# DLD project status: how to check an off-plan project in Dubai

Canonical page: https://firswoodproperties.ae/insights/dld-project-status.html

Buyer Guide

By [Daniella Best](https://firswoodproperties.ae/about/#daniella-best), Head of Compliance · Updated 2 October 2026

DLD project status is checked on the Project Status Enquiry of the Dubai Land Department (DLD): you enter a land number, project number or project name, and DLD shows the project's completion percentage with its status, dates, developer and escrow account. DLD gives the service time as immediate, through its website, the Dubai REST app or WhatsApp on 8004488.

## In brief

- The Project Status Enquiry takes **a land number, project number or project name** and returns completion percentage and project details; DLD lists the service time as "Immediate" (DLD service page, last updated 23 September 2026).
- DLD's open data sorts projects into **8 status labels**, including Active, Conditional Activating, Freezed and Cancelled. None of the DLD pages we read on 1 October 2026 defines them.
- The Real Estate Regulatory Agency (RERA) asks developers to update the expected completion date and completion rates, and treats a technical report as expired **3 months** after the last one (DLD FAQ).
- An investor can obtain a completion report from RERA's technical auditor for an audit fee of **AED 15,000** (DLD FAQ).
- Off-plan registrations made up **74.7%** of 166,659 Dubai home sales over the 12 months that ended on 31 August 2026 (Firswood analysis of DLD open data).

## How to check a project's status, step by step

DLD describes the service as one that lets a customer "inquire about real estate project completion percentage and details in the Emirate of Dubai". Its service page lists every residency status as eligible and shows no fee. DLD offers 3 channels.

1. **DLD website.** DLD's steps are to select the Information Services field and then the service, enter the land number, project number or project name, and read the information that appears.
2. **Dubai REST app.** In DLD's app the same check is called Project Status (Mashrooi). It sits on the home screen and in the services menu.
3. **WhatsApp.** Save DLD's number, 8004488, in your contacts and send a message. DLD says its virtual assistant, Malik, will help you get the service.

Ask the developer for the DLD project number and search with it: a number can be matched against your contract, a marketing name cannot.

DLD Project Status Enquiry: what it asks for and what it returns. Source: DLD service and search pages dated 23 September 2026, checked 1 October 2026

| Element | Shown on DLD's pages |
| --- | --- |
| Inputs | Land number, project number or project name |
| Search filters | Project name or number, Function, Status, number of rooms, unit size in square metres |
| Project fields | Project number, area (sq m), units, Registered, Started and Completion dates, property location, remarks, comments, Updated On |
| Developer fields | Developer name and number, status, phone, email, website |
| Management company | Company name and number, mobile |
| Escrow | Bank name and escrow account |
| Other actions | Book a Visit; Contact Developer |
| Service time | Immediate |

## What the result shows, and how current it is

Read the **Updated On** date before the percentage.

DLD's FAQ explains the cycle. RERA reviews the projects in its register periodically and asks developers to update their technical project data, meaning the expected completion date and the completion rates. Where a technical report has expired, the developer must pay a fee for a new one, and DLD defines expiry as "three months from the date of the last technical report".

For an independent figure on your own unit, DLD's FAQ says an investor "has the right to obtain a report showing the percentage of completion". RERA's technical auditor prepares it once the investor pays an audit fee of AED 15,000 for the unit or villa.

Once you own an off-plan unit, Dubai REST adds a second view: DLD says it gives "The percentage of completion, the actual pictures of the project", with the escrow account number and the payments still due.

## What each status label means

DLD's open data Projects table lets you filter projects by 8 status labels. We give them as DLD spells them. No DLD page we read defines them, so the second column repeats only what DLD's FAQ says about each stage.

Project status labels in DLD open data, read 1 October 2026, with what DLD's own pages say about each

| Label | What DLD's pages say |
| --- | --- |
| Active | No definition on the DLD pages we read. |
| Conditional Activating | No definition on the DLD pages we read. |
| Under Reviewing | No definition on the DLD pages we read. |
| Freezed | No definition on the DLD pages we read. The spelling is DLD's. |
| Under Cancellation Notification | DLD's FAQ says a project under cancellation "has not yet been cancelled". The steps include a grievance, its review and a committee report, and the process "may take at least three months". |
| Under Cancellation Decision | Same FAQ answer. DLD does not say how the two Under Cancellation labels differ. |
| Cancelled | DLD's liquidation section asks the developer to return investors' payments within 60 days from the date of the cancellation decision. RERA can extend that period, and a developer who does not comply is referred to the court. |
| Finished | No definition on the DLD pages we read. The sample result on the enquiry page shows the status "Completed". |

Where a label has no DLD definition, ask before relying on it. The enquiry page carries a Contact Developer form, and the service page links to DLD's contact page.

