{
    "entity_type": "article",
    "name": "1% monthly payment plans in Dubai: the arithmetic behind the headline",
    "url": "https://continentalclub.ae/1-percent-payment-plan-dubai/",
    "language": "en",
    "description": "A “1% monthly” payment plan means 1% of the purchase price is due each month: 12% per year, so 100 monthly instalments would take 8 years and 4 months if…",
    "published_at": "2026-10-27T08:35:50+00:00",
    "updated_at": "2026-10-27T08:35:50+00:00",
    "publisher": {
        "name": "Continental Club Property LLC",
        "orn": "31933",
        "url": "https://continentalclub.ae/"
    },
    "faq": [
        {
            "question": "Is 1% per month the same as 1% interest?",
            "answer": "No. In a developer payment plan, 1% per month describes a payment equal to 1% of the agreed purchase price. It is not, by itself, a bank interest rate."
        },
        {
            "question": "How long would 1% per month take to pay 100%?",
            "answer": "One hundred payments of 1% equal 100%, which is 8 years and 4 months. Actual plans may start with a down payment and include other milestones, so they often do not run as 100 equal monthly payments."
        },
        {
            "question": "Are 1% monthly payment plans common in Dubai?",
            "answer": "Forty of 2,846 published catalogue projects are marked with 1% monthly instalments. That is 1.4% of the full catalogue; 28 of 1,292 projects with a known numerical plan have the feature."
        },
        {
            "question": "What is a post-handover payment plan in Dubai?",
            "answer": "It is a plan where part of the agreed price remains payable after the unit is handed over. The buyer may have keys while continuing to meet contractual payment obligations."
        },
        {
            "question": "What is oqood?",
            "answer": "Oqood commonly refers to interim registration for an off-plan property transaction under the framework of Law No. 13 of 2008. It is distinct from completed-unit registration on the Real Property Register."
        },
        {
            "question": "Can the developer keep my payments if I stop paying?",
            "answer": "Law No. 19 of 2017 provides a 30-day DLD notice procedure and allows maximum retentions that depend on completion: up to 40% of unit value at higher completion stages, up to 25% below 60% after work has commenced, and up to 30% of payments made in the specified no-commencement situation."
        },
        {
            "question": "Can I sell a 1% monthly off-plan unit before handover?",
            "answer": "An assignment may be possible through the developer’s transfer process. Whether a NOC is required, how remaining instalments are treated, and which conditions apply depend on the developer and the transaction documents."
        }
    ],
    "markdown": "https://continentalclub.ae/1-percent-payment-plan-dubai.md",
    "content_md": "A “1% monthly” payment plan means 1% of the purchase price is due each month: 12% per year, so 100 monthly instalments would take 8 years and 4 months if there were no other payments. That is rarely the complete schedule. In the catalogue, these plans can sit alongside a down payment and may include a handover or post-handover balance, so the headline monthly figure must be read together with every contractual milestone.\n\n## What 1% per month means in AED\n\nThe calculation is simple once the unit price is known. For a purchase price of P, one monthly instalment is P × 1%. Twelve instalments equal P × 12%, and 30 instalments equal P × 30%.\n\n| Unit price | 1% per month | 12 monthly payments | 30 monthly payments |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| AED 500,000 | AED 5,000 | AED 60,000 | AED 150,000 |\n| AED 1,000,000 | AED 10,000 | AED 120,000 | AED 300,000 |\n| AED 1,500,000 | AED 15,000 | AED 180,000 | AED 450,000 |\n\nThis does not mean that the buyer pays 1% for the entire life of the purchase. A 1% monthly label may describe only a stated number of instalments. If the plan says “30 months at 1%,” those instalments account for 30% of the price. The other 70% must appear elsewhere in the schedule: as a reservation or down payment, construction-linked instalments, a handover payment, or payments after handover.\n\nA buyer comparing plans should turn each percentage into AED before focusing on the monthly number. On an AED 1,000,000 unit, a 10% initial payment is AED 100,000; a 20% initial payment is AED 200,000. Thirty payments of 1% then add AED 300,000. The remaining amount is not removed by the 1% headline. It remains due under the other milestones in the sale agreement.