Oman Off-Plan Marketing Threshold: What a Developer Must Have Before Selling

Searches for an “Oman off-plan property marketing threshold” point to one question: what must a developer have in place, and how much of the project must be funded or built, before it is allowed to advertise units, take reservations or sign sale contracts for homes that do not exist yet? The answer in 2026 is not a single number. It is a sequence of licences and an escrow rule under Royal Decree 79/2025, plus a separate regime for special economic zones and free zones, where one press report gives a figure of 20% of project cost. This guide separates what is written in the law from what has been reported, and marks what has not yet been published.

The article draws on the text of Royal Decree 79/2025 (the Real Estate Regulation Law), Royal Decree 38/2025 (the Special Economic Zones and Free Zones Law), Royal Decree 56/2026 (the Real Estate Register Law), law-firm bulletins and Omani press coverage. Article numbers follow a transcription of the Official Gazette text, so a reader who needs to quote one in a contract or filing should check it against the Gazette. Last verified: 11 October 2026.

The Short Answer

On the mainland, no single marketing percentage has been published. Royal Decree 79/2025 prohibits advertising, promoting or marketing a real estate project without a Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning licence specific to that project (Article 6). It also requires an escrow account for each project, with an initial deposit equal to a percentage of the total project cost that the executive regulations must set (Article 31). Those regulations are due within one year of the law taking effect, which points to about March 2027, and no issued text was found as of 11 October 2026.

In special economic zones and free zones, the Oman Observer reported on 21 September 2026 that the executive regulation issued by the Public Authority for Special Economic Zones and Free Zones (OPAZ) sets “a threshold equivalent to 20 per cent of a project’s total cost” before a developer may market off-plan units or take reservation payments. That figure rests on one report. Muscat Daily, Zawya and Gulf News covered the same regulation but did not state a percentage, and the regulation text was not available for this review.

Why the Question Has More Than One Answer

Oman does not run one rulebook for every off-plan project. Which regime applies depends on where the land sits and what status the project holds.

• Mainland projects outside a tourism complex or a zone fall under Royal Decree 79/2025, which took effect in March 2026 and replaced the 1986 brokerage law, the 1989 apartments and floors ownership system and the 2018 escrow system.
• Integrated tourism complexes are governed by their own regime. Article 2 of Royal Decree 79/2025, as transcribed, excludes them except for a few provisions: Articles 8 and 9 on developer licensing, the chapter on the preliminary registry, the chapter on escrow and, unless the development agreement says otherwise, the chapter on shared property.
• Special economic zones and free zones, including the zones at Duqm, Sohar and Salalah, fall under Royal Decree 38/2025 and the OPAZ executive regulation. The Oman Observer reports that Royal Decree 79/2025 applies to zone projects for matters the regulation does not cover.

Master developments that buyers know by name, such as Surooh or Al Mouj, are not assigned to a regime in any source reviewed. Which rules apply to a given project depends on whether its site holds tourism-complex status or sits inside a zone, and that is a fact about the project, not about the developer’s brand.

Mainland Oman: The Licensing Sequence Before Any Marketing

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning described the mainland sequence in a statement reported by the Oman Observer and Times of Oman on 25 July 2026: a developer licence first, then a project licence, which includes opening a local-bank escrow account before off-plan units can be sold, and then a permit for advertising, promotion and marketing. The statement adds that all licensing and registration must be complete before a project is announced, promoted or sold. That order matches the articles of the law.

Step 1: The Developer Licence

Real estate development requires a developer licence from the Ministry, which keeps a register of licensed developers (Articles 8 and 9). The developer must own the land or hold usufruct rights under a Ministry-approved, registered contract (Article 10). In off-plan projects the developer must be a legal entity (Article 23). A buyer who wants to confirm that a company is licensed is asking whether it appears on that register.

Step 2: The Project Licence

A project licence is required before construction and off-plan sale (Article 12). Each phase counts as a separate project, a development plan prepared with the project consultant must be approved first, and the Ministry keeps a register of projects (Articles 13 and 14). One consequence is that a master plan with several phases does not carry one licence for the whole scheme: each phase has its own licence, its own escrow account and its own marketing permit.