## Matching the project to the documents you sign

A status check helps only if the project on screen is the one in your contract. Run these checks before signing and again after.

1. **Developer.** The developer name in the result should match the seller on the sale and purchase agreement.
2. **Project.** Search by project number and confirm that the location, unit count and completion date fit what you are buying.
3. **Escrow account.** Law No. 8 of 2007 Concerning Escrow Accounts for Real Estate Development in the Emirate of Dubai, issued on 6 May 2007, has payments by off-plan purchasers deposited with the escrow agent in an account "in the name of the Real Estate Development project" (Article 7). Your payment instructions should name the bank and account the result shows. DLD's FAQ adds that, as a general rule, money leaves the account "only for payments to the contractors, consultants and marketing involved in the project".
4. **Trustee.** Look the bank up on DLD's list of approved escrow account trustees. It named 30 banks and finance houses when we read it (page last updated 30 September 2026).
5. **Registration.** Within 90 days from the date of signing the contract, the developer must have it registered in DLD's provisional register; the purchaser then receives a provisional registration e-certificate by email. Our [Oqood guide](https://firswoodproperties.ae/insights/oqood.html) covers that step and its fees. If a developer refuses or delays, DLD's FAQ says an application to register the contract can be made to the Real Estate Registration Assurance section, with supporting documents.

At completion the provisional registration gives way to a title deed, and our [title deed guide](https://firswoodproperties.ae/insights/title-deed-dubai.html) explains that final step.

## If the project looks delayed: DLD's official routes

DLD's FAQ and service pages give a different route for each problem, and say what DLD itself cannot do.

Routes DLD lists for delayed or troubled off-plan projects (DLD FAQ and service pages, read 1 October 2026)

| Situation | Route | What DLD says |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Construction looks stalled | RERA's monitoring | RERA "monitors the progress of construction works in the project periodically". A developer whose project is stalled is given a period to correct it; without a justifying reason, cancellation procedures start. |
| You doubt the completion figure | Technical auditor's report | An investor can obtain a completion report from RERA's technical auditor for an audit fee of AED 15,000. |
| The developer has not registered your contract | Real Estate Registration Assurance section | Apply to register the contract, supported by your documents. |
| You want a first answer on a contract problem | Inquiries Concerning Contractual Disputes | Automated responses on contractual disputes or "unwillingness to fulfill the contract"; immediate, on the DLD website or Dubai REST. |
| You want to end the contract or recover payments, and the project is not cancelled | Real estate court | DLD "does not have the authority to terminate any contract between the developer and the investor at the request of the investor". Its role is limited to settling the dispute amicably. |
| The project has been cancelled | DLD liquidation section | Money is moved from the escrow account into DLD's trust account and paid to beneficiaries "either in full or in proportion", depending on what the account holds. |
| A broker or company broke the rules | Complaint Against a Real Estate Company | Handled within 5 business days. Contractual disputes, contract revocation and refund requests are not considered, nor are contracts concluded more than 6 months earlier. |

The stalled-project answer in DLD's FAQ responds to a question about projects that are not cancelled and whose completion "does not exceed 5%". On timing, DLD says liquidating cancelled and suspended projects takes an indefinite period even when the documents, money and eligible people are all in place, because each project waits its turn.

Behind these routes sits Article 15 of Law No. 8 of 2007. Where a project is not completed in an emergency situation, its escrow agent must, after consulting DLD, take the required measures to preserve depositors' rights and "ensure that the Real Estate Development project is completed, or depositors are refunded their payments".

## How much of the market this applies to

Most homes sold in Dubai are registered off-plan. Counting residential sales registered with DLD over the year that began on 1 September 2025, we found 166,659 transactions, and 74.7% of them were off-plan registrations. The share varies widely between communities; the community table in our [Oqood guide](https://firswoodproperties.ae/insights/oqood.html) sets it out, and our [note on the DLD figures](https://firswoodproperties.ae/about/#dld-figures) gives the method.

## What a status check cannot tell you

- It describes the project, not your unit or your contract. Your own registration is the provisional registration e-certificate.
- The percentage is as current as the last inspection, so read it with the Updated On date.
- The completion date can move, since RERA asks developers to update the expected completion date during its reviews.
- It says nothing about roads, schools or shops nearby. Our guide to [off-plan risk in emerging communities](https://firswoodproperties.ae/insights/off-plan-risk-emerging-communities.html) covers those checks and the payment plan.

