CRESCO INSIGHTS · CRESCO RESEARCH
Six public checks, the official portal for each, and the one thing escrow will never protect you from.
You are about to wire six figures to a company on the other side of the world, for an apartment that does not exist yet, on the recommendation of someone who found you on Instagram.
Dubai has more regulation around this than most people assume, and almost all of it is publicly checkable in about fifteen minutes. Here is exactly what to check and where.
Dubai REST is the Dubai Land Department's own app. Inside it, the Mashrooi or Project Status service lets you search any off plan project by name or by permit number.
What it shows you:
If a project does not appear on Dubai REST, stop. There is no second explanation worth listening to.
Take the developer name shown on Dubai REST and compare it against the name on your reservation form and on the escrow account you are being asked to pay into.
They must match exactly. A close match is not a match. Marketing entities, sister companies and "development arms" are where money goes missing.
Dubai Law No. 8 of 2007 requires every off plan project to hold buyer money in a project specific escrow account registered with the Dubai Land Department. Funds are released to the developer against verified construction progress, not on request.
Two rules follow from that.
Never pay into a company current account, a personal account, an agent's account or an account in another country. If the account name does not match the escrow account shown on Dubai REST, do not send the money.
And never pay in cryptocurrency to an individual wallet. Escrow protection does not exist outside the registered account.
Every property advertisement in Dubai is legally required to carry a valid Trakheesi permit number. That applies to portal listings, Instagram posts and brochures.
No permit number on the advert means the listing is non compliant. Cross check the number yourself rather than accepting a screenshot from the person selling to you.
Every licensed Dubai brokerage has an ORN, an Office Registration Number issued by RERA. Every individual agent has a BRN on their broker card.
Ask for both. A brokerage that will not give you its ORN in writing is telling you something.
Cresco Real Estate LLC holds RERA ORN 34288. That number is on every page of this website for the same reason we are asking you to demand it from anyone else.
Off plan sales are recorded on the Oqood interim register, which puts your interest in an unbuilt unit onto the government record before the building exists.
After you pay your deposit, your purchase should appear there. If weeks pass and it has not, escalate before the next instalment, not after.
This is the part the checklists leave out.
Escrow protects the money. It does not protect the price. A fully registered project with a perfect escrow account and a reputable developer can still sell you a unit at a number the resale market will not support for years.
Across registered Dubai Land Department sales between 30 June and 18 August 2026, off plan traded at a median 27% above ready stock per square foot for the same bedroom count in the same community. Every one of those transactions was fully compliant. Compliance and value are separate questions and you have to ask both.
Escrow also does not protect the handover date. Dates move. Build that into your plan rather than your hopes.
Search the project in the Dubai REST app under the Mashrooi or Project Status service. It shows RERA registration, construction progress, the registered developer name and the project escrow account. The Dubai Land Department project enquiry portal is an alternative source for the same records.
Under Dubai Law No. 8 of 2007, every off plan project must hold buyer payments in a project specific account registered with the Dubai Land Department. Money is released to the developer against verified construction milestones rather than on demand. Paying anywhere else forfeits that protection.
A permit number that must appear on every property advertisement in Dubai. Its absence means the advert is not compliant. Verify the number independently rather than accepting a screenshot.
An Office Registration Number issued by RERA to a licensed Dubai brokerage. Individual agents also hold a BRN on their broker card. Asking for both is the fastest way to confirm you are dealing with a licensed firm.
The Dubai Land Department interim register for off plan sales. Your purchase should be recorded there after your deposit, which places your interest in an unbuilt unit on the government record before a title deed can be issued.
No. Escrow protects the money from being misused. It says nothing about whether the price is reasonable. Off plan traded at a median 27% above ready stock per square foot across our analysis of registered sales in mid 2026, and all of those sales were fully compliant.
Sources. Dubai Law No. 8 of 2007 on escrow accounts for real estate development. Dubai REST project status and Trakheesi permit requirements per Dubai Land Department. Off plan premium calculated by Cresco Real Estate LLC from Dubai Land Department registered transactions, 30 June to 18 August 2026. Cresco Real Estate LLC, RERA ORN 34288. This article is general guidance and not legal advice. Verify all records directly with the Dubai Land Department before transacting.
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