Off-plan handover in Dubai, in the right order.

The completion notice starts a 30-day clock to inspect, pay what falls due and take the title deed. The order you do them in decides how much of the defect list the developer fixes before you move in.

Updated 25 October 2026

Handover starts when the developer issues the completion notice, and you usually have 30 days from there. Book the snagging inspection inside that window and before you sign the handover certificate, so the defect list is dated before you accept the unit. Budget 5% to 8% of the property value for the Land Department fees, the first service charge, the DEWA deposit and the developer NOC, all due in the same 30 days.

In short

Handover begins with the developer's completion notice, issued after the building completion certificate. You then have around 30 days to finish everything.
Inspect before you sign. A defect list dated before the handover certificate is a record the developer's handover team has to work through while it's still on site.
The money due at handover, covering Land Department fees, the first service charge, the DEWA deposit and the NOC, commonly comes to 5% to 8% of the property value.
After that, Law No. 6 of 2019 keeps the developer on the hook for installations for a year from handover, and for structure for ten years from the project completion certificate. Finishing is down to your contract.

The completion notice

First the relevant authority gives the developer its building completion certificate. Then the developer sends you a completion notice, and in most cases that gives you 30 days. In that time you inspect, pay what’s owed and get the title deed in your name.

The notice rarely comes out of nowhere. The Land Department inspects every project under construction and publishes how far along it is, and the off-plan tracker shows the latest inspection for each one beside the completion date the developer registered. Those dates move: our October count found 251 projects past the completion date they had registered.

Inspect, then sign

Two documents matter here. The snagging report records what is wrong with the unit, and the handover certificate records that you have accepted it. Deal with them in that order, so the defect list is worked through while the handover team is still on site.

What a professional inspection covers

The finishes, the fixtures, the plumbing, the electrics, the air conditioning and the structural items. It takes two to four hours. Walk round with the inspector if you can, and photograph everything at high resolution, video included. Images dated before the handover certificate settle a lot of arguments six months later.

If you find a fault after signing

Items raised after you sign are still covered where the law or your contract says so. You’re then working a warranty process from inside the unit, where before signing you could hold up acceptance from outside it.

What falls due

The final instalment on the purchase price is the part every buyer has planned for. The other costs arrive at the same time, and none of them can be financed.

What falls due at handover on a standard residential unit

Item	Typical cost
Final instalment on the price	Per your payment plan
Land Department fees and title deed issuance	Within the 5% to 8%
First service charge invoice	Within the 5% to 8%
DEWA deposit	Within the 5% to 8%, refundable
Developer NOC	Within the 5% to 8%
Those four items combined	5% to 8% of property value
Snagging inspection	AED 800 to 2,200 for an apartment, separate

Indicative and current at September 2026. The Land Department fees, the first service charge and the DEWA deposit all vary by unit and by building, and your sale and purchase agreement governs what the developer can charge. Snagging is paid to an independent firm rather than to the developer.

Why the range is so wide

The components differ by building. A high-charge tower asks for more service charge up front than a townhouse community does. The timing is the same in every case: it all falls inside the 30-day window, alongside the inspection, and the bank won’t lend against any of it.

The year after the keys

Defect cover after handover comes in three layers. The longest runs from the project completion certificate, which can come well before your keys.

Developer liability once you have the keys

What fails	How long	Running from
Mechanical, electrical, sanitary and sewerage installations	1 year	Handover of your unit
Structural parts	10 years	The project completion certificate
Finishing and workmanship	As your sale agreement says, commonly 12 months	Usually handover

Law No. 6 of 2019 concerning the ownership of jointly owned real property in the Emirate of Dubai, Article 40. Your sale agreement sets any contractual defects period.

All three depend on paperwork: the snagging report, the handover certificate, the dates and the photographs. File them where you can find them in month eleven, when the one-year statutory period on installations is about to close. Our snagging guide sets out the periods in detail.

Federal decennial liability runs alongside

Under the Civil Transactions Law, the contractor and the designer carry ten years of liability if the building collapses, or has defects that threaten its stability or safety. You get three years from the collapse, or from finding the defect, to start proceedings.

The order to do it in

Choose a snagging company before the notice arrives.
Handover seasons cluster, and the better inspectors are booked out when a whole tower completes at once. Having a name and a number ready saves the week or two you'd otherwise spend looking.
Inspect before you sign the handover certificate.
The certificate is an acceptance. A defect list dated before it's a record the developer works through while the handover team is still on site. Faults raised afterwards are still covered where the law or your contract says so.
Have the handover money ready as cash.
The 5% to 8% falls due inside the same 30 days as the inspection, and none of it's financed. Owners who budget only for the final instalment find themselves short at the worst moment.
Read the first service charge invoice properly.
It arrives with handover and it sets the annual cost of holding the unit from here on. The figure to compare against similar buildings is the rate per square foot rather than the total on the invoice.

General information for property owners, current at September 2026. Costs are indicative and vary by developer, building and unit. Your sale and purchase agreement governs what’s owed and when, so confirm the detail with your developer before handover. Developer liability is summarised from Law No. 6 of 2019, Article 40, and federal decennial liability is described in general terms.

Questions

When does the handover process start?

When the completion notice lands. The developer sends it after the relevant authority issues the building completion certificate. From then on you usually get 30 days for the lot, meaning the inspection, the last payments and the title deed. Pick your snagging company before the notice comes. Thirty days goes fast, and when a whole tower completes together the inspectors get booked up.

Is a snagging inspection compulsory?

No rule forces you to book one. The reason to do it's the record it creates. Defects documented before you sign the handover certificate are dated evidence that the developer's handover team has to answer, and an inspector working through the plumbing, the electrics and the air conditioning with instruments finds faults you wouldn't see on a walkthrough.

How much does snagging cost in Dubai?

For a studio you'll see about AED 800 advertised, and around AED 2,200 for a three-bedroom apartment. Villas start from AED 2,000, and a big one costs a good deal more. A few firms charge per square foot. Expect the inspector to spend two to four hours in the unit, with the report usually in your inbox 24 to 48 hours later, so booking early keeps you comfortably inside the 30 days. The full price table is in our snagging guide.

What happens if a defect appears after I move in?

That depends what's gone wrong. If it's the mechanical, electrical, sanitary or sewerage installations, Law No. 6 of 2019 holds the developer liable for one year from handover. Structural parts get ten years, but counted from the project completion certificate. Anything to do with finishing and workmanship falls under your sale agreement's own defects period, commonly twelve months. Whichever it is, you'll be relying on dated records, so hang on to the snagging report and every bit of handover paperwork.

How much money do I need at handover?

On a standard residential unit, put aside 5% to 8% of the value. Out of that come the Land Department fees and your first service charge invoice, and the DEWA deposit and developer NOC too. Most buyers have the final instalment of the price ready. This is extra, on top of it, and you need it within the same 30 days.

Can I refuse handover if the unit is not finished?

Raising defects and refusing the unit are two different things. The snagging report is the route for the first: it records what's wrong and the developer repairs it. Where the unit is materially different from what the sale and purchase agreement describes, that's a larger question and one for a lawyer rather than an inspector.

The residents' terrace of a newly completed apartment building in Al Furjan, Dubai

Mulki tracks your milestones before handover and through to the title deed.