## How we checked

Every DLD page and the escrow law cited here were read on 1 October 2026; the sources list below names each one. The off-plan share is our own analysis of DLD open data. This page summarises official procedures; for a dispute over a specific contract, take legal advice.

## Common questions

### How do I check DLD project status?

Use DLD's Project Status Enquiry on the DLD website, the Project Status (Mashrooi) service in the Dubai REST app, or WhatsApp on 8004488. Enter the land number, project number or project name. DLD gives the service time as immediate.

### What do DLD's project status labels mean?

DLD's open data uses 8 labels: Active, Conditional Activating, Under Reviewing, Freezed, Under Cancellation Notification, Under Cancellation Decision, Cancelled and Finished. The DLD pages we read do not define them. DLD's FAQ explains only the cancellation stages: a project under cancellation has not yet been cancelled, and a cancelled project passes to DLD's liquidation section.

### How up to date is the completion percentage?

Check the Updated On date in the result. DLD's FAQ says RERA reviews projects periodically and makes developers pay for a new technical report once the last one is 3 months old. An investor can also obtain a completion report from RERA's technical auditor for an audit fee of AED 15,000.

### What can I do if my off-plan project is delayed?

DLD's FAQ says RERA monitors construction and gives the developer of a stalled project a period to correct it, after which cancellation procedures can begin. To end the contract or recover payments while the project is not cancelled, DLD says the investor should go to the real estate court.

### Can DLD cancel my contract and refund me?

No. DLD's FAQ says it does not have the authority to terminate a contract between developer and investor at the investor's request, and its role is limited to amicable settlement. If a project is cancelled, DLD's liquidation section asks the developer to return payments within 60 days from the date of the cancellation decision.

### How do I know my payments go to the project's escrow account?

Compare the bank and escrow account in the DLD project status result with the payment instructions in your contract, and check the bank against DLD's list of approved escrow account trustees. Law No. 8 of 2007 requires off-plan purchasers' payments to be deposited in an account in the project's name. After purchase, Dubai REST shows owners their escrow account number.

If you are weighing up an off-plan purchase, our [residential sales](https://firswoodproperties.ae/services/residential-sales.html) page lists the checks we add for an off-plan home. To ask about a specific project, use the [enquiry form](https://firswoodproperties.ae/#contact) and include its name or DLD project number.

Cite as: Firswood Properties, *DLD project status: how to check an off-plan project in Dubai*, 2 October 2026.

## Sources & further reading

Sources checked 1 October 2026.

- [Dubai Land Department: Project Status Enquiry (service page)](https://dubailand.gov.ae/en/eservices/real-estate-project-status-landing/)
- [Dubai Land Department: Project Status Enquiry (search)](https://dubailand.gov.ae/en/eservices/real-estate-project-status-landing/real-estate-project-status/)
- [Dubai Land Department: Dubai REST](https://dubailand.gov.ae/en/eservices/dubai-rest/)
- [Dubai Land Department: Frequently asked questions](https://dubailand.gov.ae/en/frequently-asked-questions/)
- [Dubai Land Department: open data (projects and transactions)](https://dubailand.gov.ae/en/open-data/real-estate-data/)
- [Dubai Land Department: Approved escrow account trustees](https://dubailand.gov.ae/en/eservices/certified-escrow-agents/escrow-account-details/)
- [Dubai Land Department: Inquiries Concerning Contractual Disputes](https://dubailand.gov.ae/en/eservices/rvs-contractual-disputes-overview/)
- [Dubai Land Department: Complaint Against a Real Estate Company](https://dubailand.gov.ae/en/eservices/rvs-violation-complaint-overview/)
- [Dubai Land Department: Request to register the initial sale](https://dubailand.gov.ae/en/eservices/request-to-register-the-initial-sale/)
- [Dubai Legislation Portal: Law No. 8 of 2007 Concerning Escrow Accounts for Real Estate Development](https://dlp.dubai.gov.ae/Legislation%20Reference/2007/Law%20No.%20(8)%20of%202007.html)

## Keep reading

- [DLD fees 2026: buyer and seller costs](https://firswoodproperties.ae/insights/dld-fees.html)
- [Ejari registration, fees and renewal](https://firswoodproperties.ae/insights/ejari.html)
- [Oqood: off-plan registration and fees](https://firswoodproperties.ae/insights/oqood.html)
- [RERA rent calculator and rental index](https://firswoodproperties.ae/insights/rera-rent-calculator.html)

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Firswood Properties L.L.C, Unit 22, 20th Floor, The Prime Tower, Marasi Drive, Business Bay, Dubai, United Arab Emirates. RERA ORN 59926. Email info@firswoodproperties.ae, telephone +971 50 185 5699. Enquiries: https://firswoodproperties.ae/#contact