Force Majeure and Your Off-Plan Delay: What Your Developer Isn’t Telling You
Quick Answer: Under UAE law, force majeure only applies when an event is unforeseeable, unavoidable, external to the developer, and makes performance absolutely impossible. Not just difficult. Not just expensive. Impossible.
The COVID defence usually fails because construction in Dubai was classified as a vital sector permitted to continue. The market-conditions defence usually fails because Dubai courts have called financial downturns “expected circumstances” that developers accept as commercial risk.
The burden is on the developer to prove every element. Even a valid force majeure event only excuses delay for the exact period of the impediment, never indefinitely. If your developer wrote the words in a letter, that does not make them true.
You paid your instalments on time. You waited patiently through the original handover date. Now, months or years later, the developer sends you a letter citing “force majeure,” “unforeseen circumstances,” COVID-19, supply chain issues, or “challenging market conditions.” They say it is out of their hands. They suggest you simply wait.
Here is what they are not telling you: under UAE law, force majeure is one of the hardest legal defences to prove. Dubai courts have rejected it in case after case, including during and after the pandemic. Before you accept another extension or give up hope of a refund, you need to understand what force majeure actually means in the UAE and why your developer’s claim is probably weaker than it sounds.
The full analysis matters, but these three actions preserve your position regardless of which excuse the developer is using.
- Demand specifics in writing. Ask the developer to state which event, when it started and ended, and exactly how it affected your project. “COVID” or “market conditions” without specifics is not a legal notice.
- Pull the RERA Project Tracker record. If the project was behind schedule before the claimed event, that alone defeats the defence. Check for yourself through the Dubai REST app or DLD portal.
- Do not acknowledge or accept the force majeure claim in writing. Any reply should be limited to requesting particulars and reserving all rights. Acceptance of the claim can prejudice your later termination or refund position.
The full six-step action plan is further down this page. The burden is on the developer to prove every element of their claim, not on you to disprove it.
You do not have to prove they are wrong. They have to prove they are right.
Force majeure is a defence the developer is raising to excuse a delay they have already caused you. The burden of proof sits on them to establish every element: external cause, unforeseeability, unavoidability, absolute impossibility, and a direct causal link to your specific project. A developer who cannot produce specifics, documentation, and timely notices has a defence that will not hold up. Your position in the correspondence should reflect that.
Who this article is for: buyers whose developer is invoking force majeure (by any name) to justify delay. The natural pair is our delayed handover guide for the broader framework. See also our off-plan refund guide for the full Article 11(b) and Article 20 refund routes, our SPA clauses guide for how force majeure clauses should be read before signing, our RERA complaint guide for the parallel regulatory pathway, our Dubai Courts vs DIAC guide for forum selection, and our developer bankruptcy guide for the route when force majeure stalls a project indefinitely and RERA cancellation becomes the better option.
- →I received a force majeure letter and don’t know what to do
- →My developer says delays are “beyond their control” but won’t give specifics
- →The four-part test my developer must pass
- →What proof should my developer be showing me?
- →My developer is blaming COVID
- →My developer is blaming market conditions or financing
- →My developer is blaming supply chain or materials
- →My SPA has a broad force majeure clause
- →Force majeure vs hardship (Article 249)
- →How long does force majeure actually excuse delay?
- →Where do I file a dispute?
- →Practical takeaways
Start Here: What Force Majeure Actually Means
In everyday terms, force majeure is meant for genuine disasters that physically prevent someone from doing what they promised. Think war on the construction site. Think an earthquake that destroys the plot. Think a total, government-imposed shutdown of the specific activity being performed.
What force majeure is not meant for: a project that costs more than the developer expected; a market where units are now harder to sell; a bank that will not extend additional credit; a contractor who walked off the job; a pandemic during which construction was permitted to continue.
- Article 273 of the UAE Civil Code (Federal Law No. 5 of 1985). Defines force majeure: external, unforeseeable, unavoidable, impossible. Article 273(2) sets the time-bound rule: the impediment excuses delay only for its exact duration.
- Article 249 of the UAE Civil Code. The hardship doctrine. Applies where performance is still possible but excessively burdensome; allows the court to adjust the obligation but not to cancel the contract. Cannot be contracted out of.
