Delays and overruns
Dubai handover delay: the grace period explained
Dubai's standard sale agreement lets a developer slip the announced handover date by up to twelve months, once RERA approves the revised schedule, before you gain the right to cancel. Roughly four in ten off-plan projects run late by some margin, so check your own contract's clause rather than assume a shorter window.
Dubai’s standard sale agreement lets a developer push the announced handover date back by up to twelve months, once RERA has approved the revised schedule, before you gain a right to cancel. A meaningful share of off-plan projects run late to some degree, so check the clause in your own contract rather than assume a shorter grace period applies.
The twelve-month clause
Under the RERA standard sale agreement template used across most Dubai off-plan projects, a developer may push the announced completion date back by up to twelve months without giving you a right to cancel, provided RERA has approved the revised schedule. The twelve months is measured from the date first stated in your contract, not from any later date the developer names.
Compensation for a delay is a separate question from cancellation. Article 295 of the UAE Civil Code lets a buyer claim monetary compensation for documented losses caused by the delay, such as rent paid on a home you expected to have left by now. Article 273, updated under the Civil Transactions Law change that took effect in June 2026, sets a high bar for a developer to excuse a delay as force majeure.
What the numbers say
| Point in the delay | What you can do |
|---|---|
| Inside the twelve months, RERA has approved the new date | Wait, or claim documented losses under Article 295. No right to cancel yet. |
| Past twelve months from the original date | Grounds to seek cancellation and a refund through RERA, on the facts of your case. |
| Project formally cancelled by RERA | Refund of payments received, through the project’s escrow procedure. |
Before you assume you can wait it out
- Find the completion date stated in your own sale agreement, not the date on the sales gallery board.
- Check whether RERA has actually approved a revised schedule, and get that confirmation in writing.
- Keep dated records of costs the delay is causing you: rent, storage, anything with a receipt and a date.
- Get a construction check done rather than assume the delay means nothing is happening. A stalled site and a slow-but-active one call for different decisions.
- Take Article 295 compensation questions to a lawyer. What you are owed for the delay is a legal question, not a construction one.
The twelve-month figure is a default in the standard agreement, not a guarantee: your own contract’s date, RERA’s approval status and the state of the site are what actually decide whether you can wait, claim, or seek to cancel.
Last checked
Questions on this
- Does the twelve months restart if RERA approves another extension?
- The clause is measured from the original contractual date, not from each approval. A second approved extension does not reset a new twelve-month period from itself.
- What if RERA has not approved the new date at all?
- An unapproved delay stands on different footing than an approved one. Confirm the status in writing before assuming either the twelve-month clock or your compensation rights.
- Can I get my deposit back if I cancel after twelve months?
- Grounds to seek cancellation are not the same as an automatic refund. The claim goes through RERA and depends on payments made and the project's own state.