Entrance
Which way the front door opens and how it sits relative to the lift lobby. We read it off a floor plan with a north arrow, not off a render.
Finding a Vastu-compliant apartment in Dubai
No. 1 for Vastu-compliant apartment selection in Dubai for English-speaking buyers: we find homes where the compass orientation, the position of the entrance, kitchen and bedrooms and the shape of the plan all line up, and check the developer and the contract before you reserve. You get an apartment that fits the tradition and still resells.
Vastu is an Indian tradition of spatial organisation: the orientation of rooms to the compass points and the placement of the entrance, kitchen and bedrooms relative to each other. In Dubai it is mainstream: Indian buyers are first by purchase volume, Pakistani buyers second, and developers design it into the building.
A RERA-licensed broker runs the search and the deal. The Vastu assessment comes from an invited independent consultant — not on our staff, matched to your school and your requirements. We do not promise that a floor plan will change your life: we find the apartment that meets the criteria and check the purchase.
Talk to a licensed broker: 📲 +971 50 120 32 64 on WhatsApp, @dubai_oleg on Telegram
EYWA in Business Bay: 48 apartments built to Vastu Shastra, with a waterfall in each
The full write-up is on the video page.
What is Vastu, and what does it mean for an apartment?
Vastu Shastra is the Indian architectural tradition governing orientation, proportion and the placement of spaces relative to the cardinal directions — the Indian equivalent of feng shui. In an apartment it comes down to four questions: the entrance, the kitchen and bedrooms, the shape of the plan, and the building itself.
The tradition has a measurable side too. Compass orientation affects how much an apartment heats up whether you follow Vastu or not: it decides how hard the air conditioning works in summer.
Kitchen and bedrooms
Their position relative to each other and to the compass. The same unit type in neighbouring stacks is turned differently — not every one of them qualifies.
Shape of the plan
Square against triangular. In a triangular layout the angles leave floor area that furniture cannot use and an end user will not pay for.
The building
Decisions at building level. At Imperial Avenue in Downtown the Indian developer left a deliberate gap through the structure — precisely for Vastu.
Why are buildings in Dubai designed to Vastu?
It is a deliberate targeting decision. Indians are the largest group of foreign property buyers in the UAE, and they can judge a Vastu building on criteria they already use. A competitor cannot copy that without redesigning from the ground up.
Three examples from our own reviews. EYWA in Business Bay: 48 apartments on the Dubai Canal in a 19-storey building laid out according to Vastu Shastra. Pelagia on Al Marjan Island: a 15-storey complex with Vastu layouts, handover due in Q4 2027. Imperial Avenue in Downtown: a gap through the structure and square layouts.
Buildings like these are few. So most of the work is not choosing among Vastu projects but finding the right apartments in ordinary buildings: the right stack, floor and turn of the plan.
How we check an apartment against Vastu
On paper and on site, not on the word of a sales office. You or your consultant set the criteria: there are several schools of Vastu and their requirements differ. Our part is to find apartments that meet them and prove each one with a plan.
We check the apartment, not the project. Even on a canal plot some stacks face the water and some face the neighbouring building, and their orientation differs.
Floor plan with a north arrow
We request an oriented plan from the developer or the building manager. A brochure often lacks one: for a concept building the booklet can be almost entirely about the idea.
Stack and floor
We confirm orientation for the specific unit number: mirrored layouts of one unit type pass the check differently.
Site visit
In a completed building we check the direction of the entrance and windows on site, compass in hand, and film it — for you and for the consultant.
Consultant's opinion
The invited Vastu specialist reviews the plan and the footage and gives an assessment before you reserve, not after.
Does Vastu narrow the resale market?
Yes, and it cuts both ways: the buyer pool is focused but noticeably smaller. Strong differentiation inside a segment means weaker appeal outside it. Decide how much that matters for your exit.
The concept by itself does not lift the resale price. Vastu, like scenting in the common areas or acoustics tuned to 432 Hz in a brochure, is the developer's concept, not a measurable property characteristic. Price is held by location, view, floor area and build quality.
So we choose a Vastu apartment that a buyer with no such requirements would also want: a square plan, a clear view, a strong district.
What do we check besides Vastu?
Everything an ordinary purchase needs: the developer, the payment plan, the contract and liquidity. Vastu cancels none of it — a perfectly oriented apartment from a weak developer is still a bad buy.
The money rules are the usual ones. Off-plan asks for 10–20% down, and the Dubai Land Department fee is 4%. A ready apartment needs 100% of the price at once plus another 7–8% in costs.
For concept buildings we ask for the maintenance budget separately: facade planting, water features and a spa all land in the service charge. A building of 48 apartments with a waterfall in each has 48 potential problems, and the answer should be a maintenance contract.
Off-plan or ready: where is Vastu easier to get right?
A ready home is easier to verify; off-plan is easier to choose from. In a completed building you see the orientation on site. At an off-plan launch every stack is still available, but the check rests on drawings alone.
Off-plan, the unit number and the floor plan must match the contract: we read the area tolerance and the developer's right to alter the layout before the reservation payment.
For this brief, a building you can walk before paying the balance is safer than one that is three years out: everything uncertain about it has already resolved.
How the work runs
In four steps, from criteria to contract. The Vastu requirements and the budget come first, the market second — not the other way round.
- 1
Criteria and budget
We write down the requirements, yours or your consultant's, separate the essential from the desirable, and work out the budget including transaction costs.
- 2
Shortlist
We go through off-plan and ready stock and filter by orientation and plan shape. The shortlist holds specific unit numbers, not project names.
- 3
Checks
The oriented plan, the site visit, the consultant's opinion. In parallel: the developer, the contract, the service charge and liquidity.
- 4
The deal
Reservation, contract, registration at the Dubai Land Department, handover inspection. We stay in touch until you hold the keys.
Who does the work?
The RERA-licensed broker runs the search and the deal personally, from the first conversation about criteria to registration of the contract and the handover inspection.
The Vastu assessment comes from an invited consultant — an independent practitioner, not on our staff. A mortgage broker, a property lawyer and a snagging inspector are brought in the same way. We pick the specialist for the job, introduce you and stay involved until the result.
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Video
More on this from our channel
Reviews and explainers from our English YouTube channel.
0:40 Video
Imperial Avenue construction update, January 2024
A site update from Imperial Avenue in Downtown Dubai, and a short guide to reading construction progress on a tower approaching handover.
WatchFrequently asked questions
Do I have to buy in a building designed to Vastu?
No. There are only a handful in Dubai, and nearly all are concept projects with their own pricing and a narrow buyer pool. More often the right apartment is in an ordinary building: the stack, the floor and the turn of the plan decide it.
Who gives the Vastu opinion?
An invited independent consultant, or your own specialist. The broker's job is to give them accurate inputs: an oriented floor plan, footage from the site and the number of the specific unit.
Can a layout be corrected by renovation?
Partly. Moving a kitchen or walls needs approval from the developer and the building manager, and the direction of the entrance and windows cannot be changed at all. That is why entrance and orientation are checked first, before you reserve.
Does a Vastu apartment qualify for the Golden Visa?
On the general terms. Since January 2024 a property valued at AED 2 million or more by the Dubai Land Department is enough, off-plan and mortgaged property included. Vastu compliance has no bearing on the visa.
How does Vastu differ from feng shui?
In origin: Vastu is an Indian tradition, feng shui a Chinese one, and both deal with orientation and the placement of rooms. The developer of EYWA speaks of applying both at once. Their criteria differ, so we search to the one you name.
See also
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