Three developers in Dubai have been fined AED500,000 each for promoting and marketing real estate projects without completing the mandatory registration procedures for off-plan projects.

The Dubai Land Department (DLD) did not name the developers, but said they had violated a law on real estate development escrow accounts.

A real estate escrow account is designated for a real estate project where the funds collected from buyers of off-plan units are deposited. This account aims to regulate the construction process of the units sold, ensuring the protection of investor rights.

Ali Abdullah Al Ali, director of the Real Estate Control Department, urged investors to verify that off-plan projects are licensed and registered with an escrow account. They can check this through the DLD’s Dubai REST application.

Investors must not “make any payments outside the project’s escrow account”, he added.