RAK's New Off-Plan Law: What Changes for Buyers
Ras Al Khaimah has a new off-plan law, and it changes what you are protected from when you buy a home before it is built. Law No. 10 of 2026 on the Regulation of Real Estate Development was issued by the Ruler on 21 July 2026 and came into force 60 days later, on about 19 September. It replaces Law No. 12 of 2023 in full. It has had little coverage. The official text is published only in Arabic, on the RAK Government's legislation portal, and RAK Municipality's own website still shows the old law.
We have read the official text, all 51 articles. This is what it means for a buyer, what it takes away, and what to do now. The translations are ours and unofficial.
The short version
Four changes matter most. Developers can no longer take money out of escrow for marketing or profit. A buyer who stops paying now has a cap on what they can lose. A new judicial committee decides what happens to stalled and cancelled projects. And several fixed deadlines that protected buyers under the old law have gone, with the detail left to rules that have not yet been written.
What buyers gain
Your money pays only for the building
Under the 2023 law a developer could draw up to 5% of the money in escrow for marketing, and a share of its expected profit once the building was 60% complete. Both allowances have gone. Money now leaves the project's escrow account only against a payment request that RERA RAK, the regulator, has approved, and only to pay for construction, plus other costs RERA RAK considers necessary to finish the project (Article 34).
RERA RAK can refuse a payment, stop payments if it thinks completion is at risk, and order the developer to top the account up (Articles 33 to 35). The land still cannot be paid for from escrow until the completion certificate is issued.
Developers must put in their own money
A developer must now fund at least 20% of the building cost itself, and a project may not depend only on off-plan sales (Article 9). The escrow money and the project's assets are also ring-fenced: the developer's other creditors cannot reach them (Article 41).
A cap on what you can lose
This is the biggest change for buyers. If a buyer falls behind, the developer must report it to RERA RAK. RERA RAK checks the facts and how far the building has got, and gives the buyer 30 days to put it right. Only then can the developer end the contract, without going to court, and keep part of the price (Article 20).
What it keeps is capped: 40% of the price if the building is 60% complete or more, 25% if it is less, and 20% if work has not started for reasons that are not the developer's fault. It is never more than the buyer has paid, RERA RAK must approve the figure, and the rest must be repaid within six months. The rule applies to contracts signed before the new law too, unless the project already has its completion certificate.
Clearer rights at handover
A buyer who has paid in full is entitled to the home, and a judge can order the developer to hand it over (Article 38). The developer is liable for 10 years for the structure and one year for the installations, and a contract cannot take that away (Article 39).
What buyers lose
Some protections in the old law are not in the new one. Several may come back in the executive regulation, the detailed rules the law leaves to RAK's Executive Council. Until that is issued, these are gaps.
No fixed time to review the contract
The 2023 law gave a buyer up to 15 days to read the sale contract, and said a buyer who did not sign in that time lost the reservation money. The new law has neither rule. It says the reservation deed binds both sides, and that the developer must sign the sale contract within 30 days and may not sell the home to anyone else meanwhile (Article 16). What happens to your reservation money if you decide not to sign is not in the law. Read your reservation deed before you pay.
No deadline for registration
The old law required the developer to record your purchase in five working days. The new law requires every off-plan sale to be registered, with no deadline. If the developer is slow, you may register it yourself once you have paid the fee (Article 17).
Fewer named rights to information
The old law named your right to see your escrow sub-account, the progress reports and any broker's agreement with the developer. The new law gives a broader but less specific right: to see all the information on the project and your home, including any rights or charges over it, and to be told of changes (Articles 18 and 46). Progress reports now go to RERA RAK, and a broker's agreement must be registered with RAK Municipality.
No numbers on adverts
The new law requires RERA RAK's permit to advertise off-plan homes and leaves its conditions to the executive regulation (Article 14). The old law's rule that every off-plan advert must show the developer, project and escrow account numbers is not in it.
What has not changed
The core of escrow is the same. You still pay into your own home's sub-account, the developer may not take any of the price outside it or deduct a broker's commission from it (Article 32), and you may still hold back a stage payment when the stage has not been reached, if you tell the developer in writing first (Article 19).
Stalled and cancelled projects
A developer must start work within six months of registering the project, with one extension (Article 23). If a project stops for more than six months without good reason, RERA RAK can send it to a new Judicial Committee for Stalled and Cancelled Projects, which can cancel it and decides the order in which buyers, contractors and others are repaid (Articles 26, 27 and 29). The completion date set at registration can be extended by up to 12 months (Article 36).
What to do now
If you already have a contract, the cap on what you can lose applies to you. Check how far your building has got against the 60% line, because it decides the cap.
Before you reserve, read the reservation deed itself. Look for what it says about your money if you do not go ahead, and for the escrow bank and account you pay into.
Ask for the project's registration and sale permit before you pay anything, and check with the bank that the escrow account is the project's.
After you sign, ask when the developer will register your purchase. If it is slow, you can do it yourself.
Watch for the executive regulation. We will update this article when it is issued.
How escrow works under the new law is set out in our article on off-plan escrow →, and the checks we run on a developer in how to assess an off-plan developer →.
Thinking of buying here? Start here: Buying off-plan →
This article is published for information only and is not legal or investment advice. The law is published in Arabic only; the translations here are ours and unofficial. Take legal advice on your own contract.
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