Off-plan gives you an Oqood, not a title deed
A title deed is proof you own a finished property. An off-plan unit is not finished, so there is nothing yet to hold a deed over. What you get instead is an Oqood registration: the Dubai Land Department recording that a specific unit in a specific registered project has been sold to you.
It is the off-plan equivalent of your name being on the record. It is not a lesser document and it is not optional. It is the thing that makes your purchase visible to the Land Department rather than existing only in the developer's own paperwork.
The title deed comes later, when the project completes and the unit transfers into your name.
A signed contract with a developer and a payment receipt are not registration. Until the Oqood is filed, the Land Department has no record that the unit is yours.
How to check your Oqood is actually registered
Do not ask the developer whether it is registered. Check the Land Department's own record.
The Dubai REST app is published by the Dubai Land Department and lets you look up a property against your own details. There is also the Land Department's website, and its service centres if you would rather do it in person. What you are looking for is the unit appearing against your name, in the project you think you bought in.
Two things are worth checking at the same time. First, that the project itself is registered and has an escrow account — a unit registered inside an unregistered project is a different problem. Second, that the district on the record matches what you expect, because the Land Department uses its own district names and they rarely match the marketing name.
What each one costs
Both are small next to the 4% Land Department transfer fee, and the Oqood registration usually sits inside that 4% rather than being charged on top.
If a developer asks you to pay an Oqood fee separately on top of the 4%, ask to see what that charge covers before paying it.
| What | Typical cost | When |
|---|---|---|
| Land Department fee | 4% of the price | On purchase |
| Oqood registration (off-plan) | AED 3,000–5,250 | On purchase, often inside the 4% |
| Title deed issuance | AED 250–580 | At transfer, once complete |
When the title deed actually arrives
At handover, once the project is complete and the Land Department transfers the unit to you. In practice that is the same moment you take the keys and settle the final payment.
The date to expect it is tied to the project's real completion, not the date in the brochure. The Land Department records a completion date against registered projects, and on the projects we track that date is often not the one being advertised. If you want to know when your deed is likely to exist, start from the register's date rather than the sales office's.
What to do if there is no record of you
If the Land Department has no Oqood against your unit, you are not yet registered as the buyer, whatever your contract says.
Put the question to the developer in writing and ask specifically when the Oqood will be filed and why it has not been. Keep every payment receipt and the signed sale agreement. If you get nothing useful back, the Real Estate Regulatory Agency is the body that handles buyer complaints, and the Land Department's service centres can tell you what the register holds.
Do not keep paying instalments on the assumption it will be sorted later. Registration is the evidence that your money bought something.