Off-plan payment plans in dirhams: what AED 1.5M costs each quarter

To work out an off-plan payment plan in Dubai, multiply the price by each share in the plan and split the construction share into equal instalments up to handover. On AED 1,500,000, a 20/80 plan means AED 300,000 before handover and AED 1,200,000 at it, plus a DLD fee of AED 60,000. This guide works through four common plan shapes on that price, quarter by quarter, and ends with a formula you can use for any price.

This is general information, not financial or legal advice.

If the plan numbers are new to you, start with off-plan payment plans, explained. This guide builds on it.

How do I calculate an off-plan payment plan in Dubai?

Multiply the price by each share: booking, construction and handover. Then divide the construction share by the number of instalments to handover. On AED 1,500,000 with booking in November 2026, a 20/50/30 plan is AED 300,000 to book, eight quarterly payments of AED 93,750 and AED 450,000 at handover. This is our own arithmetic.

The tables below follow the same rules, so you can compare them:

• One price for every table: AED 1,500,000. The shapes compare directly.
• The plan shapes are common ones. We took them from the payment plans of the 988 off-plan projects listed on this site in November 2026. We name no projects: the plan in your sale and purchase agreement (SPA) is the one that counts.
• The dates are ours, not the developer's. A plan gives shares, not dates. We assume you book in November 2026 (the fourth quarter, Q4 2026) and split the construction share into equal parts, one per quarter, up to the quarter before handover. These dates are an illustration. Your SPA sets the real dates or construction stages.
• Rounding. Amounts are rounded to the dirham. The last instalment takes the rounding, so every table adds up to AED 1,500,000.
• Fees are kept out of the tables. The 4% DLD fee and the registration fees have their own section below.

What does a 20/80 payment plan mean?

A 20/80 plan means you pay 20% of the price while the building goes up and 80% at handover. On AED 1,500,000 that is AED 300,000 before the keys and AED 1,200,000 at handover. In November 2026, 11 of the 950 plans on projects listed on this site were labelled 20/80, and 23 asked 80% or more at handover.

This example has no booking step, like the 41 two-step plans on our site. Ask the developer how much you pay to book and whether it comes out of the 20%. Here the handover is in December 2028.

Quarter (illustration)	What	AED
Q4 2026 to Q3 2028	Construction, 8 parts of 37,500	300,000
Q4 2028 (handover)	Handover, 80%	1,200,000
	Total	1,500,000

At handover you owe AED 1,200,000 in one payment. If a mortgage will pay it, the bank lends against its own valuation, which can be lower than your price. See off-plan mortgages in Dubai.

What does a 40/60 payment plan mean?

A 40/60 plan means 40% before handover and 60% at handover. On AED 1,500,000 that is AED 600,000 before the keys and AED 900,000 at them. The label does not say when. Our two examples, with handover 4 months and 31 months after a November 2026 booking, ask AED 600,000 in one quarter or about AED 58,333 a quarter.

The same label can mean very different cash flow. Here are two 40/60 plans on the same price:

• Handover soon (March 2027). The whole 40% is due during construction, which leaves one quarter before handover.
• Handover later (June 2029). The plan is 5% on booking, 35% during construction and 60% at handover. That is still 40% before handover and 60% at it.

Quarter (illustration)	Handover Mar 2027: what	AED	Handover Jun 2029: what	AED
Q4 2026	Construction, all 40%	600,000	Booking, 5%	75,000
Q1 2027	Handover, 60%	900,000	Construction, 1st of 9 parts	58,333
Q2 2027 to Q4 2028	n/a	n/a	Construction, 7 parts of 58,333	408,331
Q1 2029	n/a	n/a	Construction, last part	58,336
Q2 2029	n/a	n/a	Handover, 60%	900,000
Total		1,500,000		1,500,000

A handover only a few months away is worth checking. Compare the listed date with the completion date in the DLD project register, which you can look up in the Dubai REST app. If handover moves, ask how the construction share moves with it.

How does a 1% monthly payment plan work?

On a 1% plan you pay 1% of the price each month: AED 15,000 a month on AED 1,500,000. From December 2026 to November 2028 that is 24 months, or AED 360,000. On a 10/60/30 plan the construction share is AED 900,000, so 1% a month leaves AED 540,000 undated. This is our arithmetic, not a developer's schedule.

