Getting your money back when a Dubai developer cancels a project

Cancelled or delayed: work out where you stand

Investors often call any halt in construction a “cancellation”. Legally, these are different situations:

• Delayed completion. The project is registered and not cancelled, but the developer is behind schedule. The buyer's rights flow from the SPA and the law: performance, compensation or termination — see Developer disputes and RERA.
• Formal cancellation. Dubai's Real Estate Regulatory Agency (RERA, part of the Dubai Land Department, DLD) decides to cancel the project. From that point a dedicated refund mechanism applies.
• A stalled project. Work has stopped but there is no cancellation decision. This is the most uncertain position: you need either a restart or a formal decision by the regulator.

The first step is to confirm the project's status with DLD/RERA. Everything else depends on it.

How the law protects off-plan buyers

The cornerstone is the escrow account. Under Dubai Law No. 8 of 2007 on escrow accounts, the developer must open a separate escrow account with an accredited bank for each off-plan project, and buyers' payments must go into it. The developer draws funds in stages as construction progresses, under the regulator's oversight.

If the project is cancelled, the law requires buyers' payments to be returned. The balance of the project escrow account is one of the sources of the refund; any shortfall falls on the developer.

The second element is the interim real property register (Oqood), established by Dubai Law No. 13 of 2008. Registration confirms that the buyer acquired a specific unit in a specific project and makes the buyer's rights easier to prove.

Step by step: recovering your money

1. Gather the documents. The SPA and all addenda, receipts and bank confirmations for every payment, the Oqood certificate, correspondence with the developer and broker, and the project's marketing materials.
2. Check where the payments went. Compare the account details on your receipts with the project escrow account. Escrow payments are best protected. If you paid part of the price directly to the developer or broker, outside escrow, you keep your rights but the claim needs extra work.
3. Confirm the project's status. Obtain official information on the cancellation or current status from DLD/RERA.
4. Apply for the refund. Where the project has been formally cancelled, the refund runs through a process supervised by RERA. It is important to evidence the amount claimed and the payment details correctly.
5. If no refund is forthcoming. Dubai has a special tribunal for cancelled and unfinished projects (Decree No. 33 of 2020). It handles the liquidation of such projects and the settlement of buyers' rights; the ordinary courts do not hear matters within its remit. In other situations, such as delayed completion, the dispute goes through RERA and the Dubai courts.

How long it takes

Timing depends on the project's status, the escrow balance, the number of buyers and the developer's stance. Where a project has been formally cancelled and the money is in escrow, refunds move noticeably faster than disputes over stalled projects or payments made outside escrow. In one of our matters a private investor from Moscow recovered 100% of the funds via RERA in 5 months — see the case study. That is not a guaranteed timeframe for every case.

Common investor mistakes

• Signing a “transfer agreement” into another project without reading it. These often include a waiver of claims on the original project.
• Waiting. While you wait, other buyers file their claims and documents go missing. Some claims are time-limited.
• Paying outside escrow. A “discount for paying the company account” is a red flag at the buying stage.
• Relying solely on the broker. The broker's interest is the sale, not your dispute with the developer.
• Not checking the contract before buying. Many risks are visible in the SPA in advance — see SPA review.

What to do in the first week

If you learn that a project has been cancelled or has stalled, do not wait for formal letters from the developer. In the first week:

• keep copies of all documents and payment records in one place, including screenshots of the developer's client portal if there is one;
• ask your bank for transfer confirmations showing the payee's full details;
• check whether your unit is registered in Oqood and in whose name;
• do not sign any new agreement with the developer before a legal review;
• get every promise from the developer and broker in writing, by email rather than only in messaging apps;
• find out whether other buyers in the project are taking action: joint steps can sometimes speed things up and cut costs.

If you bought through a nominee or a company, confirm exactly who is named as buyer in the SPA and Oqood, as that determines who applies for the refund.

Can the matter be handled from abroad?

Yes. The buyer signs a power of attorney at home, which is legalised for the UAE and translated into Arabic. Everything else — applications, correspondence with the regulator and developer, representation — happens without you travelling. We send a report every week.

See Refunds for cancelled projects. Our document review takes 1–2 days: we assess the project's status and how well your payments are protected, and quote a fee.