\n\nThe figures above are arithmetic illustrations, not prices or published schedules for a particular unit. Project cards may show a simplified plan headline, while the detailed sales documentation can allocate the same total across dates, construction stages, handover, and post-handover instalments.\n\n## How common are 1% monthly plans in the catalogue?\n\nThere are 2,846 published English-language projects in the catalogue. A numerical payment-plan structure is available for 1,292 projects, or 45.4% of the full catalogue. Another 1,454 projects, or 51.1%, have no payment-plan data in the card, so they cannot be used to estimate the prevalence of a particular structure.\n\nForty projects are marked with monthly instalments of 1%. That is 1.4% of all 2,846 published projects. Of the 1,292 projects with a known numerical structure, 28 have a 1% monthly feature, equal to 2.2%. The two percentages answer different questions: the first measures the whole published catalogue; the second measures only the cards where a numerical plan could be identified.\n\nThe catalogue identifies projects offering the feature, rather than a complete list of developers or a standard developer policy. The available [Dubai payment plan listings](/dubai-payment-plans/) are the practical place to check which current cards mention 1% monthly instalments or a post-handover portion. A label in a listing is not a substitute for the unit-specific schedule offered at the point of sale.\n\nAmong projects with a known numerical plan, the more frequent headline structures are 60/40, found in 301 projects or 23.3%, 50/50 in 235 projects or 18.2%, 70/30 in 161 projects or 12.5%, and 80/20 in 145 projects or 11.2%. A 1% monthly feature can overlap with these headline structures; it is not a separate category that can be added to them.\n\nPayment-plan information is not equally complete across all cards. Some plans are reconstructed from individual payment lines rather than a headline ratio, and one project card may contain only one of several payment options. That is why a percentage such as 60/40 should be treated as a summary of the plan published for that card, not a guarantee that every unit in the development is sold on identical terms.\n\n## Down payment, construction stages and the missing balance\n\nThe phrase “1% monthly” answers one narrow question: the size of a stated monthly instalment relative to the purchase price. It does not answer how much is payable on booking, whether payments are tied to construction stages, whether a larger amount is due on handover, or how long any post-handover portion lasts.\n\nA full payment plan should be read as a total of all its lines:\n\n- the initial payment or down payment;\n- any payments due during construction;\n- the amount due at handover, if stated;\n- payments due after handover;\n- the total, which should equal 100% of the agreed purchase price.\n\nFor comparison, 20/80 appears in 24 projects with known structures, or 1.9% of that group. A headline such as 20/80 describes the split in the simplified card, while the contract may break the 20% or the 80% into more than one due date. The catalogue examples of this structure include Azizi Riviera 54, Equiti Garden, Ghost by Binghatti, Me Do Re 2 and Sobha Seahaven. Their stated handover periods differ, and the headline ratio alone does not reveal the exact calendar of payments.\n\nA buyer encountering developer instalments for the first time may need the broader explanation of [Dubai property payment plans](/dubai-property-payment-plan/) before assessing the monthly amount. The practical question is not whether a payment is called “monthly,” “construction,” or “handover.” It is whether the complete schedule adds up to the purchase price and whether each due date can be met.\n\n## Post-handover payment plans: what changes after delivery?\n\nA post-handover payment plan means that part of the price remains payable after the unit is handed over. In the catalogue, 154 projects with known numerical plans include a post-handover element. That is 11.9% of the 1,292 projects with known structures, or 5.4% of all 2,846 published projects.\n\nReceiving keys does not by itself mean that all payment obligations have ended. The buyer may be able to take possession of the completed unit while continuing to pay the remaining agreed price. The specific rights to occupy, register, sell, or otherwise deal with the unit depend on the sale agreement and the applicable registration process.\n\nExecutive Council Resolution No. 6 of 2010, implementing Law No. 13 of 2008, states that once a project is completed and has a completion certificate, the developer may not refuse to hand over a unit or register it in the purchaser’s name if the purchaser has fulfilled contractual obligations. The same provision requires registration of the unit and allocated facilities, such as parking, in the purchaser’s name.