- Article 11(b) of Law No. 13 of 2008 (as amended by Law No. 19 of 2020). The statutory full-refund route where the developer fails to commence for reasons beyond its control without negligence, or where RERA cancels the project.
- Article 20 of Executive Council Resolution No. 6 of 2010. The termination-for-delay route where the developer has failed to perform despite formal notice.
- Article 23 of Executive Council Resolution No. 6 of 2010. The grounds on which RERA can cancel a stalled project, including gross negligence in construction and lack of serious intent to complete.
The Four-Part Test Your Developer Must Pass
To succeed on a force majeure defence, a developer must prove all four of these. Miss one, and the defence collapses.
External
The event came from outside the developer’s control. Cashflow problems, contractor disputes, or mismanagement do not count.
Unforeseeable
A reasonable developer could not have anticipated it when signing your SPA. Market cycles and normal regulatory changes are foreseeable.
Unavoidable
The developer could not have prevented or worked around it with reasonable effort. Mitigation is a continuing duty.
Impossible
Performance had to be made absolutely impossible. Not expensive. Not slow. Impossible.
How to run your developer’s letter through the four-part test
Take your developer’s force majeure letter and ask four questions. If you cannot answer yes to all four with evidence the developer can actually produce, the defence is weak.
- Is the event genuinely external to the developer? Cashflow problems, contractor disputes, or mismanagement fail this test. A subcontractor walking off the job is the developer’s contractual risk, not an external force.
- Could a reasonable developer have foreseen it when signing your SPA? Market cycles, normal regulatory changes, financing conditions, and routine permit delays are foreseeable. They fail this test.
- Could the developer have avoided or worked around it with reasonable effort? Mitigation is a continuing duty. A developer who did nothing during the alleged event has not met this test.
- Did performance become absolutely impossible? Not expensive. Not slow. Not inconvenient. Absolutely impossible. Most developer claims fail here.
Force majeure requires absolute impossibility, not inconvenience or expense. This is settled law. The Abu Dhabi Court of Cassation confirmed in Judgment No. 13/2010 that force majeure must be “an external event that makes performance of obligations absolutely impossible by all parties.” In Judgment No. 512/2021, the court added that the force majeure event must be the sole reason for the failure. If there are other contributing factors (which there almost always are), the defence fails.
What a Legally Credible Force Majeure Notice Should Contain
This is the other side of the burden-of-proof coin. A developer who wants to rely on force majeure must do more than send a letter using the phrase. The notice must be specific, evidenced, and timely.
What a compliant force majeure notice should include
- The specific event. Named, dated, and with a defined scope. “The COVID-19 pandemic” is not specific enough; “the two-week Dubai Municipality site shutdown between [date] and [date] affecting our project permit” is.
- The start and end date of the impediment. Force majeure excuses delay only for its exact duration (Article 273(2)). An open-ended claim is not a legal notice.
- The causal link to your specific project. Not a reference to global conditions. Evidence that this event prevented performance at this site. Construction log entries, permit records, supplier correspondence.
- Supporting documentation. Purchase orders, shipping records, regulatory notices, photographs, municipal circulars. The Abu Dhabi Court of Cassation in Judgment No. 835/2021 rejected a contractor’s China supply-chain defence precisely because he could not produce the sourcing evidence.
- Timely service. Most SPAs require force majeure notice within a defined period (commonly 7 to 30 days) from the event. Late or retrospective notices weaken the defence significantly.
- A mitigation statement. What the developer has done, is doing, and will do to minimise the impact. A notice that claims the event but demonstrates no mitigation effort fails the “unavoidable” test.
If the letter you received lacks any of these elements, you have a legitimate basis to reject the claim and demand particulars.
This article analyses the Civil Code (Federal Law No. 5 of 1985), which governs disputes under SPAs and events before 1 June 2026. From that date, Federal Decree-Law No. 25 of 2025 replaces the Civil Code and renumbers several provisions, though the substance of the force majeure framework (Article 273) and the hardship framework (Article 249) remains broadly consistent. If your dispute relates to events before 1 June 2026, the analysis below applies directly.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does COVID-19 automatically excuse off-plan delays in Dubai?
