Handover and snagging in Dubai

Completion and your title deed

A building is complete when its planning authority issues a completion certificate: the Dubai Development Authority, Trakhees or Dubai Municipality, depending on the area. Under Article 8 of Law No. 13 of 2008, the developer must then enter the project in the property register, including registering sold units in the names of buyers who have met their obligations. That is when your Oqood registration gives way to a title deed; DLD's title deed issuance fee is AED 250.

Snagging before you accept

Snagging is an industry practice rather than a legal procedure, so arrange it before you sign the handover documents. Walk the home with a checklist, or with a professional inspector, and give the developer a written list.

1. Finishes.Walls, floors, tiling, joinery, doors and windows: cracks, chips, gaps and uneven work.
2. Installations.Air conditioning, electrics and sockets, water pressure, hot water and drainage, each tested while running.
3. Kitchen and bathrooms.Appliances, sealing, taps and waterproofing.
4. Against your agreement.The layout, size and specification, checked against the sale and purchase agreement.

What the developer must fix, and for how long

Both come from Article 40 of Dubai Law No. 6 of 2019, which makes any agreement to the contrary void. Separately, the UAE's new Civil Transactions Law, Federal Decree-Law No. 25 of 2025, holds contractors and engineers jointly liable for ten years for collapse or defects that threaten a building's stability or safety (Articles 821 to 824, in force from 1 June 2026).

Delays, defaults and cancellation

Law No. 13 of 2008, as amended by Law No. 19 of 2020, sets out what happens if a buyer stops paying: after a 30-day notice served through DLD, a developer may terminate and keep up to 40% of the unit's value on a project more than 60% complete, or up to 25% below that, refunding the rest within a year or within 60 days of reselling the unit, whichever is sooner. If a project never starts for reasons beyond the developer's control, or RERA cancels it, the developer must refund buyers' payments under the escrow law.

For delays by the developer, your sale and purchase agreement sets out what you are entitled to, so read that clause before you sign.

Selling before handover

An off-plan home can be resold before completion, but under Article 3 of Law No. 13 of 2008 every such sale must be entered in the interim register or it is void. Developers set their own conditions for issuing a resale NOC, written into the sale and purchase agreement.

Questions buyers ask

Sources

• Dubai Legislation Portal: Law No. 6 of 2019 on jointly owned real property
• Dubai Legislation Portal: Law No. 13 of 2008 on the interim property register
• Dubai Legislation Portal: Law No. 19 of 2020 amending Law No. 13 of 2008
• Dubai Legislation Portal: Law No. 8 of 2007 on escrow accounts
• Charles Russell Speechlys: decennial liability under the new UAE Civil Code (May 2026)
• Dubai Development Authority: building completion certificate
• Dubai Land Department: property sale registration