Ellington Sanctuary District 11 MBR City Dubai

Ellington Sanctuary is Ellington Properties' first villa community, in District 11 of Mohammed Bin Rashid City, built around a central lagoon and sold cluster by cluster. The Lakeshore cluster starts at about AED 12.9 M (about Rs 33.22 crore); the first cluster, Waterside, is 17 villas of 4 to 6 bedrooms from AED 16 M to 17 M, rising to AED 42,272,828 for a 6 bedroom. Sizes on Waterside run from 7,844 to 14,606 sq ft of living area.

Two things a buyer needs first. "Sanctuary" is a community name, not one registered project: each cluster has its own price list, plan and handover date. And the dates have moved — Waterside was sold for Q4 2025 and then Q2 2026, and no source we checked confirms a handover in either quarter. This page prints what each cluster carries, what the entry villa costs with the 4% transfer fee, and where the risk sits.

At a glance

Price and unit pricing

Below are the figures on record, cluster by cluster, at AED 1 = Rs 25.75, with the implied rate per sq ft where a size is published against the price.

Where sources disagree: Lakeshore's entry is AED 12 M on D&B Properties and AED 12.9 M on Metropolitan and offplan-dubai, and Waterside's 4 bedroom is AED 16 M on Ellington's own blog against AED 17 M on brokerage pages. The 5 and 6 bedroom figures come from Davies & Harrison, precise to the dirham, which usually means a live price list. Only Ellington's current list against a plot number settles it, so ask for the date on the list.

Oliva's 2026 District 11 guide puts the district average at about AED 1,870 per sq ft. Waterside at roughly AED 2,040 to 2,170 is a modest premium for lagoon frontage and a 17-villa release; the 6 bedroom at about AED 2,894 is priced as prime. Lakeshore near AED 12.9 M is the cheapest route into a District 11 lagoon community we can source.

Payment plan and total cost

The plans differ by cluster, which is one more reason to buy the cluster rather than the community name. Waterside is quoted at 20% on booking, 40% across construction and 40% on handover — a 60/40 split. Lakeshore is quoted at 70/30, so 70% falls due before handover.

Add the Oqood registration fee and the trustee's admin charge. Then the running cost, which nobody publishes here: MBR City villas carry community fees of roughly AED 25,000 to 60,000 a year, and a maintained lagoon puts a community at the upper end. Get the rate in writing. The UAE charges no annual property tax and a residential sale does not attract VAT.

Location and connectivity

District 11 sits in the eastern part of MBR City, beside the junction of Al Ain Road and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road, with District One and its Crystal Lagoon as the neighbouring cluster and Meydan to the west. Bayut's area guide puts Downtown Dubai at 10 to 15 minutes by car, DXB at about 20 minutes and DWC at about 40, with Jumeirah 12 to 15 minutes out.

There is no Dubai Metro station inside MBR City, so this is a car-first address. District 11 is the part of MBR City still filling in: several villa and townhouse clusters are in build around this one, which means site traffic near term and a quieter, low-density neighbourhood once they finish. The community's own lagoon is the amenity the price is built on, and Waterside's villas front it directly.

Two comparisons in the same district are worth reading beside this: District One West Phase 2, where Nakheel sells a 4 bedroom villa from AED 12 M on a government-backed balance sheet, and Karl Lagerfeld Villas in Meydan, a 51-home branded project from about AED 15.4 M. For everything else see all Dubai projects we track and the projects list.

Amenities and specifications

Waterside villas come in four types — Retreat, Hideaway, Escape and Oasis — of 4 to 6 bedrooms, quoted with a rooftop terrace, a garage, a garden with a swimming pool and staff rooms, several of them on the lagoon. Lakeshore villas are quoted across three floors with a private pool, a private lift, a rooftop terrace, a Zen garden and spa facilities. Community amenities centre on the lagoon, parks and walking routes.

Ellington's argument for its premium is its own interior specification, and on its apartment buildings that has held up. Not in the sources: no appliance list, no smart-home schedule, no parking count, no service-charge rate. Ask for the SPA's specification annexe and the type drawing of your villa, not the cluster brochure.

About the developer

Ellington Properties has been building in Dubai since 2014 and has 18 or more completed projects on the record, with a reputation for handing over close to schedule. Delivered buildings include the Belgravia series and Harrington House in Jumeirah Village Circle, DT1 in Downtown Dubai, Eaton Place, Wilton Park Residences and Ellington House in Dubai Hills Estate. Belgravia's 2017 handover won four Arabian Property Awards for architecture and interior design.