No. COVID-19 is not automatically force majeure under UAE law. Construction in Dubai was generally permitted to continue as a vital, exempt sector subject to permits and health protocols, and the Dubai Court of Cassation rejected a COVID-19 force majeure defence in Judgment No. 479/2021. Each claim is assessed individually against the four-part test under Article 273: external, unforeseeable, unavoidable, and making performance absolutely impossible.
Can my developer blame “market conditions” for the delay?
Dubai courts have generally rejected market downturns as force majeure. In Cassation No. 49/2014, the Dubai Court of Cassation ruled that the 2008 global financial crisis was an “expected circumstance” that did not excuse contractual obligations. Property price corrections, oversupply, weak demand, and tightened financing are commercial risks the developer accepted when launching the project.
My SPA has a very broad force majeure clause. Am I stuck with it?
Not necessarily. UAE courts scrutinise broad force majeure clauses strictly, especially in standard-form developer contracts. Under Article 246, contracts must be performed in good faith. Under Article 248, arbitrary conditions in adhesion contracts can be modified or struck down. Clauses that try to exclude the hardship doctrine in Article 249 are void by law. The words on the page do not always reflect what a court will actually enforce.
What is the difference between force majeure and hardship?
Force majeure (Article 273) applies when performance is absolutely impossible and results in automatic contract termination. Hardship (Article 249) applies when performance is still possible but has become excessively burdensome, allowing the court to reduce or adjust the obligation. Hardship never cancels the contract or eliminates the developer’s duty to deliver.
If force majeure is accepted, do I lose my right to a refund?
Not necessarily. The refund outcome depends on which legal framework the facts actually fit. If your case falls within Article 11(b) of Law 13/2008 (no commencement for reasons beyond the developer’s control without negligence, or RERA cancellation), full refund is the statutory result. In other scenarios, force majeure may suspend or extinguish specific obligations without automatically triggering Article 11(b). Your path to refund may instead run through termination under Article 20 of Resolution 6 of 2010 and the Civil Code’s general restitution rules. Your funds in escrow under Law 8 of 2007 remain protected. For the full scenario framework, see our off-plan refund guide.
How do I prove my developer is wrong about force majeure?
You do not have to prove they are wrong. They have to prove they are right. Request written specifics of the event and its impact. Pull the RERA Project Tracker record to check construction progress. Review the notice provisions in your SPA. Document whether construction continued during the claimed event. A developer who cannot produce specifics, documentation, and timely notices has a defence that will not hold up.
Where do I actually file a dispute over a delayed off-plan project?
Not through DLD’s general real estate complaint platform, which does not handle contractual revocation, refund, or indemnity disputes. For contested delay, termination, or refund claims, the proper forums are the Dubai Courts, the Special Tribunal under Decree No. 33 of 2020 (for formally cancelled or unfinished projects, with exclusive jurisdiction), or arbitration where your SPA provides for it. For forum analysis, see our Dubai Courts vs DIAC guide.
How long does force majeure excuse a delay?
Only for the exact duration of the impediment. Under Article 273(2), once the force majeure event ends, the developer must resume performance immediately. Pre-existing delays and post-event delays require separate justification. Force majeure is never an indefinite excuse.
What to Do Right Now if Your Developer Claims Force Majeure
You are not powerless in this situation. The sequence below is the fastest way to find out whether your developer’s claim has any legal substance. The same sequence works if the developer has not yet sent a formal letter but is using vague “beyond our control” language in correspondence.
Six-step action plan
- Get everything in writing. Ask the developer to state, in writing, exactly which event they are claiming as force majeure, when it started and ended, and how it specifically affected your project. Vague references to “COVID” or “market conditions” are not good enough.
- Pull the RERA Project Tracker record. The DLD Project Tracker shows official construction progress percentages verified by independent engineers. If the project was already badly behind schedule before the claimed event, that alone defeats the defence.
- Review the notice clause in your SPA. Most force majeure clauses require timely written notice. Did the developer notify you at the time, or only now? Late or retrospective notices weaken the defence significantly.
- Check whether construction continued. Site photos, drone footage, or a visit to the project. If workers were on site, materials were being delivered, and structures were rising during the alleged event, performance was not impossible.
- Understand your termination and refund routes. For ordinary delay, termination runs through Article 20 of Resolution 6 of 2010 and the Civil Code. For non-commencement or RERA cancellation, refund runs through Article 11(b) of Law 13/2008. These are different routes with different triggers. See our off-plan refund guide for the three-scenario framework.
