Ownership & law
Oqood (Off-Plan Registration)
Oqood is the registration of an off-plan property purchase, recording the buyer's interest in a unit that is still under development.
Oqood, meaning 'contracts' in Arabic, refers to the interim registration of an off-plan sale before the building is completed and a final title deed can be issued. It records the buyer's rights in a unit sold from the plan and links the purchase to the developer's regulated escrow arrangements, protecting instalment payments. On handover and completion, the Oqood registration is typically converted into a full title deed registered with ADREC in Abu Dhabi.
Related terms
- Escrow Account — An escrow account is a regulated bank account that holds off-plan buyer payments and releases them to the developer only as construction progresses.
- SPA (Sale and Purchase Agreement) — An SPA is the binding contract between buyer and seller that sets the price, payment terms, and conditions of a property sale.
- ADREC (Abu Dhabi Real Estate Centre) — ADREC is Abu Dhabi's real-estate regulator, overseeing property registration, brokerage licensing, and the emirate's official transaction data.
- Capital Appreciation — Capital appreciation is the increase in a property's market value over time, realised as profit when it is sold for more than it cost.