During 2025 it handed over Berkeley Place, 127 apartments in MBR City, Eaton Palace, 110 residences in JVC, and Ellington House — better than most private Dubai developers can show at this price. The caveat is specific: Sanctuary is its first master-planned villa community, a different discipline from a tower, and the Waterside dates suggest the learning curve has cost time. Judge the developer on the finish and the balance sheet, and the programme on the cluster's own progress figure.

For Indian buyers

District 11 is freehold, so an Indian passport holder can own the villa outright in their own name, with the title deed issued by the Dubai Land Department. No residency requirement, no local partner. The UAE levies no annual property tax and a residential sale does not attract VAT, so the recurring costs are the community fee, utilities and management.

On funding: the Reserve Bank of India's Liberalised Remittance Scheme allows each resident USD 250,000 per financial year, and AED 12.9 M is about USD 3.51 M — so a couple sending USD 500,000 a year would need several years. In practice buyers use funds already held abroad, several family members' allowances, or a UAE mortgage once the unit is registered. The Lakeshore plan front-loads 70% before handover, so match the instalment dates to your remittance plan before booking.

On returns, District 11 is a capital-growth market: 4.5 to 6% gross is the district band on 2026 guides and that belongs to smaller homes, so a villa above AED 12 M returns less. The MBR City cluster appreciated 40 to 65% between 2020 and 2025 on the same guides, which is where the case sits. Rent earned in Dubai is taxable in India for a resident owner even though the UAE does not tax it, so keep the remittance trail and the tenancy contracts. At about AED 12.9 M the purchase is more than six times the AED 2 M Golden Visa threshold.

Pros

• A developer with 18 or more completed projects since 2014 and three handovers during 2025
• Small releases — Waterside is only 17 villas
• Lakeshore's entry near AED 12.9 M is the cheapest lagoon-community villa in District 11 we can source
• Waterside villas are large for the money: 7,844 to 14,606 sq ft on plots up to 14,384 sq ft
• Ellington's interior fit-out is its own signature rather than an outsourced shell
• Waterside's 20% booking and 40% at handover keeps less cash in the build than most villa plans
• Every configuration is many times the AED 2 M Golden Visa threshold

Cons

• Waterside's two printed handover quarters, Q4 2025 and Q2 2026, have both passed with no confirmed handover in the sources checked
• Four entry prices are live in the market: AED 12 M and 12.9 M on Lakeshore, AED 16 M and 17 M on Waterside
• No source prints the DLD project number, the escrow bank or a service-charge rate
• Sizes are published for Waterside only; Lakeshore villa areas are not in the sources checked
• Ellington's first villa community, so the apartment delivery record transfers only in part
• District 11 yields 4.5 to 6% gross and a villa above AED 12 M sits below that band
• Clusters are priced and planned separately, so one brochure name covers several products

Who this is for

• Buyers who want an Ellington-finished villa and will hold it as a home
• Buyers who want a District 11 lagoon villa at the lowest entry we can source
• Golden Visa buyers investing many times the AED 2 M threshold
• Buyers who can fund 70% before handover on the Lakeshore plan

Who should look elsewhere

• Anyone who needs a confirmed handover date — Waterside's two printed quarters have passed
• Yield investors: the district band is 4.5 to 6% gross and this ticket sits below it
• Buyers who want completed villa communities behind the developer, not completed apartment buildings
• Anyone buying on the community name without pinning down the cluster, the plan and the project number

Our verdict

On craft this is the strongest villa buy in the MBR City set: Ellington finishes to its own specification, has 18 or more completions since 2014 and handed over three projects during 2025. On dates it is the least settled. Waterside was sold for Q4 2025, then Q2 2026, and neither quarter produced a handover any source we read confirms, while Lakeshore now carries December 2026 and Q1 2027.

The price still reads well. Lakeshore near AED 12.9 M is the cheapest lagoon-community villa in District 11 we can source, and a 7,844 sq ft Waterside villa at AED 16 M to 17 M works out at about AED 2,040 to 2,170 per sq ft against a district average near AED 1,870. Buy the cluster, not the brochure: ask which registered project your villa sits in, what that cluster's own progress percentage is, and what its plan and SPA date actually say.

Run this project's numbers yourself. The calculator opens on the price and unit size above; change the currency, the rent or the mortgage and it recalculates the fees, the cash you need on day one and the net rent.

