Dubai property, explained › Buying
Oqood
The Dubai Land Department’s register for homes that do not exist yet: what the certificate is, who files it, what it costs, what it lets you do, and how it turns into a title deed.
Written September 2026 · 4 min read
Oqood is Arabic for "contracts", and it is the Dubai Land Department's register for property that does not exist yet. A home bought off-plan has no title deed to issue, because there is no home, so the sale is recorded on Oqood instead: the interim register, where the buyer's name goes against the unit on the plan until the building is finished and a deed can be written. Every off-plan buyer meets the word on the day they pay the department's fee, and most have no idea what they have just been registered on.
What it is for
Law No. 13 of 2008 created the interim register and made it compulsory. Every sale of an off-plan unit in Dubai has to be recorded on it, and a sale that is not recorded is, in the words of the law, void. That sentence is the buyer's protection. Before 2008 an off-plan purchase was a contract in a drawer and a receipt from a developer; since then it is an entry in the department's register that names the unit, the price, the buyer and the developer, and that survives whatever happens to the developer. It is also the record RERA reads when a project is cancelled and the escrow account is returned to the people who paid into it.
Who registers it, and when
The developer. Once the sale and purchase agreement is signed and the booking money paid, the developer files the sale on Oqood and the department issues a certificate, the Oqood, with a registration number, to the buyer. It should follow the signing within weeks, not months. Ask for it, keep it, and treat a developer who is slow to produce it as a developer to watch: until the entry exists, the law says there is no sale.
What it costs
| Item | Amount | Note |
|---|---|---|
| DLD registration fee | 4% of the purchase price | The same fee a completed purchase pays at transfer; paid by the buyer at registration |
| Administrative fees | A few hundred dirhams | The department's issuance charges, collected with the 4% |
| Developer's registration fee | Set by the developer | Some charge one; some charge nothing; ask before signing |
| At handover | No second transfer fee | The 4% paid on Oqood carries to the title deed; a small issuance fee for the deed itself |
Some developers advertise the 4% as waived on a launch. What that means is that the developer pays the department on the buyer's behalf, and it is worth pricing as the discount it is. The cost of buying has the full schedule for a completed purchase, for comparison.
What the certificate lets you do
- Sell before handover. An off-plan unit is resold by assignment, with the developer's no-objection certificate, and the department records the new buyer on Oqood in place of the old one. Most developers require a minimum share of the price to have been paid first, commonly 30% to 40%
- Borrow against it. Banks lend on off-plan property against the Oqood, at no more than 50% of the price by Central Bank rule, and most buyers who borrow do so at handover, when the deed exists and the ceiling rises
- Prove the purchase. To a bank, to a court, to the immigration authorities where a residence visa is tied to property, and to RERA if the project stalls
- Follow the project. The registration ties the unit to a project RERA tracks, with a published completion percentage and an escrow account that the developer draws on only against certified progress
Oqood against a title deed
| Oqood | Title deed | |
|---|---|---|
| What it records | A unit on a plan, sold but not built | A completed property, with its plot and area |
| When it is issued | On registration of the off-plan sale | At transfer of a completed home, or at handover of an off-plan one |
| Who issues it | The Dubai Land Department, filed by the developer | The Dubai Land Department, at a registration trustee office |
| The fee | 4% of the price, at registration | 4% of the price, at transfer; nothing more when an Oqood converts |
| Selling | By assignment, with the developer's consent | By transfer, at any time |
| Borrowing | Up to 50% of the price | Up to 80% for an expatriate's first home under AED 5,000,000 |
| What it becomes | A title deed, at handover | The record, until the next sale |
How it becomes a deed
When the building is finished, the developer obtains the completion certificate and registers the completed project with the department, unit by unit. Each Oqood is then converted: the buyer's name moves from the interim register to the real one and a title deed is issued for the unit as built, with its registered area. There is no second transfer fee, because the fee was paid on the way in. What there usually is, is a wait, while the developer clears the project's paperwork and the buyer clears the final instalment and the first service charge, so a deed can follow the keys by some months. The snagging inspection, the handover, and the DEWA connection all happen in that gap, on the strength of the Oqood.
What it is not
It is not a title deed, and a lender, a court or a visa office that asks for a deed will not take it. It is not proof that the building will be finished on the date in the brochure; that is the contract's handover clause and RERA's project page. And it is not something the buyer files: a developer who asks the buyer to register their own purchase has skipped a step that is the developer's by law. For the wider choice the certificate sits inside, off-plan or resale sets the two purchases side by side.
Where this leads
The pages that pick up from here
Off-plan or resale →
The purchase the certificate sits inside — the payment plan, the escrow, the risk — beside a completed home.
The cost of buying →
The full fee schedule for a completed purchase, for comparison with the 4% paid on Oqood.
The mortgage calculator →
The Central Bank’s deposit floor, checked as you type — 50% against an Oqood, 20% against a deed.
The sales reports →
Every community with its off-plan launches registered beside its completed resales.
Questions people ask
Oqood, answered
What is Oqood in Dubai?
The Dubai Land Department’s interim real estate register, where off-plan sales are recorded until the building is complete and a title deed can be issued. Law No. 13 of 2008 made registration compulsory: an off-plan sale that is not on Oqood is void.
Who registers the Oqood, the buyer or the developer?
The developer, after the sale and purchase agreement is signed. The department then issues the certificate, with its registration number, to the buyer. It should arrive within weeks of signing; ask for it if it does not.
How much does Oqood registration cost?
4% of the purchase price, paid by the buyer to the Dubai Land Department at registration, plus the department’s small administrative charges. It is the same fee a completed purchase pays at transfer, and it is not paid again when the Oqood becomes a title deed at handover.
Can I sell a property with an Oqood before handover?
Yes, by assignment: the developer issues a no-objection certificate and the department records the new buyer on Oqood in place of the old. Most developers require a minimum share of the price to have been paid first, commonly 30% to 40%, and charge for the certificate.
Does Oqood become a title deed?
Yes. When the building is complete and the developer registers the finished project, each Oqood is converted and a title deed is issued for the unit as built. There is no second transfer fee. The deed can follow the keys by some months while the developer clears the project’s paperwork.
What if the developer never registers the Oqood?
Then in law there is no sale, and the buyer has a receipt rather than a property. Insist on the certificate within weeks of signing, check it through the Dubai Land Department, and treat a developer who is slow to produce it as a reason to stop paying instalments until it exists.
Regulation here is stated as regulation, and what the market merely does is marked as convention. Figures were checked in September 2026; the rest of the set is written the same way.