Dubai property, explained › Buying
Snagging and handover
The day an off-plan home stops being a plan: the sequence, the inspection that should come before the keys, what it costs to have it done properly, and what the law gives you afterwards.
Written September 2026 · 3 min read
Handover is the day an off-plan home stops being a plan. The developer holds the completion certificate, the final instalment is due, and the buyer gets the keys. Snagging is what should happen before that day: an inspection of the finished home against what was promised, and a written list of everything wrong, the snags, for the developer to fix while fixing it is still the developer's job. Skip it, and every dripping tap becomes yours.
The sequence
- Completion. The developer obtains the building's completion certificate from the authorities, and the project's registered progress reaches its end
- The handover notice. The developer writes to every buyer with the final amount due, the documents needed, and the window for collecting keys
- The inspection. A snagging appointment in the finished unit, before any payment beyond what the contract already required
- Rectification. The developer fixes the list, and a second visit confirms it
- Settlement. The final instalment, usually the first year's service charge in advance, the developer's administrative fee, and the DEWA deposit
- Keys, access cards, and the paperwork that turns the Oqood into a title deed over the months that follow
Developers write the notice as if settlement and keys come first and the inspection after. The order above is the one that protects the buyer, and it is the order to insist on.
The inspection
What to check, room by room, with photographs of everything:
- Finishes: paint, tiling and grout, skirting, the alignment of every edge that should be straight
- Doors and windows: they close, they lock, the seals seal, the glass is unmarked
- Kitchen: every cupboard door and drawer, the worktop joints, the appliances run through a full cycle
- Bathrooms: every tap, the drainage under a full basin, the water pressure, the silicone, the shower tray for pooling
- Air conditioning: every zone reaches temperature, the thermostats respond, the condensate drains, nothing rattles
- Electrical: every socket and switch tested, the distribution board labelled, the lights and the extractor fans
- Water: hot water arrives, and the pressure holds with two taps open
- Balcony and terrace: the drains clear, the balustrade fixed
- The area against the sale agreement, because the registered area is what the deed will carry
A professional snagging company does this with instruments, thermal imaging for leaks behind tiles, a level for floors, a report the developer's own team will accept, and charges from around a thousand dirhams for a studio to several thousand for a villa. For a buyer who cannot be there, or cannot tell a settling crack from a structural one, it is the best money spent on the purchase.
What the developer owes you
The sale and purchase agreement sets a defects liability period, commonly a year from handover, during which finishes and the mechanical and electrical systems are the developer's to repair. Beneath that sits the UAE Civil Code, which holds the contractor and the designer liable for ten years for defects that threaten the building's structure, whatever the contract says. The agreement also sets the tolerance for the area, commonly a few per cent either way before the price adjusts, and the handover date with its grace period, which is the only promise about time the developer has made. A developer who will not fix what the inspection found is answerable to RERA, which registered the project and holds its escrow.
Accepting the keys
The handover certificate is a document that says you accept the home. Sign it with the snag list attached and referenced on it, never with the box that says there are no defects if there are. Keep every photograph, dated, and the developer's written acceptance of the list. Most agreements make the final payment due on the completion notice rather than on the fixing of snags, so withholding money is rarely available; the attached list is what keeps the obligation alive after the money has gone.
After the keys
The DEWA account is opened in your name with the move-in; the service charges begin, on the rate RERA approved for the building; a tenant, if you let it, goes on Ejari; and the deed arrives when the developer completes the project's registration. For a completed resale the same inspection, done before the deposit rather than before the keys, is the difference between knowing what you bought and finding out.
Where this leads
The pages that pick up from here
Oqood →
The register the purchase sat on, and how it becomes a deed after the keys.
Off-plan or resale →
The purchase this is the end of, beside a completed home.
DEWA move-in →
The first account opened after the keys.
Service charges and Mollak →
The charge that begins at handover, often a year in advance.
Questions people ask
Snagging and handover, answered
What is snagging?
An inspection of a newly finished home against what was promised, with a written list of every defect, the snags, for the developer to fix while it is still the developer’s job. It is done before keys are accepted, and the list is attached to the handover certificate.
How much does a snagging inspection cost in Dubai?
From around a thousand dirhams for a studio to several thousand for a villa, from a professional snagging company, with instruments, thermal imaging for hidden leaks and a report the developer’s team will accept. Doing it yourself costs an afternoon and a camera.
What happens at property handover in Dubai?
The developer obtains the completion certificate and sends a handover notice with the final amount due. The buyer inspects, the developer fixes the list, the final instalment, the first year’s service charge and the DEWA deposit are paid, and keys and access cards are collected. The Oqood converts to a title deed over the following months.
How long is the developer liable for defects?
The sale agreement sets a defects liability period, commonly one year from handover, for finishes and the mechanical and electrical systems. Beneath it the UAE Civil Code holds the contractor and designer liable for ten years for structural defects, whatever the contract says.
Can I refuse handover if there are defects?
You can refuse to sign a handover certificate that says there are none. Sign it with the snag list attached and referenced, keep dated photographs and the developer’s written acceptance of the list, and the obligation to fix survives the payment, which most agreements make due on the completion notice.
What if the area is smaller than the contract?
The sale agreement sets a tolerance, commonly a few per cent either way, within which nothing changes and beyond which the price adjusts. The registered area on the deed is the figure; measure at the inspection and compare.
Regulation here is stated as regulation, and what the market merely does is marked as convention. Figures were checked in September 2026; the rest of the set is written the same way.