None of the 988 projects listed on this site in November 2026 states 1% a month in its plan or text, so treat the right-hand column as a what-if. The left-hand column spreads the same 10/60/30 plan evenly to a December 2028 handover.

Quarter (illustration)	Spread evenly: what	AED	1% a month: what	AED
Q4 2026	Booking, 10%	150,000	Booking, 10%, plus December's 1%	165,000
Q1 2027 to Q2 2028	Construction, 6 parts of 128,571	771,426	18 × 1%	270,000
Q3 2028	Construction, last part	128,574	3 × 1%	45,000
Q4 2028	Handover, 30%	450,000	2 × 1% (Oct, Nov), then handover, 30%	480,000
Not dated	n/a	n/a	Rest of the 60% construction share: ask when it is due	540,000
Total		1,500,000		1,500,000

If a developer offers 1% a month, ask three things before you book:

• Did the 1% start at launch? Is there a catch-up payment for the months already past?
• Do the instalments follow the calendar or the construction stage?
• When is any part of the construction share that 1% a month does not cover due?

How does a post-handover payment plan work?

A post-handover plan leaves part of the price until after you get the keys. On AED 1,500,000, a 20/50/30 plan with the 30% paid over 30 months after handover means AED 1,050,000 before handover and AED 450,000 after it, at AED 15,000 a month. In November 2026, 78 plans on this site were labelled 20/50/30.

The plan steps on our listings are booking, construction and handover, so a share due after handover is counted in the handover step. That is why the table shows both readings of the same 20/50/30 plan. The handover here is March 2029, and the post-handover payments start in April 2029.

Quarter (illustration)	30% at handover: AED	30% after handover: AED
Q4 2026: booking, 20%	300,000	300,000
Q1 2027 to Q4 2028: construction, 8 parts of 93,750	750,000	750,000
Q1 2029: handover	450,000	0
Q2 2029 to Q3 2031: after handover, 10 quarters of 3 × 1% (45,000)	0	450,000
Total	1,500,000	1,500,000

Who holds the title deed until the last payment, and what happens if you miss one, is covered in post-handover payment plans.

How much is due at handover on most Dubai off-plan plans?

The median plan asks 40% at handover. We counted the 950 payment plans published on the 988 projects listed on this site in November 2026: 387 ask 50% or more at handover, 162 ask 60% or more, and 145 ask 20% or less. On AED 1,500,000, 40% is AED 600,000 due at the keys.

Share due at handover	Plans	Nearest shape here
80% or more	23 (18 at exactly 80%)	20/80
70% to 79%	40	n/a
60% to 69%	99 (85 at exactly 60%)	40/60
50% to 59%	225	n/a
40% to 49%	255	n/a
30% to 39%	143	10/60/30, 20/50/30
21% to 29%	20	n/a
20% or less	145	n/a
Total	950

The median plan also asks 10% on booking. Another 37 projects publish no plan, and one shows a plan that adds up to 102%. The most common labels were 20/40/40 (108 plans), 10/40/50 (106) and 10/50/40 (87).

Two shapes cannot be counted this way. A 1%-a-month plan looks like any other three-step plan, and a share due after handover is counted in the handover step. At least 4 of the 988 projects describe a post-handover plan in their tags or text, so the real number is higher. To find one, search and describe what you want, for example "post-handover plan", then confirm the plan in writing.

Here are all the examples side by side, on AED 1,500,000, plan payments only:

Shape	Paid before handover	Due at handover	Due after handover
20/80	300,000	1,200,000	0
40/60, handover in 4 months	600,000	900,000	0
5/35/60, handover in 31 months	600,000	900,000	0
10/60/30	1,050,000	450,000	0
20/50/30, 30% at handover	1,050,000	450,000	0
20/50/30, 30% over 30 months after handover	1,050,000	0	450,000

Each row adds up to AED 1,500,000. A plan with less due at handover asks for more before it or after it. The plan does not make the home cheaper. It only changes when you pay.

How much is the DLD fee on AED 1.5 million?

The DLD fee is 4% of the price: AED 60,000 on AED 1,500,000. With the Oqood registration lines (AED 1,020) and the title deed and map fees (AED 520), the fees come to AED 61,540. These are the fees on the Dubai Land Department's service pages, checked on 14 November 2026.

