EuroEstates Investor's Lounge · Updated 26 October 2026 · Replaces our earlier guide to Law No. 12 of 2023
Summary: Ras Al Khaimah's Law No. 10 of 2026 on the Regulation of Real Estate Development was issued on 21 July 2026 and replaces Law No. 12 of 2023. It came into force 60 days after issue, which works out to around 19 September 2026. For buyers who are partway through a payment plan, the most important change is the new missed-payment rule in Article 20. It applies to existing contracts too, unless the project already has its completion certificate. The law also adds compensation if your finished unit is more than 5% smaller than you were sold, takes away the developer's profit and marketing withdrawals from escrow, and sends stalled projects to a new judicial committee.
What is RAK Law No. 10 of 2026, and when does it apply?
Law No. 10 of 2026 is RAK's main law for off-plan property: homes sold "on the map", before they are built. It covers developer and project registration, sales permits, escrow accounts, missed payments, handover, defects, and stalled or cancelled projects.
- Issued: 21 July 2026 (6 Safar 1448 H), by HH Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi, Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah.
- In force: 60 days after issue (Article 51), so around 19 September 2026.
- Where: All of RAK, including RAK Economic Zones (Article 2). That covers Al Marjan Island.
- What it replaces: Law No. 12 of 2023, which it repeals in full (Article 50).
- Who runs it: RAK Municipality, through its Real Estate Regulatory Department (in English, often called "RERA RAK"). The separate Real Estate Projects Development Committee from the 2023 law no longer exists.
Many of the detailed rules will come in executive regulations, which are the implementing rules that the government issues under a law. Until those are published, the existing regulations and decisions stay in force wherever they don't conflict with the new law (Article 49).
What changed from Law 12 of 2023?
| Topic | Law No. 12 of 2023 | Law No. 10 of 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Regulator | Municipality plus a separate Projects Development Committee (Art. 3) | Municipality's Real Estate Regulatory Department only |
| Unit smaller than sold | No compensation rule in the law | Developer must compensate any shortfall above 5% (Art. 5(7)) |
| Marketing spend from escrow | Regulator could approve up to 5% of deposits (Art. 41) | No marketing allowance. Withdrawals go to construction and other costs the regulator considers necessary (Art. 34) |
| Developer profit from escrow | Up to 5% of expected profit in three instalments, once over 60% built (Art. 42) | Removed |
| Missed payments | Four bands based on completion; options to keep all money paid or sell the unit at auction above 80% (Art. 50) | Three bands, 40% / 25% / 20% of the price, capped at what you paid, with the deduction approved by the regulator (Art. 20) |
| Refund after termination | Within one year, or 60 days after resale, whichever comes first (Art. 50) | Within six months of termination (Art. 20) |
| Withholding a payment when a milestone is missed | Allowed, with notice to the regulator, developer and escrow bank (Art. 47) | Allowed, with written notice to the developer before the due date (Art. 19) |
| Swapping your unit for another | Needed the regulator's approval (Art. 32) | Needs your consent, and the regulator is notified (Art. 22) |
| Stalled or cancelled projects | Committee recommendation (Art. 54) | Judicial committee can cancel the project and set the order of refunds (Arts. 26–29) |
| Title when you're still paying after handover | 30-day transfer once fully paid (Art. 34) | Unit registered in your name even if your plan runs past completion (Art. 37) |
| Broker marketing deals | Disclosed to buyers on request (Art. 46) | Must be registered (Art. 5(3)) |
I'm partway through a payment plan. What happens if I miss a payment?
The process now looks like this under Article 20:
- The developer reports the missed payment to the Real Estate Regulatory Department on the official form.
- The Department checks that you really are in default and how far the project has actually got.
- The Department notifies you, and you have 30 days to pay.
- If you still haven't paid, the Department issues an official document that lets the developer cancel the contract without going to court.
- The developer can then keep part of the price, up to these caps:
| Project completion | Maximum the developer can keep |
|---|---|
| 60% or more | 40% of the unit price in the contract |
| Under 60% | 25% of the unit price |
| Not started, for reasons that aren't the developer's fault | 20% of the unit price |
The deduction can never be more than you have actually paid, and the Department has to approve the amount. The developer must refund the rest, or deposit it with the Municipality, within six months.
This applies to contracts signed before the law, too. Article 20(4) covers all off-plan sale contracts, whatever their date, unless the project already has a completion certificate: the document RAK Municipality issues once a building is finished according to its permit and approved plans.
The caps are not always lower than before. Under Law 12, the two early bands were calculated on the money you had paid, not on the price. For example, take an AED 1,000,000 unit where you've paid AED 300,000 and the project is 40% complete. Under Law 12, the most the developer could keep was 30% of AED 300,000, which is AED 90,000. Under Law 10, it's 25% of the price, so AED 250,000. In the 60–80% band, the cap went up from 30% to 40% of the price. The new law does remove the old auction route and the option to keep everything you've paid, and refunds now come faster. Our comparison comes from reading the two Arabic texts side by side. Have a lawyer check it against your own contract.
What we'd do now if a payment is getting tight:
- Talk to the developer before the due date. Under Article 43, the Department can help both sides reach a written settlement.
- Find out the project's real completion percentage, because that decides your band. You have a right to see all the data about your project and unit (Article 18).
