Finance
Off-Plan Townhouse Payment Plans
Two townhouses at the same price can demand completely different money at completely different times. This page collects every plan we can verify and shows how to read one.
How do off-plan payment plans work in Dubai?
You pay a booking amount, then instalments across construction, then a balance at handover, with some plans extending payments beyond handover. The shape matters more than the headline: a 20/80 plan and an 80/20 plan at the same price are entirely different commitments, and only one of them depends on a mortgage decision years from now.
- The number that decides your risk is the balance due at handover, not the booking amount.
- Most Dubai developers do not publish their plans at all — Emaar, DAMAC and Aldar all leave them off their project pages.
- Post-handover plans usually come with transfer restrictions until a set percentage is paid.
Structures
The six shapes you will meet
No developer offers all of these, and almost none publish which one applies to your unit.
| Structure | How it is usually written | Cash needed early | What to check |
|---|---|---|---|
| Construction-linked | Instalments released against building milestones | Moderate and spread out | Milestones can slip, which moves your payment dates with them |
| 60/40 | 60% before completion, 40% at handover | High during construction | You need the 40% ready on a date the developer controls |
| 80/20 | 80% before completion, 20% at handover | Highest during construction | Most of your money is committed before you can inspect the home |
| 20/80 | 20% up front, 80% at or after handover | Low | A large balloon payment lands at handover, usually needing a mortgage approved on time |
| 1% monthly | A fixed monthly percentage alongside milestone payments | Low but continuous | Check what still falls due at handover once the monthly run ends |
| Post-handover | Part of the price paid in instalments after you move in | Lowest | Resale before the plan finishes is usually restricted; read the developer’s transfer terms |
Verified plans
Every payment plan this site can actually source
The short length of this table is the point: most Dubai developers publish nothing.
| Project | Developer | Structure | Handover | Source type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hayat | Dubai South Properties | 5% booking, 35% during construction, 30% on handover, 30% across 24 months after handover | Q3 2028 (the developer's own FAQ elsewhere shows Q1 2029) | Developer |
| Mykonos | DAMAC Properties | 60/40, split not published | Q4 2025 (stated handover has passed; DAMAC has not relabelled the cluster as ready) | Developer |
| Verdana X | Reportage Properties | 20% at sales launch, 10% during construction, 70% on handover | Q4 2028 | Portal or broker |
| DAMAC Riverside townhouses | DAMAC Properties | Reported 20% down, 55% during construction, 25% on handover | Q4 2027 to Q2 2028 depending on cluster | Portal or broker |
| Verdana 2 | Reportage Properties | 20% down at launch, 40% during construction, 40% on handover | Q4 2026 | Portal or broker |
| Waada | BT Properties | Reported 10% booking, 55% during construction, 5% on handover, 30% across 24 months after handover | Q4 2028 | Portal or broker |
| DAMAC Sun City townhouses | DAMAC Properties | Reported 20% down, 55% during construction, 25% on handover | Q1 2028 | Portal or broker |
| South Bay Phase 4 | Dubai South Properties | Reported 50% during construction, 20% on handover, 30% after handover | Q3 2026 | Portal or broker |
| Marbella | DAMAC Properties | 60/40, split not published | Awaiting verification | Developer |
| Golf Meadow | Emaar Properties | Reported 10% down, 70% during construction, 20% on handover | Reported July 2029 | Developer |
| Violet 4 Phase 2 | DAMAC Properties | Reported 20% at launch, 40% during construction, 40% on handover | Q3 2027 | Portal or broker |
| Golf Acres | Emaar Properties | Reported 10% booking, 70% over seven construction instalments, 20% on handover | Reported December 2028 | Developer |
| Greenway 2 | Emaar Properties | 10% booking, 80% during construction, 10% on handover | Q2 2028 | Developer |
| Greenridge | Emaar Properties | 10% booking, 70% during construction, 20% on handover | Q4 2028 | Developer |
| Greenville | Emaar Properties | 10% booking, 70% during construction, 20% on handover | Q1 2029 | Developer |
| Greenspoint | Emaar Properties | 10% booking, 70% during construction, 20% on handover | March 2029 | Developer |
| Reportage Hills | Reportage Properties | 20% booking, 10% during construction within 12 months, 70% on handover | Q4 2028 | Developer |
| Reportage Village | Reportage Properties | 20% first instalment, 52% during construction, 28% on handover | Q3 2028 | Developer |
| Bianca | Reportage Properties | 10% down payment, 90% on completion | Q4 2026 | Developer |
| Masaar 2 | Arada | 5% down payment, 35% during construction, 60% on handover | Not published | Developer |
| Masaar 3 | Arada | 5% down payment; full split not published | Not published | Developer |
| Nawayef Park Views | Modon | 60/40 | Q1 2028 | Developer |
| Nawayef Village | Modon | 50/50: half on purchase, half at handover | Q1 2029 | Developer |
| Hudayriyat Golf Estates | Modon | 40/60 | Q3 2030 | Developer |
| Reem Hills | Modon | 50/50 | Q1 2029 | Developer |
| Falcon Island townhouses | Al Hamra | 20% booking, 30% during construction, 10% on completion, 40% across three years after handover | Awaiting verification | Developer |
| Layan at Masaar 3 | Arada | 5% down, 35% during construction, 60% on handover | Awaiting verification | Developer |
Disclosure
Which developers publish a plan at all
This is a measurable difference between developers, and it is one worth weighing.