- Use the right dispute channel. DLD’s RVS regulatory complaint system does not handle contractual disputes or refunds. Binding relief comes from the Dubai Courts, the Special Tribunal under Decree 33/2020 (if the project is formally cancelled), or arbitration under a valid SPA clause. For the parallel regulatory pathway, see our RERA complaint guide.
Why the COVID Defence Usually Fails in Dubai
Developers lean on COVID-19 harder than any other excuse. It sounds plausible. A global pandemic hit. Lockdowns happened. How could a project not be affected?
The legal reality is much less sympathetic to developers than buyers realise.
Dubai’s Supreme Committee of Crisis and Disaster Management classified construction as a vital sector that remained exempt from the full curfew restrictions, subject to obtaining permits from Dubai Municipality and implementing health and safety protocols.
A developer claiming pandemic-related impossibility has to explain why their specific site was actually prevented from operating, not simply point to the pandemic as if it shut Dubai down. RERA did not issue a public circular declaring COVID-19 a blanket force majeure event. No automatic extensions were granted. Every claim is assessed on its own facts.
The Court of Cassation has already spoken
In Judgment No. 479 of 2021, the Dubai Court of Cassation rejected a contractor’s COVID-19 force majeure defence. Why? The contractor had already requested a time extension before the pandemic began. The court said the pandemic “won’t always qualify as a case of force majeure.”
If your developer was already behind schedule before March 2020, they cannot blame COVID for delays that pre-dated it. You can check this yourself: compare the original SPA completion date against the project’s progress history on the RERA Project Tracker. A project that was at, say, 40% completion in December 2019 when the contract required 70% cannot suddenly blame the pandemic for the pre-existing 30% gap.
Vague supply-chain claims are not enough
In Abu Dhabi Court of Cassation Judgment No. 835/2021, a contractor argued that materials from China were unavailable during the pandemic. The court rejected the defence because the contractor failed to prove the materials were actually being sourced from China in the first place.
Sweeping references to “global disruption” or “supply chain issues” will not satisfy a Dubai court. Your developer must show specific materials, specific orders, specific delays, and a direct link to your specific project. A developer who cannot produce purchase orders, shipping records, and a causation chain to your delay has a defence that will not survive scrutiny.
A sample reply you can adapt
A concise letter back to the developer, citing the Cassation precedent, puts the burden squarely on them and preserves your position if the matter later escalates.
Sample paragraph for your reply
“We acknowledge receipt of your letter dated [date] invoking force majeure. Under Article 273 of the UAE Civil Code, the defence requires the event to be external, unforeseeable, unavoidable, and to render performance absolutely impossible. The Dubai Court of Cassation in Judgment No. 479/2021 held that COVID-19 ‘won’t always qualify’ as force majeure, and the Abu Dhabi Court of Cassation in Judgment No. 835/2021 rejected a supply-chain defence where the specific sourcing evidence was not produced. Before we can consider your position, we require: (a) the specific event, with defined start and end dates; (b) the causal link to this project; (c) supporting documentation including permit records, supplier correspondence, and construction log entries; and (d) your mitigation statement. Until these particulars are provided and assessed, we reserve all rights, including under Article 11(b) of Law 13/2008 and Article 20 of Executive Council Resolution No. 6 of 2010.”
Market Conditions Are Generally Not Accepted as Force Majeure
Some developers try a different angle. They blame the market. Oversupply. Falling prices. Tightened lending. Weak demand. Dubai courts have consistently rejected these arguments, because market fluctuations do not make performance absolutely impossible.
The leading precedent came out of the 2008 financial crisis. In Cassation No. 49/2014, the Dubai Court of Cassation ruled that the global financial crisis did not qualify as force majeure or as exceptional circumstances. The court’s words were blunt:
Financial downturns are “expected circumstances” that “occur frequently and could be anticipated in general.”
Translation: fluctuating property markets are a normal business risk developers accept when they launch a project. They cannot pass that risk to you when things go wrong. While courts always reserve the right to assess each case on its facts, the trend in Dubai jurisprudence is firmly against accepting market conditions as a force majeure excuse.
