Whether buying off-plan in UAE is safe depends on the project, and the public record differs a lot between projects. Of the 127 projects we track, 71% publish a permit or licence number, 71% state deposit protection and 8 are past the first handover date on record.
We found 191 developer claims contradicted by another source out of 1,259 tested, and public reports of problems for 5 projects. This page reports facts; it is not a rating of any company.
Delivery record#
8 of 127 projects are past the first handover date on record (median 11 months). 12 projects have a first handover date more than six months in the past, the group used for the on-time odds on the delay index.
Dated promises (handover, construction start, permits): 160 tracked, 15 kept, 4 broken, 21 moved to a later date, 106 still ahead. How promises are tracked.
What developers make public#
| Check | Public | Confirmed by register or independent source |
|---|---|---|
| Permit or licence number | 71% (90) | 97 |
| Deposit protection | 71% (90) | 84 |
| Construction progress | 76% (96) | 77 |
| Site or floor plans | 74% (94) | 0 |
| Developer track record | 72% (91) | 78 |
| No guaranteed-return language | 98% (125) | 1 |
Public reports of problems#
Our research agent found public reports of problems (for example a court case, a regulator notice or press coverage) for 5 of 127 projects. Each project page names the report and links its source; we do not summarise them here.
What protects a buyer#
The protections that exist on paper only help if the project uses them: a permit you can look up, payments into an escrow or protected account in the project name, and payments tied to construction milestones you can verify. 7 rules of UAE law, quoted from the official text. How to check a project in UAE.
Questions and answers#
Is it safe to buy off-plan property in UAE?
It depends on the project. Of 127 projects tracked by Kolaboro in UAE, 71% publish a permit number, 71% state deposit protection and 8 are past the first handover date on record (data of 5 November 2026).
How often are off-plan handovers in UAE late?
8 of 127 tracked projects are past the first handover date on record, median 11 months.
How many developer claims in UAE turned out to be contradicted?
191 of 1,259 tested claims (15%) were contradicted by a register or independent source.
Are you the developer, or did we get something wrong? Send documents and we add your reply or correct the record: right of reply · corrections. Every figure here is computed from the open dataset (/data/bali-cases.json, CC BY 4.0) and changes when the data changes.