\n\nWhere money remains unpaid, the contractual position still matters. A post-handover balance can leave the purchaser with continuing obligations after occupancy. Describing a unit as “ready” therefore does not answer whether the purchase price is fully paid. The relevant documents should be read for the outstanding amount, due dates, consequences of late payment, and the conditions applying to registration and transfer.\n\n## Oqood, off-plan registration and escrow\n\n“Oqood” is the term commonly used for the interim registration of an off-plan real property transaction. Its formal legal framework is the Interim Real Property Register regulated by Law No. 13 of 2008 and its amendments. An off-plan buyer should distinguish this interim registration from registration on the Real Property Register after completion.\n\nLaw No. 8 of 2007 requires a developer selling units off-plan and receiving purchaser or financier payments to operate under the escrow-account framework. An escrow account is a project bank account into which payments for off-plan units or project finance are deposited. The account is opened in the name of the particular development project and is dedicated exclusively to construction of that project.\n\nEach project must have a separate escrow account. Law No. 8 of 2007 also provides that purchasers or their representatives may access their own accounting records and request copies. Once the developer obtains the completion certificate, the escrow agent must retain 5% of the total value of each escrow account; the retained amount is released to the developer one year after units are registered in purchasers’ names.\n\nEscrow does not change the buyer’s instalment schedule. It regulates where applicable off-plan payments are deposited and how the project account is managed. It also does not remove the need to verify what is due, when it is due, and whether a demand corresponds to the agreed schedule.\n\nUnder the implementing rules, a developer may not commence the project or sell off-plan units without possession and actual control of the land, a demarcation certificate, and the approvals required to commence implementation. A legal disposition involving an off-plan sale before project commencement approval and registration is deemed null and void under Executive Council Resolution No. 6 of 2010.\n\n## Late payments and cancellation: the figures behind the risk\n\nLaw No. 19 of 2017 amended Article 11 of Law No. 13 of 2008 and sets out the procedure where an off-plan purchaser fails to meet contractual obligations. The developer notifies the DLD of the non-performance. After verification, the DLD gives the purchaser written notice of 30 days to fulfil the obligations and may, where possible, mediate a settlement.\n\nIf the notice period ends without performance or settlement, the DLD issues an official document confirming the procedure and the completion percentage under RERA standards. The developer’s available measures then depend on project completion. These percentages are maximum retention limits; they are not a monthly late fee.\n\n| Completion stage stated in Law No. 19 of 2017 | Maximum amount the developer may retain on termination |\n| --- | --- |\n| More than 80% complete | Up to 40% of the unit value in the off-plan sale agreement |\n| Between 60% and 80% complete | Up to 40% of the unit value in the off-plan sale agreement |\n| Construction commenced and less than 60% complete | Up to 25% of the unit value in the off-plan sale agreement |\n| Work not commenced for reasons beyond the developer’s control, without developer negligence or omission | Up to 30% of amounts paid by the purchaser |\n\nFor projects above 80% completion, the law also allows the developer to maintain the agreement, retain payments made and claim the outstanding balance, or request sale of the unit by public auction to collect remaining amounts, subject to the stated procedure. The purchaser may be liable for costs arising from that sale.\n\nWhere the developer terminates and retains an amount based on the unit value, any excess must be refunded within one year from termination or within 60 days after resale to another purchaser, whichever occurs first. In the case where work has not commenced for qualifying reasons beyond the developer’s control, the amount above the permitted retention is to be refunded within 60 days from termination.\n\nIf a project is cancelled pursuant to a reasoned RERA decision, Law No. 19 of 2017 provides for refund of purchaser payments under the procedures and rules of Law No. 8 of 2007. Under that law, if escrow funds are insufficient to refund amounts owed, the developer must refund them within 60 days from the cancellation decision unless RERA extends the period for valid reasons.\n\n## Can a 1% monthly unit be resold before handover?