Glossary / Property

Oqood

Oqood is the Dubai Land Department system that registers off-plan property sales contracts before a title deed exists, creating an official record of the buyer's interest during construction.

Registration is what converts a private agreement with a developer into a recognised interest in the project. Until the building completes and a title deed is issued, this is the record of ownership.

An unregistered off-plan purchase is a contract with a company, not a property interest.

Where people get it wrong

Assuming the developer has registered it. Confirm the registration exists rather than accepting that it will be handled.

The framework behind it Off-plan versus ready sets out the rule, the arithmetic and where it breaks.

Read the framework

Related terms

Off-plan Off-plan means buying a property before it is built, paying in instalments against construction milestones and taking ownership only at handover, which in Dubai is registered through Oqood rather than an immediate title deed. Title deed A title deed is the Dubai Land Department document proving ownership of a completed property, issued at transfer or at handover and naming the owner, the unit and its area. Escrow account In Dubai, an escrow account is a project-specific account required by Law No. 8 of 2007 into which all off-plan buyer payments and project finance must be deposited, dedicated exclusively to that project's construction and protected from the developer's other creditors.

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