Step 3: The Escrow Account and Its Initial Deposit

The developer must open an escrow account in the project’s name at a licensed bank registered with the Ministry, with a separate account for each phase, and the Ministry approves opening and closing it (Articles 29 and 30). Article 31 is the nearest thing in the mainland law to a funding threshold. Before the licence that allows off-plan sale, the developer must deposit a percentage of total project cost, to be set by the executive regulations. Land value or work already completed may count toward the deposit, and where a project is mortgaged, the financier must deposit the full financing amount. A copy of the escrow agreement goes to the Ministry before the licence is issued.

A summary of Articles 27 and 33 adds that the Ministry must approve a transfer of title to the project land once the licence is issued and that the land or usufruct may not be mortgaged, but this was read as a summary and not in full.

Step 4: The Advertising Licence

Article 6 prohibits advertising, promoting or marketing a project inside Oman, whether the project is local or international, without a Ministry licence for that project, and the Ministry’s statement of 25 July 2026 describes the permit as covering media, online platforms and property exhibitions. For local projects the rule is also reported to reach marketing outside Oman. The law defers the detail to the executive regulation. What an advertisement must contain, such as a licence number or an escrow reference, was not found in the text reviewed.

Step 5: The Approved Contract and the Registry Entry

Article 25 makes any contract that transfers ownership of a unit before completion void unless it is the Ministry-approved off-plan contract. Article 21 creates the Preliminary Real Estate Register for off-plan units, and a disposition of those units has no effect unless it is recorded there. Under Article 22 the developer moves buyers’ entries from the preliminary register to the main register without charging the buyer, and only the Ministry’s registration fee for the sale contract applies. Royal Decree 56/2026, in force from 18 May 2026, sets up the same register in the new Real Estate Register Law, with the same procedures and legal weight as the main register, according to Trowers & Hamlins. An implementing regulation is pending.

What the Escrow Deposit Percentage Means in Practice

Because the percentage in Article 31 is unpublished, no one can state the mainland threshold as a number. The structure of the rule still shows how it would work. The deposit is measured against total project cost, so a larger project needs a larger deposit. Land value and completed work can count toward it, which means a developer that already owns its land or has built part of the scheme meets part of the requirement without new cash. A financed project needs the full financing amount in escrow.

The reported zone threshold shows the same logic with a number attached. As an illustration only, using the reported 20% for zone projects and not a mainland rule: for a project with a total cost of OMR 40,000,000, the threshold would be OMR 8,000,000. If completed construction worth OMR 5,000,000 counts toward it, as the Oman Observer says it does, OMR 3,000,000 remains to be funded. The report adds that escrow funds cannot be used to fill that gap, so the developer would meet it from its own resources before marketing.

After the marketing gate, the escrow article continues to govern the money. The bank provides periodic statements, and the developer must give copies to the Ministry on request (Article 32). The Ministry may appoint a certified auditor to review the records (Article 35). If a consultant’s construction-stage certificates prove inaccurate, the Ministry may appoint another consultant at the developer’s cost and instruct the bank to stop further payments (Article 34). Escrow deposits cannot be attached by the developer’s creditors, by exception from the bankruptcy law (Article 37). A percentage of the sales value stays in escrow for one year from handover to cover defects (Article 36), and that percentage is also left to the regulation.

Special Economic Zones and Free Zones: The Reported 20%

Royal Decree 38/2025, issued on 7 April 2025 and published in Official Gazette 1591 on 13 April 2025, bars public advertising of off-plan units and the taking of reservation funds in a zone except after approval by the authority (Article 47), and leaves the rules to the executive regulation. OPAZ issued that regulation in September 2026 as Decision 81/2026. The Oman Observer, in a report of 21 September 2026, gives these terms:

• A developer must reach a threshold equivalent to 20% of the project’s total cost before marketing off-plan units or taking reservation payments, and completed construction counts toward it.
• Escrow funds cannot be used to fill the gap.
• Marketing spending from the escrow account is capped at 3% of the escrow balance.
• At least 5% of each unit’s sale value is retained in escrow for one year from registration in the buyer’s name.
• An application to market must show escrow at an Oman-licensed bank, engineering plans, an appointed consultant and contractor, and the proposed marketing material.
• OPAZ decides within 15 working days, silence counts as rejection and an appeal goes to the OPAZ chairman within 60 days.
• Developers already marketing have up to six months from entry into force to comply.

