Off-plan demand in the UAE has stayed remarkably strong despite regional tension — but a question keeps coming up from worried buyers: if there's a war or conflict, can I cancel my off-plan contract and get my money back? The honest answer, under UAE law, is usually no — at least not without clearing some very high legal hurdles. Here's the reality.
The assumption — and why it's wrong
Many buyers who signed an off-plan Sale and Purchase Agreement (SPA) assume the conflict alone lets them terminate and recover all their instalments. It doesn't. War can be a force majeure event in principle, but invoking it successfully takes far more than pointing at a headline. And terminating now is often premature anyway — most off-plan units hand over in 3–4 years, by which point markets have historically recovered (as they did after COVID-19).
What "force majeure" actually means
Force majeure is a legal doctrine that can excuse you from a contract when unforeseeable events beyond your control make performance impossible. In the UAE it's set out in Article 236 of Federal Law No. 25 of 2025 (the Civil Transactions Law): if a force majeure event makes performance impossible, the contract is terminated. The operative word is impossible — not inconvenient, not more expensive, not commercially undesirable.
The three tests you must pass
UAE courts require all three:
- Unforeseeability — the event couldn't reasonably have been anticipated when you signed.
- Unavoidability — it was beyond your control and couldn't be prevented by reasonable measures.
- Impossibility — it made performance absolutely impossible, not just harder or costlier.
The burden of proof sits with whoever is trying to walk away. It's an intentionally high bar.
Why "there's a conflict" isn't enough
The existence of a regional conflict doesn't automatically excuse your obligations. You'd have to show the specific conflict made your obligation to pay genuinely impossible — a lower income or higher cost of living won't cut it — and that it wasn't reasonably foreseeable when you signed.
Your payment obligations usually stay
Here's the kicker: most UAE off-plan SPAs explicitly state that force majeure does not excuse the buyer from paying instalments. A property being unbuilt doesn't, by itself, let you exit. Without a contractual termination right or a winning force-majeure claim, a buyer who walks away risks forfeiting the instalments already paid — subject to statutory limits on how much a developer may keep (in Dubai, Article 11 of Law 13 of 2008, as amended).
Courts lean toward keeping contracts alive
UAE courts have shown a clear preference for preserving contracts over cancelling them. After COVID-19, courts tended to adjust obligations under the hardship provisions (Article 224 of the Civil Transactions Law) rather than let parties exit entirely. Walking away takes truly exceptional circumstances.
What to do if you want out
Get legal advice before doing anything. Trying to terminate without proper justification can expose you to significant liability — and depending on your contract and the developer's conduct, there may be other, safer routes.
This is general information, not legal advice. Always consult a qualified UAE real-estate lawyer about your specific situation.
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