The same logic applies to financing problems. Under Dubai Law No. 8 of 2007, your payments are supposed to sit in a dedicated escrow account used exclusively for your project’s construction. If the developer collected your money, placed it in escrow, and then failed to progress because of financing issues, that is internal financial mismanagement. It is the opposite of an external, unforeseeable event. For the full escrow framework, see our escrow law guide.
The Force Majeure Clause in Your SPA: What to Watch For
Open your SPA and look for the force majeure clause. You may be surprised by what you find.
Many developers draft extremely broad clauses that include events like “changes in market conditions,” “any government action or regulation,” “shortage of materials or labour,” “acts of any regulatory authority,” or “any event beyond the developer’s reasonable control.”
These clauses try to lower the legal threshold from “impossible” to “inconvenient.” They are designed to give the developer maximum flexibility while stripping you of remedies.
UAE courts do allow parties to define force majeure contractually, but within limits. Three provisions of the Civil Code protect buyers:
- Article 246 requires all contracts to be performed in good faith. A developer using a broad clause to escape liability for its own mismanagement is acting in bad faith.
- Article 248 gives judges power to strike down or modify “arbitrary conditions” in standard-form contracts. Your SPA, presented on a take-it-or-leave-it basis, is exactly the kind of contract Article 248 targets.
- Article 249 cannot be contracted out of. Even if your SPA tries to eliminate the court’s hardship power, that provision is void by law.
In a 2026 Mondaq analysis, BLK Partners warned that clauses “that treat permitting delays and supply chain disruptions as qualifying force majeure events stretch the doctrine well beyond what UAE law actually provides.” Courts will look past the wording on the page to what the law actually permits. For how dispute-resolution and force majeure clauses should be drafted pre-signing, see our SPA clauses guide.
Force Majeure vs Hardship: The Distinction Developers Conflate
When force majeure fails, developers sometimes retreat to Article 249, the hardship doctrine. They argue that even if the event did not make performance impossible, it made it excessively burdensome. Article 249 is a real doctrine with real effect, but it does not get developers off the hook.
Force Majeure (Article 273)
- Trigger: Absolute impossibility of performance
- Test: External, unforeseeable, unavoidable, impossible
- Effect on contract: Obligation extinguished; contract may terminate automatically
- Effect on developer: Excused from performance while impediment lasts
- Your remedy: Restitution of sums paid if contract terminates
Hardship (Article 249)
- Trigger: Exceptional events making performance excessively burdensome
- Test: Performance still possible, but commercially oppressive
- Effect on contract: Contract survives; obligation adjusted to reasonable level
- Effect on developer: Still has to deliver; obligation reduced, not eliminated
- Your remedy: Delivery (with revised terms) plus compensation for real loss
The Dubai Court of Cassation confirmed this in Cassation No. 374/2011: exceptional circumstances make performance “burdensome” but do not “justify the cancellation or termination of the contract.”
If your developer cites hardship, the best-case outcome for them is a court extending the timeline or adjusting a specific obligation. You still have a right to your unit. You still have a right to compensation for genuine losses. The contract does not vanish.
Watch for the retreat pattern: developers who invoke force majeure and then shift to hardship when challenged are telling you their force majeure claim was weak. Hold your ground.
Even Real Force Majeure Has an Expiration Date
Let us assume, for argument’s sake, that your developer actually had a genuine force majeure event. Does that excuse the entire delay? No.
Temporary impossibility suspends the obligation only for as long as the impediment lasts. Once the event ends, performance must resume.
A lockdown that lasted eight weeks might justify an eight-week extension. It cannot justify a two-year delay. Every week of delay after the force majeure event ended is a new breach that the developer must justify separately.
The developer also has a duty to mitigate. They must take reasonable steps to minimise the impact and get back on track. A developer who sat back and did nothing during the alleged force majeure period, and then claims the full period as excused delay, is not acting in good faith.
If the developer invoked force majeure months ago and still cannot produce evidence of resumed construction, the more productive route may be to petition RERA for cancellation under Article 23 of Resolution 6 of 2010 (gross negligence in construction, lack of serious intent to complete). A formal cancellation triggers the Article 11(b) full-refund mechanism and the Special Tribunal’s jurisdiction under Decree 33/2020. For the crisis-response framework, see our developer bankruptcy guide; for the three-scenario refund analysis, see our off-plan refund guide.