The same report says the regulation takes effect the day after publication and covers licensing, off-plan sales, escrow and freehold ownership for non-Omanis in qualifying projects. Muscat Daily, Zawya and Gulf News describe “financial and technical” conditions for marketing but give no percentage, and no outlet published the regulation text. The 20%, 3% and 5% figures should be treated as reported until the text is read. Rules for the individual zone operators at Duqm, Sohar and Salalah were not reviewed.

Integrated Tourism Complexes

Integrated tourism complexes sit in a separate regime, Royal Decree 12/2006 with its executive regulation, Ministerial Decision 191/2007, as amended. Under the transcribed Article 2 of Royal Decree 79/2025, the advertising article and the off-plan contract rules are not clearly extended to them, while the escrow and preliminary registry chapters are. A law-firm opinion published by Times of Oman in July 2026 sets out ownership under that regime: Omanis and non-Omanis may own units or plots, Musandam is limited to built units under a usufruct of up to 99 years, and an undeveloped plot cannot be sold before completion except by mortgage. That opinion does not cover off-plan approval or escrow.

Which authority approves an off-plan sale inside a complex is not stated in the sources found. For Jebel Sifah, the Oman Observer reported in September 2025 a ministerial decree that bars selling any unit before approval from both the Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning and the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism, with a dedicated escrow account and an independent auditor. The decree number was not given. For buyers, the practical point is that the answer differs by complex and has to be asked of the project. Our comparison of Oman’s integrated tourism complexes sets out how the main schemes differ.

Advertising and Brokerage Rules

Marketing and selling are separate licensed activities. Real estate brokerage and valuation each require a Ministry licence, the Ministry keeps registers of brokers and valuers, and a broker needs a written contract with the client (Articles 57 to 59). Practising brokerage without a licence is punishable by imprisonment of 10 days to 6 months and/or a fine of OMR 1,000 to OMR 10,000 (Article 64). A buyer can therefore ask two separate questions of any off-plan offer: whether the project holds an advertising licence and whether the person presenting it holds a brokerage licence.

The repealed 2018 regime also regulated marketing. According to Trowers & Hamlins in 2023, Royal Decree 30/2018 and Ministerial Decision 72/2019 required Ministry consent before marketing and capped advertising spend at 3% of purchaser deposits. Some commercial blogs now attribute a 3% cap and a 5% retention to Royal Decree 79/2025. The law text does not state either figure: it defers the retention percentage to regulation, and it runs the retention from handover, not from registration. Under Article 2 of the decree, existing regulations and decisions continue to apply where they do not conflict until the new regulation is issued, and which provisions of the old Ministerial Decision 72/2019 operate in the interim was not verified.

What Changed From the 2018 Escrow Regime

Our guide to Royal Decree 79/2025 for off-plan buyers covers the wider reform, including the owners’ association rules and the preliminary registry.

Penalties for Marketing Without a Licence

The penalty amounts come from a summary of Article 63 and should be confirmed against the Gazette before they are quoted. The registry law carries its own penalties for false information or forged documents, which apply to registration and not to marketing. Penalties for breaches of the zone regulation were not stated in the press reports.

How the Rules Compare With Dubai and Saudi Arabia

BSA and Kayrouz & Associates also describe a deposit of 20% of construction cost in Dubai before marketing or sale, citing a 2007 law, but the statute text was not checked for this article, so the 20% in Dubai is commentary and not a verified rule. Saudi Arabia’s primary text was not retrieved. The comparison shows that a cost-percentage gate before marketing is a familiar design in Gulf off-plan law, and that Oman’s zone figure, if confirmed, would be of the same kind. It does not show that the mainland rule will take the same number. Our earlier guide to off-plan property in Dubai covers the Dubai buyer’s side.

Items a Buyer Can Ask For at Each Gate

Each gate leaves a document or a register entry that can be requested from the developer or checked with the Ministry. The Ministry itself urges buyers to verify licences before paying, according to its July 2026 statement.

1. The developer’s licence from the Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning, and confirmation that the company appears on the register of developers (Articles 8 and 9).
2. The project licence for the specific phase being sold, and its entry in the register of projects (Articles 12 and 13).
3. Written confirmation of the escrow account: the bank, an account name in the project’s name and the escrow agreement filed with the Ministry (Articles 29 to 31).
4. The per-project advertising licence for the material being shown (Article 6).
5. The Ministry-approved off-plan contract, since other contracts cannot transfer ownership before completion (Article 25).
6. After signing, proof that the sale is entered in the Preliminary Real Estate Register, and later its transfer to the main register at no charge beyond the Ministry’s fee (Articles 21 and 22).
7. The broker’s Ministry licence if a broker presents the project (Articles 57 and 58).
8. For a site described as a tourism complex or a zone project, which regime applies and which authority approved the off-plan sale.