FAQs

What is the price of Ellington Sanctuary?

The Lakeshore cluster starts at about AED 12.9 M (about Rs 33.22 crore) on Metropolitan and offplan-dubai, and at AED 12 M on D&B Properties. The Waterside cluster's 4 bedroom is AED 16 M on Ellington's own blog and AED 17 M on brokerage pages, with Davies & Harrison printing the 5 bedroom from AED 26,241,828 and the 6 bedroom from AED 42,272,828. Ellington's current price list, by cluster and plot, settles which applies.

What is the payment plan for Ellington Sanctuary?

It differs by cluster. Waterside is 20% on booking, 40% across construction and 40% on handover; Lakeshore is 70/30. On a AED 12.9 M Lakeshore villa that means about AED 9.03 M before handover, AED 3.87 M on handover and a 4% DLD transfer fee of AED 516,000.

When is the handover for Ellington Sanctuary?

There is no single date. Waterside was sold for Q4 2025 and then Q2 2026, both of which have passed without a confirmed handover in the sources we checked; Lakeshore is printed as December 2026 on one page and Q1 2027 on another. Ask for the SPA date for your cluster and check that cluster's progress on the Dubai REST app.

What is the difference between Waterside and Lakeshore?

Waterside was the first release: 17 villas of 4 to 6 bedrooms in four types, several fronting the lagoon, of 7,844 to 14,606 sq ft of living area on plots of 5,726 to 14,384 sq ft. Lakeshore is the second: 4 and 5 bedroom villas over three floors with a private pool, a lift, a rooftop terrace and a Zen garden, and a lower entry price. They are priced, planned and registered separately.

Is the project registered with the Dubai Land Department?

It is sold as registered off-plan product with a DLD-approved escrow account, but none of the sources we checked prints a project number. Because each cluster is registered separately, ask for the number of the cluster you are buying in and check it on the Dubai REST app before you pay.

Is Ellington a reliable developer?

On apartments, yes by Dubai standards: 18 or more completed projects since 2014, including the Belgravia series, Harrington House, DT1 and Ellington House, and three handovers during 2025 — Berkeley Place in MBR City, Eaton Palace in JVC and Ellington House in Dubai Hills. Sanctuary is its first villa community, so that record transfers only in part.

What rental yield can I expect at Ellington Sanctuary?

District 11 runs 4.5 to 6% gross on 2026 area guides, and the top of that band belongs to smaller homes. A villa above AED 12 M returns less, so the case is capital growth and use: the MBR City cluster appreciated 40 to 65% between 2020 and 2025 on the same guides.

Can a foreign national buy here, and does it qualify for a Golden Visa?

Yes. District 11 is freehold and open to every nationality, with no residency requirement and no local partner, and the Land Department issues the title deed in your own name. At about AED 12.9 M the purchase is more than six times the AED 2 M Golden Visa threshold.

How does an Indian buyer pay for it?

Under the Reserve Bank of India's Liberalised Remittance Scheme each resident may remit USD 250,000 per financial year, and AED 12.9 M is about USD 3.51 M. That means several people's allowances across several years, funds already held abroad, or a UAE mortgage against the villa. The UAE charges no annual property tax and a residential sale does not attract VAT, but rent is taxable in India for a resident owner.

For the cluster-by-cluster price list and the SPA date, talk to Realty Hunting.

Compare with other Dubai projects

Also in Mohammed Bin Rashid City: Lua Residences (from AED 7.3 M, off-plan), Senses At The Fields (from AED 3,397,777, ready), Nineteen Riviera Lagoon (from AED 24.5 M, handover 2027) and District One Mansions (from AED 34.5 M, ready).

More by Ellington: Ellington Ocean House (from AED 9.8 M, handover 2027), Ellington Beach House (from AED 4.8 M, ready) and Ellington Quayside (from AED 3,637,828, off-plan).

A similar budget elsewhere in Dubai: Maha Villas (from AED 13 M, handover 2026), Arista Wadi Villas (from AED 13.5 M, handover 2026) and District One West Phase 2 (from AED 12 M, handover 2028).

Read next: Off-Plan Property in Dubai: How It Works · Dubai Property Payment Plans: 1% Monthly, Post-Handover and More · Villas and Townhouses for Sale in Dubai: Prices and Returns. Every Dubai project we track is listed on the Dubai section.