\n\nA resale before completion is generally described as an assignment or transfer of the off-plan sale position. It is not the same transaction as selling a completed, fully registered unit. The developer’s transfer process and the applicable registration requirements govern the practical route.\n\nA buyer should expect the transfer to involve the developer and should check the developer’s current procedure for a NOC, or no-objection certificate, if one is required. The available information does not establish a single NOC fee, transfer fee, minimum paid percentage, or uniform approval rule for every developer. Those points depend on the developer, the project documentation, and the transaction at the time of transfer.\n\nThe remaining payment plan does not disappear because the buyer wishes to assign the unit. The parties need to establish how paid amounts, unpaid instalments, any handover balance, and post-handover payments are dealt with in the transfer documentation. A buyer should not assume that “1% monthly” can automatically be passed to a new purchaser unchanged.\n\nFor off-plan transactions, Executive Council Resolution No. 6 of 2010 provides that prescribed registration fees are paid by the developer and purchaser according to their respective shares unless otherwise agreed. It also states that developers may not charge purchasers amounts for legal dispositions other than amounts approved by the DLD. The applicable transaction documents remain necessary to identify the actual process.\n\n## Developer payment plan versus a mortgage\n\nA developer’s 1% monthly plan is a staged purchase-price schedule. It is not, by itself, a bank loan and does not require a bank to lend the unpaid amount. The buyer pays the developer under the sale agreement, subject to the relevant off-plan registration and escrow rules where applicable.\n\nA mortgage is a financing arrangement involving a lender and a loan secured against property. The buyer’s payment relationship includes the lender, the financing terms, and the security arrangement. A developer instalment plan is instead built into the agreed purchase-price timetable.\n\n| Developer payment plan | Mortgage |\n| --- | --- |\n| Payments are allocated against the agreed property price. | Payments are made under a lending arrangement. |\n| The developer’s schedule sets the payment milestones. | The lender’s financing terms set the repayment obligations. |\n| A 1% monthly label describes an instalment of the purchase price. | The monthly amount is determined by the financing arrangement. |\n| There is no bank interest rate implied by the 1% label. | Financing costs form part of the lending arrangement. |\n\nReaders considering bank finance can review the separate guide to [Dubai mortgages for non-residents](/dubai-mortgage-for-non-residents/). The comparison should be made on mechanism, timing, obligations, and documentation rather than by treating a developer’s 1% monthly instalment as an interest rate.\n\n## Frequently asked questions\n\n### Is 1% per month the same as 1% interest?\n\nNo. In a developer payment plan, 1% per month describes a payment equal to 1% of the agreed purchase price. It is not, by itself, a bank interest rate.\n\n### How long would 1% per month take to pay 100%?\n\nOne hundred payments of 1% equal 100%, which is 8 years and 4 months. Actual plans may start with a down payment and include other milestones, so they often do not run as 100 equal monthly payments.\n\n### Are 1% monthly payment plans common in Dubai?\n\nForty of 2,846 published catalogue projects are marked with 1% monthly instalments. That is 1.4% of the full catalogue; 28 of 1,292 projects with a known numerical plan have the feature.\n\n### What is a post-handover payment plan in Dubai?\n\nIt is a plan where part of the agreed price remains payable after the unit is handed over. The buyer may have keys while continuing to meet contractual payment obligations.\n\n### What is oqood?\n\nOqood commonly refers to interim registration for an off-plan property transaction under the framework of Law No. 13 of 2008. It is distinct from completed-unit registration on the Real Property Register.\n\n### Can the developer keep my payments if I stop paying?\n\nLaw No. 19 of 2017 provides a 30-day DLD notice procedure and allows maximum retentions that depend on completion: up to 40% of unit value at higher completion stages, up to 25% below 60% after work has commenced, and up to 30% of payments made in the specified no-commencement situation.\n\n### Can I sell a 1% monthly off-plan unit before handover?\n\nAn assignment may be possible through the developer’s transfer process. Whether a NOC is required, how remaining instalments are treated, and which conditions apply depend on the developer and the transaction documents.",
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