- If the payment is tied to a construction milestone the developer hasn't reached, you can withhold it, but you have to notify the developer in writing before it's due (Article 19). We'd copy the Department as well.
- Thinking of selling instead? Article 21 lets you resell a unit that's in the interim register with the developer's consent. The developer can't charge resale fees, apart from actual third-party costs the Department approves.
What if my unit is smaller than I was promised?
Under Article 5(7), the developer must compensate you for any shortfall in the area you were sold that is more than 5%. A 1,000 sq ft contract area delivered at 940 sq ft is a 6% shortfall, so it qualifies.
On how area is measured, Article 15 requires the developer to state the net area sold, plus your unit's share of common areas, "according to the standards approved by the Municipality". The law doesn't give a formula for the compensation. It also doesn't say whether you're paid for the whole shortfall or only the part above 5%. We expect the executive regulations to cover this.
What we check at handover: we compare the net area in the sale contract with the final survey (the official measurement that Article 37 requires before units are registered) and with the area on the title. If the gap is close to 5%, we ask for the surveyor's drawings before signing the handover papers. We note any defects at the same time, since mechanical, electrical and plumbing defects are covered for one year from handover and structural defects for ten years from the completion certificate (Article 39).
How does RAK protect off-plan buyers' money? Escrow under Law 10
An escrow account is a ring-fenced bank account opened in the project's name. Buyers' payments go in, and money comes out only with the regulator's approval. Under Law 10:
- You pay into your unit's own escrow sub-account. The developer must not take any part of the price outside escrow or deduct broker commission from it (Article 32).
- Withdrawals need Department approval and are for construction, plus other costs the Department considers necessary to finish the project (Article 34). The old profit and marketing withdrawals are gone.
- The Department can stop withdrawals if completion looks at risk, and it can order the developer to top up the account (Articles 33 and 35).
- The developer still has to fund at least 20% of construction cost itself (Article 9), and escrow can't pay for the land before completion (Article 34).
- 5% of construction cost stays held for one year after completion to cover defects (Article 40).
- Escrow money and project assets can't be seized by the developer's other creditors (Article 41).
What happens if my project stalls or is cancelled?
- Construction must start within six months of the project's registration. The Department can grant one extension of the same length (Article 23).
- If the Department finds, using engineering and accounting reports, that a project has stopped for more than six months without good reason, it can refer the project to the new Judicial Committee for Stalled and Cancelled Projects and suspend sales in the meantime (Articles 26–27).
- The committee can cancel the project. Buyers are then refunded what they're owed, along with contractors, consultants and the escrow bank, in the order of priority the committee sets (Article 29). Law 12 said a project couldn't be cancelled until buyers had been repaid in full, so this is a real change in wording.
- The deadline for completing a project can be extended by up to 12 months unless the Department decides otherwise (Article 36).
How do I check my project before paying more?
- Is it registered? RAK Municipality has published an official list of 81 registered off-plan projects and their developers on its Sanad portal (Gulf Pulse, 18 Oct 2026). The list gives names only, with no escrow details or progress figures.
- Who is the developer? The brand on the building isn't always the developer. Nobu Al Marjan is listed under Enevoria Development, for example. Your contract's counterparty should match the register.
- Which escrow account? Make sure your payment instructions name the project's escrow sub-account, not the developer's operating account.
- How far has construction got? Ask the developer or the Department for the latest completion percentage. You're entitled to it (Article 18).
FAQs
How are off-plan buyers protected in RAK under Law 10? Buyer money goes into a project escrow account that the developer's creditors can't seize (Article 41), with no profit withdrawal. You can withhold a payment if the developer misses a construction milestone (Article 19), and you have a right to project data (Article 18). You get compensation if your unit is more than 5% smaller than contracted (Article 5(7)), and any deduction after a default is capped and must be approved by the regulator (Article 20).
Does Law 10 apply to a contract I signed in 2024? The missed-payment rules in Article 20 do, unless your project already has its completion certificate. For other provisions, check with a lawyer.
How long do I have to pay after a default notice? 30 days from the Department's notice (Article 20).
What's the most a developer can keep if my contract is cancelled? 40%, 25% or 20% of the unit price, depending on completion, and never more than you've paid. The Department has to approve the amount.
Can a developer still take profit out of escrow? No. Law 10 has no profit withdrawal. Spending is limited to construction and other costs the regulator approves.
Is Law 12 of 2023 still valid? No. Article 50 repeals it.
This article is general information, not legal advice. Have a UAE-qualified lawyer review your contract before you act.
Sources
- Law No. 10 of 2026 on the Regulation of Real Estate Development in the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah, official Arabic text, RAK Government legislation portal, rak.ae (accessed 26 Oct 2026)
- Law No. 12 of 2023, official Arabic text, RAK Government legislation portal (accessed 26 Oct 2026)
- Lexis Middle East, Law No. 10/2026 record (issue date and repeal of Law 12/2023)
- ADG Legal, "RAK's New Real Estate Development Law: What Developers with Active Projects Should Review", 16 Oct 2026
- Al Tamimi & Company, summary of Law No. 10 of 2026 (LinkedIn), Oct 2026
- The Gulf Pulse, "RAK tightens developer rules, protects off-plan buyers", 12 Oct 2026
- The Gulf Pulse, "RAK off-plan register lists 81 projects for buyers", 18 Oct 2026