in the order below, with some stages overlapping, and knowing that order helps you judge whether a percentage matches what you see in photos. The headline figure says how much is done; the stage tells you what kind of work is still left.

• Enabling works: site clearing, fencing, temporary offices and site utilities
• Piling: deep foundation columns driven or bored into the ground
• Substructure: basements, foundation slabs and everything below ground level
• Superstructure: the concrete frame, rising floor by floor
• Facade: the outer walls, glazing and cladding
• Internal works: walls, plastering, flooring, kitchens and bathrooms
• Utilities: electrical, plumbing, cooling and fire systems
• Testing and handover preparation: inspections, snag fixes and authority approvals

A tower whose frame has reached the top floor can look almost finished from the road while the inside still needs most of its fit out.

The most useful check a buyer can make is to set the total paid so far against the DLD completion figure. If you have paid far more than the building has progressed, more of your money depends on the developer finishing the job.

How to compare your payments with completion

• Add up every payment made, including the booking amount, as a share of the unit price
• Look up the latest completion percentage and its inspection date in the DLD record
• Before paying an instalment linked to construction, confirm the DLD completion figure has reached the level that instalment is tied to

Back loaded payment plans and construction risk

Plans that ask for most of the price at handover keep less of a buyer's money tied up during construction. Under the 10:20:70 plan listed for Shahrukhz Residences by Danube at Dubai Maritime City, 30 percent is paid before handover and 70 percent at handover, which is listed for Q4 2029. The large payment comes only once the building is complete. The trade off is that the buyer needs the cash or a mortgage approval ready for that final amount.

Escrow account rules for off plan buyers in Dubai

• Buyer payments go into a separate escrow account for each project, under Law No. 8 of 2007
• Money in that account cannot be seized by the developer's creditors and is set aside for that project's construction
• Buyers may see their own accounting records with the escrow bank and ask for copies
• The bank keeps 5 percent of the account after the completion certificate and releases it 1 year after units are registered in buyers' names

Pay every instalment of the unit price only into the escrow account named for the project. If a request points to any other account, stop and check it against the escrow bank shown in the DLD record. Do not accept verbal confirmation.

The completion percentage is not only a progress figure. Under Article 11 of Law No. 13 of 2008, as amended by Law No. 19 of 2017, it decides what a developer can do if a buyer stops paying.

Missed off plan payments: the DLD process

The developer first reports the default to DLD. DLD checks it and gives the buyer 30 days to pay or reach a settlement. If that time passes, DLD issues a certificate stating the unit's completion percentage, and that figure sets the developer's options.

Developer options by completion stage

• Above 80 percent: keep the contract and claim the balance, ask for a public auction, or end the contract and deduct up to 40 percent of the unit value
• 60 to 80 percent: end the contract and deduct up to 40 percent
• Below 60 percent, with work started: end the contract and deduct up to 25 percent of the unit value
• Work not started for reasons outside the developer's control: end the contract and deduct up to 30 percent of the amounts paid

After a termination, the remaining money is returned within 1 year, or within 60 days of the unit being resold, whichever comes first. This is why a buyer who expects a cash gap should know the completion figure before talking to the developer.

A delay can show up in the DLD record before anyone announces it, often as small changes, so comparing each check with the last one is the best early warning a buyer has.

• The completion percentage stays the same across 2 or more inspections
• The last inspection date is many months old while the developer keeps posting progress videos
• The projected completion date in the DLD record moves later, or sits well beyond the handover date in your SPA
• The project status changes to cancelled, or to anything other than active before the building is complete
• The escrow bank in the record does not match the bank in your payment instructions
• Project photos in the DLD record show far less work than the developer's marketing images

One flag on its own may have a simple reason. 2 or more together are a reason to ask the developer for a written construction schedule and to read the delay clauses in your SPA again. This is non-negotiable due diligence.

Stopping payments because a build looks slow can put you in default under the rules set out above. The safer route is to work through your contract, the developer and then the regulator, keeping a written record at each step.

1. Read the completion date and any delay or grace clause in your SPA, since these set what the developer has promised.
2. Write to the developer, ask for the current construction schedule and a revised handover date, and keep every reply.
3. Save a screenshot of the DLD record at each check, so the change over time is on file.
4. If the reply does not settle the matter, file a complaint through the Real Estate Violations Complaints service on the Dubai REST app or the DLD website.

Papers to keep ready for a developer complaint

• Emirates ID or passport copy
• Sales and Purchase Agreement (SPA)
• Oqood registration certificate
• Proof of every payment made to the developer
• Emails and messages exchanged with the developer

RERA can refer a complaint for mediation before it decides, and disputes it cannot settle can move to the Dubai courts. A complete file of papers and dated screenshots keeps your case clear at every stage.

A record showing full completion is not the end of the process. The building still needs its completion certificate, the buyer still makes the handover payment, and the interim Oqood registration is replaced by a title deed.

From completion to title deed

• Completion certificate: issued for the building once construction is finished and approved
• Handover notice and final payment: the developer asks for the balance due under your payment plan before releasing the keys
• Inspection before keys: walk through the unit and list every defect in writing
• Title deed: issued by DLD after completion and handover, in place of the Oqood registration

Developer defect warranty under Dubai law

Under Article 40 of Law No. 6 of 2019, the developer must repair structural defects for 10 years from the date of the completion certificate, and any contract term that cuts this period is void. Faulty installations such as electrical, plumbing, sanitary and sewerage systems must be repaired or replaced for 1 year from handover.

The written defect list from your handover inspection is your best evidence for a claim under that warranty, so date it, photograph each item and send a copy to the developer.

A check every 3 months keeps you up to date without much effort. Keep a simple note of each check so changes stand out.

• Note the DLD project number from your purchase papers
• Record the completion percentage and the date of the inspection behind it
• Save a screenshot of the record and the latest project photos
• Compare the projected completion date with the handover date in your SPA
• Set your total paid against the completion figure
• Confirm the escrow bank before every instalment
• Compare the DLD project photos with the developer's latest update
• Keep the developer's written replies and your payment proofs in one folder
• At handover, list every defect in writing and send a copy to the developer

This guide is based on the DLD project status service as offered in October 2026, Law No. 8 of 2007 on escrow accounts, Article 11 of Law No. 13 of 2008 as amended by Law No. 19 of 2017, Article 40 of Law No. 6 of 2019 and first half 2026 completion figures. Project examples use the details listed on each project page.

Completion figures and dates change after every inspection, so the record on the day you check is the one that counts. Before any payment or contract decision, read the current DLD record and the terms of your own SPA.

Nothing here is legal advice for a specific contract. Estimates are labelled where direct verification was not possible at time of publication.