No public portal or e-service name for looking up developer or project licences was found. The Ministry’s Real Estate Development Services Centre was mentioned in the press without an address, so confirmation goes to the Ministry directly. Payment plans and handover dates are commercial terms, not legal gates, and our guides to Oman property payment plans and the handover calendar show how they vary between projects. The profiles in our Oman developer directory list each developer’s projects.

What Is Still Unpublished

• The mainland escrow deposit percentage (Article 31) and the retention percentage (Article 36).
• The content rules for advertisements and the form of the advertising licence.
• Refund, cancellation and default remedies, which Article 26 leaves to the regulation. No refund provision was found in the law text.
• The text of OPAZ Regulation 81/2026, including the 20%, 3% and 5% figures and the procedure.
• The authority that approves off-plan sales in each tourism complex and the zone operators’ own rules at Duqm, Sohar and Salalah.
• The exact commencement date: BSA gives 10 March 2026, while 180 days from the Gazette date of 14 September 2025 falls around 13 March 2026.
• The names of the public portals for checking licences, and the Preliminary Register’s fee amounts.

Common Misreadings

• “Oman requires 20% before off-plan marketing.” The 20% figure is reported for special economic zones and free zones under the OPAZ regulation, and it rests on one report. The mainland percentage is unpublished.
• “The 3% marketing cap and 5% retention are in Royal Decree 79/2025.” The law text does not state them. They appear in the 2018 regime as described by Trowers & Hamlins and in the reported zone regulation.
• “Escrow guarantees completion.” Escrow holds buyer payments and ties releases to construction progress. Stalled projects go to Ministry remedy or court under Article 28, and no refund provision was found.
• “The Central Bank supervises escrow.” Under Royal Decree 79/2025 the Ministry registers the bank and approves opening and closing the account (Articles 29 and 30). The Central Bank appears in the repealed 2018 regime.
• “Off-plan sales exist only inside tourism complexes.” Royal Decree 79/2025 covers off-plan projects generally, and Royal Decree 38/2025 with the OPAZ regulation licenses off-plan sales and non-Omani freehold in qualifying zone projects.

Key Dates

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a minimum percentage a developer must complete before selling off-plan in Oman?

No mainland percentage has been published. Royal Decree 79/2025 requires an initial escrow deposit equal to a percentage of total project cost, to be set by executive regulation, and the law allows land value and completed work to count toward it.

Where does the 20% figure come from?

It comes from an Oman Observer report of 21 September 2026 on OPAZ Regulation 81/2026 for special economic zones and free zones. Other outlets covered the regulation without stating a percentage.

Can a developer advertise before it has an escrow account?

The Ministry describes the order as developer licence, project licence including the escrow account, then the advertising permit. Article 6 prohibits advertising without the per-project licence.

What is the penalty for marketing without a licence?

Imprisonment of 1 to 3 years and a fine of OMR 10,000 to OMR 100,000 under Article 63, as summarised from the law text.

Does the law apply to integrated tourism complexes?

Only in part. Article 2, as transcribed, applies the developer licensing articles, the preliminary registry chapter and the escrow chapter, and the complexes keep their own regime.

When will the executive regulations be issued?

The decree gives one year from entry into force, which points to about March 2027. No issued text was found as of 11 October 2026.

Is a sale contract valid without the Ministry-approved form?

Under Article 25, a contract that transfers ownership of a unit before completion is void unless it is the Ministry-approved off-plan contract.

Last verified: 11 October 2026. Sources: decree.om, Royal Decree 79/2025, qanoon.om transcription of Royal Decree 79/2025, decree.om, Royal Decree 38/2025, BSA on the Real Estate Regulation Law, Trowers & Hamlins on Oman escrow law, Trowers & Hamlins on the register law, Oman Observer on the OPAZ regulation, Oman Observer on the Ministry’s licensing stages, Times of Oman on the Ministry statement, Times of Oman on tourism complexes, Muscat Daily on OPAZ, Zawya on OPAZ, Oman Observer on Jebel Sifah, Dubai Law 8 of 2007 and Trowers & Hamlins on Saudi off-plan law.