Fee	AED
DLD fee, 4% of the price	60,000
Oqood registration lines listed by the DLD (AED 1,000 developer fee + AED 10 + AED 10)	1,020
Title deed and map when the title is issued (AED 250 + AED 250 + AED 20)	520
Fees	61,540
Plan payments	1,500,000
Total	1,561,540

The DLD lists the 4% as 2% for the seller and 2% for the buyer. All 988 projects on our site list 4% for the buyer to pay (DLD). The DLD lists the AED 1,000 as a fee for developers, so ask whether it is passed on to you. Ask when the 4% is due, too. Some developers add their own admin fee. Service charges, utility deposits and mortgage costs come on top. See the costs on top of the price.

How do I work out a payment plan for any price?

You need the price, the plan's shares and the number of construction instalments. On AED 1,250,000 with a 10/70/20 plan and 8 quarterly instalments, you pay AED 125,000 to book, AED 109,375 a quarter, AED 250,000 at handover and a DLD fee of AED 50,000. In November 2026, 73 plans on this site were labelled 10/70/20.

Your SPA gives the real number of instalments. If it doesn't, count the quarters to the listed handover.

• Booking = price × booking share.
• Each construction instalment = price × construction share ÷ number of instalments.
• At handover = price × handover share.
• Each payment after handover = price × post-handover share ÷ number of payments.
• A 1% plan = price ÷ 100 each month. Multiply by the months left to handover and compare it with the construction share. If it is smaller, ask when the rest is due.
• DLD fee = price × 4%, plus AED 1,020 at registration and AED 520 for the title deed.

Step	Sum	AED
Booking	1,250,000 × 10%	125,000
Each of 8 instalments	1,250,000 × 70% ÷ 8	109,375
All 8 instalments	109,375 × 8	875,000
At handover	1,250,000 × 20%	250,000
Plan total	125,000 + 875,000 + 250,000	1,250,000
DLD fee	1,250,000 × 4%	50,000

Check your own figures the same way: the plan payments must add up to the price. If they don't, a step is missing. Each project page on this site also works out a dated schedule at its from price, under "Paying for it". It adds the DLD fee to the booking payment, as its methodology explains.

Before you book

• Ask for the full schedule in writing, with a date or a construction stage for every instalment.
• Check that the plan adds up to 100%, and ask about any step the listing doesn't show.
• Compare the listed handover with the DLD register's completion date, and ask what moves if handover moves.
• Work out the amount due at handover, and where it will come from.
• Keep the 4% DLD fee and the registration fees as separate lines in your budget.

Frequently asked questions

Is a payment plan cheaper than paying cash?

No, not by itself. The plan changes when you pay, not how much. On AED 1,500,000 every shape in this guide adds up to AED 1,500,000. If a developer offers a lower price for paying more up front, ask for both prices in writing and compare them.

Can I use a mortgage for the handover payment?

Often, yes. Banks lend on finished homes against their own valuation. A 40% handover payment on AED 1,500,000 is AED 600,000. If the bank values the home lower than your price, you pay the gap in cash. See off-plan mortgages in Dubai.

Do I pay the 4% DLD fee on top of the plan?

Yes. On AED 1,500,000 the fee is AED 60,000, and it is not part of the plan's 100%. All 988 projects listed on this site in November 2026 list it for the buyer to pay. Ask the developer when it is due.

What if my plan has no booking step?

Then ask what secures the unit: the first construction payment or a separate reservation amount. In November 2026, 909 of the 950 plans on this site had a booking step and 41 did not. Ask how much you pay to reserve, and whether it counts towards the plan.

What happens to my instalments if handover is delayed?

It depends on your SPA. Some plans are tied to construction stages, so a delay also moves the payments. Others follow the calendar, so you keep paying on time while the building runs late. Ask which kind yours is before you book.

Sources

• Dubai Land Department, request to register the initial sale (Oqood), site updated 10 November 2026, checked 14 November 2026: dubailand.gov.ae
• Dubai Land Department, request to complete the initial procedures data (title deed), site updated 10 November 2026, checked 14 November 2026: dubailand.gov.ae
• Our analysis of the payment plans on the 988 off-plan projects listed on this site, November 2026 (950 with plan steps). The quarterly timing in the tables is our illustration, not any developer's schedule.