Where You Actually File: Forum Routing
DLD’s Real Estate Violations System (RVS) and general real estate complaint platforms expressly do not handle contractual disputes, contract revocation, refund, or indemnity claims. Filing there will not produce termination or a refund.
For contested delay, termination, or refund claims, the proper forums are:
- Dubai Courts applying the Civil Code and Law 13/2008 framework for contested delay and refund claims where the project remains live.
- Special Tribunal under Decree No. 33 of 2020, which has exclusive jurisdiction only where RERA has formally designated the project as cancelled or unfinished. If your project is still officially live and merely delayed, this forum is not available.
- Arbitration, where your SPA contains a valid arbitration clause under Federal Law No. 6 of 2018. Subject to the arbitrability trap for claims that turn on Oqood registration. See our Dubai Courts vs DIAC guide.
- DLD conciliation services for early-stage engagement, though binding relief still requires one of the forums above.
The Bottom Line
You are not being unreasonable for pushing back on a force majeure claim. You are being realistic about what the law requires. Dubai’s legal system does not give developers an automatic pass because they invoke the right buzzwords. The burden is on them. The threshold is high. The courts have rejected these defences before and will do so again.
If your developer is blaming COVID, the market, or vague global conditions for a delay that has dragged on for months or years, the legal position is almost certainly more favourable to you than their letter suggests. You have real options, from structured demands and documentation to termination under Article 20 of Resolution 6 of 2010, refund under Article 11(b) of Law 13/2008 where the facts fit, and enforcement through the Dubai Courts or the Special Tribunal.
Practical Takeaways
Five principles to internalise
- Do not accept the developer’s force majeure claim at face value. The burden is on them, not you. A letter invoking the phrase is not proof of the defence.
- Demand specifics in writing. What event, when it started, when it ended, the causal link to your project, and the supporting evidence. Vague references to “COVID” or “market conditions” do not meet the legal standard.
- Pull the RERA Project Tracker to verify pre-event construction progress. Pre-existing delays cannot be blamed on a later event.
- A force majeure event only excuses delay for its exact duration. Every day after the event ended is a new breach that the developer must justify separately.
- File at the Dubai Courts, the Special Tribunal (if formally cancelled), or arbitration. Not at the DLD violations portal. RVS does not produce termination or refunds.
If your developer is citing force majeure to justify a delayed handover, the burden is on them to prove every element of the defence. The sooner you put them to that proof, the better your position.
Send us the SPA, the developer’s force majeure notice letter, the RERA Project Tracker record for your project, and your payment receipts. Within 48 hours you will get a written view on:
- Whether the force majeure defence actually meets the four-part test on these facts
- Whether termination and refund are viable, and under which route
- Which forum (Dubai Courts, Special Tribunal, or arbitration) is the right fit
We do not take every matter. Where your position is straightforward, we will tell you that. Where it is complex, we will set out the options and timelines honestly. Contact us through offplandisputes.ae.
This article analyses the UAE Civil Code (Federal Law No. 5 of 1985), which governs disputes under SPAs and events before 1 June 2026. Federal Decree-Law No. 25 of 2025 takes effect on that date and renumbers several provisions, though the substance of the force majeure and hardship framework remains broadly consistent. Cassation case numbers cited here (479/2021, 49/2014, 512/2021, 835/2021, 374/2011, 13/2010) are drawn from reputable law firm secondary sources (Al Tamimi & Company, Wasel & Wasel, and Dr. Hassan Elhais commentary); original Arabic judgments were not directly accessed. No public RERA circular declaring COVID-19 as blanket force majeure was located; claims are assessed case-by-case. The sample reply paragraph is illustrative and should be adapted to the specific facts of the dispute and reviewed by counsel before sending. In case of any conflict between the English translation of UAE legislation and the original Arabic text, the Arabic prevails.
This article is for general information only. It does not constitute legal advice and does not create a lawyer-client relationship. UAE law and Dubai real estate regulations are fact-sensitive, and outcomes in any specific matter depend on the precise terms of the SPA, the state of the project, the applicable regulatory decisions, and the timing of events. Readers should obtain advice from a UAE-qualified legal consultant on the facts of their particular case before acting on anything in this guide.
