40/60 payment plan and resale flexibility: how Lunaya makes luxury accessible

The accessibility of a luxury project is not measured only by price. It is measured by the payment plan, taxation and, above all, liquidity before handover. Lunaya deploys a clear framework on these three axes: 40/60, pre-handover resale flexibility, standard 4% DLD. Here is the breakdown.

The 40/60 plan in plain words

The Lunaya payment plan splits into two simple blocks. First block: 40% of the sale price paid during construction, spread across the build timeline. Second block: 60% paid at handover. That is the structure.

Compared to standard Dubai market plans (typically 50/50, 60/40 or 80/20), the 40/60 is buyer-favorable. Cash-out remains limited during the 2 to 3 construction years, which preserves liquidity and borrowing capacity for other uses.

Worked example: Dune at AED 12M

On a Dune at AED 12M, the 40/60 plan translates as follows. AED 4.8M paid during construction, smoothed across multiple milestones (typically 4 to 6 payments). AED 7.2M paid at handover, usually funded by local mortgage or available cash at handover date. On top, the 4% DLD fee (AED 480,000 on AED 12M), buyer-paid per Dubai standard.

Pre-handover resale flexibility: the real differentiator

On most Dubai off-plan projects, resale before handover is either forbidden or conditional on a very high paid-in threshold (typically 30 to 50% of price). Lunaya communicates pre-handover resale flexibility as a structuring commercial argument.

Concretely, a Lunaya buyer can, subject to developer-defined conditions, assign the contract to a third-party buyer before handover. This is the assignment mechanism, common on Dubai''s secondary off-plan market. The flexibility turns the commitment into a liquid position, which radically changes the nature of the risk.

Why flexibility changes the equation

For an investor, the main risk of an off-plan position rests on two variables. One, developer default risk. Two, capital lock-up risk if the personal horizon shifts. The ZAYA-FIVE track record (USD 10B delivered, 15 years) addresses the first. Resale flexibility addresses the second.

In practice, this allows an investor to enter the project with an 18 to 30-month intermediate resale horizon, capturing the appreciation premium between launch and handover, without necessarily going to the end of the payment plan.

Market context: projects doubled in value over 3 years

According to data published on the Dubai market, several prime projects have doubled in value between launch and handover over the last three years. The ultra-prime segment (transactions above USD 10M) went from 113 sales in 2021 to 500 in 2025 (Knight Frank), a 4.4x multiplication in 4 years.

Against this backdrop, a programme combining 40/60 and resale flexibility allows positioning a ticket ahead of handover without freezing capital. It is an investment lever, not only a residence.

DLD 4%: acquisition taxation

The Dubai Land Department fee is 4% of the sale price, payable at title transfer. It is the standard Dubai acquisition tax, identical to that applied by every other developer in the emirate. It must be included in the all-in cost: on a Sol at AED 16.5M, the DLD represents AED 660,000.

Note: Dubai applies no capital gains tax and no rental income tax. Net yield is therefore significantly higher than on a comparable European or North American asset, at equivalent or lower acquisition taxation.

In-House Construction: the delivery guarantee

The second pillar of accessibility is confidence in delivery. Lunaya operates in-house construction: no subcontracting of the structural packages, direct control over timelines. The official slogan what we render, we realise reflects that discipline. For a buyer committing 40% during construction, it is a controlled risk factor.

What an investor should remember

The Lunaya setup combines three buyer-favorable elements: a 40/60 plan that is soft on construction-phase cash flow, a pre-handover resale flexibility that turns the position into a liquid asset, and a standard 4% acquisition taxation. Added to the developer track record, this builds a risk-reward equation that is hard to find elsewhere in Dubai''s premium villa segment.

Contact us to discover Lunaya

For the detailed milestone schedule, exact terms of resale flexibility and pricing per typology, reach out to our team via the registration form.