Oqood

Oqood (Arabic for 'contracts') is the Dubai Land Department portal through which off-plan property sales are registered in the interim real estate register. When you buy a unit that is still under construction in Dubai, the developer must register your sale and purchase agreement through Oqood, and you receive an Oqood certificate as proof of your registered interest until the building is completed and a final title deed is issued. This registration is your core legal protection as an off-plan buyer: an unregistered off-plan sale is highly vulnerable, while a registered one ties your rights to the official register and to the project's escrow framework. You will meet Oqood when paying the registration fee shortly after signing the SPA, when reselling (assigning) an off-plan unit — the transfer happens through the same system — and at handover, when the Oqood record is converted into a title deed.