| Developer | Publishes a payment plan? | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Arada | Yes, a full split | On its own community pages — 5% down, 35% construction, 60% handover at Masaar 2 |
| Reportage Properties | Yes, in full | Through portal project pages rather than its own site |
| Dubai South Properties | Yes, including post-handover | On its own site for Hayat |
| Emaar Properties | Not on townhouse project pages | Reported structures come from third-party aggregators |
| DAMAC Properties | A bare percentage on two clusters | No milestone breakdown anywhere |
| Aldar Properties | No | Reported structures come from a third-party guide |
How to read a plan
Four numbers, in this order
Ask for these before you ask for anything else, and get them in writing.
1. The booking amount
What you pay to reserve. Usually 5% to 24%. It is the number sales teams lead with and the least important of the four.
2. The construction schedule
How much, on what milestones, over how long. Milestones can slip, and your payment dates slip with them.
3. The balance at handover
The one that decides your risk. On a 20/80 plan this is most of the price, due on a date the developer controls, usually needing a mortgage approved on the bank’s terms at that time.
4. Anything after handover
Post-handover instalments lower monthly pressure and usually restrict resale until the plan completes. Read the transfer clause.
A worked contrast
Two real plans, same market, opposite demands
Both of these are published. Neither is better; they suit different buyers.
| Verdana X, Dubai Investments Park | Hayat, Dubai South | |
|---|---|---|
| Structure | 20% at launch, 10% during construction, 70% on handover | 5% booking, 35% construction, 30% handover, 30% over 24 months after |
| Cash before handover | 30% of the price | 40% of the price |
| Due on handover day | 70% | 30% |
| After handover | Nothing | 30% across two years |
| Depends on future lending | Heavily | Much less |
| Suits | Buyers with limited cash now and confidence about 2028 | Buyers who want the risk spread rather than concentrated |
FAQ
Payment plan questions
What is a 20/80 payment plan?
20% of the price before completion and 80% at or after handover. It asks very little cash up front and leaves a large balloon payment on a date the developer controls, usually needing mortgage approval on the bank’s terms at that future date rather than yours today. Reportage’s Verdana X uses a 70%-at-handover version of this shape.
What is a 60/40 payment plan?
60% across construction and 40% at handover. DAMAC states this shape on two of its Lagoons clusters without publishing the milestone breakdown, and third-party guides report it for Aldar’s Dubai communities. It sits between the extremes: substantial cash during the build, a significant but not overwhelming balance at the end.
Which is better, a front-loaded or back-loaded plan?
Neither in the abstract. A back-loaded plan preserves your cash but concentrates risk at handover and depends on future lending conditions. A front-loaded plan costs more sooner and leaves less riding on a decision you cannot control. Match the plan to your certainty about your own finances in three years, not to the lowest first payment.
Can I sell before I finish paying?
Usually only after a set percentage is paid, and the threshold varies by developer and by contract. If exiting before handover is part of your plan, that clause is the most important one in the agreement and it is worth reading before the price.
Do developers publish their payment plans?
Mostly not. Arada publishes a full split for Masaar 2. Reportage publishes plans through portal project pages. Emaar publishes none on its townhouse pages, DAMAC states a bare percentage on two clusters, and Aldar publishes none. Almost every plan you read online came from a broker.
What is a post-handover payment plan?
Part of the price paid in instalments after you take possession, so you can live in or let the home while still paying. Dubai South Properties publishes one for Hayat: 30% spread across 24 months after handover. It lowers monthly pressure and typically restricts resale until the plan completes.
Get the plan for your project in writing
Tell us which projects you are weighing and we will get the full milestone schedule for each, so you can compare cash flow rather than headline prices.
How this page is built
- We take project facts from the developer first. Where a developer does not publish a figure, we say so instead of substituting a portal number silently — and where we do use a portal figure, the source chip on the card says which portal and when.
- A price only appears next to the words “townhouse starting price” when the source ties it to a townhouse. Mixed apartment-and-townhouse releases are labelled as such, because their headline figure is almost always the smallest apartment.
- We do not publish yields, guaranteed returns or appreciation forecasts. Nothing on this site is investment advice.
- Projects we could not verify are named in the open, with the reason, rather than quietly dropped or quietly included.
- A payment plan appears in the verified table only where a source states it. Structures reported by third-party aggregators are labelled as such and never presented as the developer’s own terms.
Full methodology · Data sources · Corrections policy
Prices, availability, payment plans and handover schedules change. Verify current information with the developer or an authorised agent before committing to a purchase.