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Snagging a new Dubai property, and the cover you hold afterwards.

Get the defects on paper while they're still the developer's problem. Below is what an inspection costs for each unit size, and how long Law No. 6 of 2019 keeps the developer on the hook after you move in.

Updated

Expect to pay from about AED 800 to snag a studio, up to AED 2,200 for a three-bedroom apartment, and from AED 2,000 for a villa. If the developer will let you in before handover, book it then, before you sign anything. After that, Law No. 6 of 2019 keeps the developer liable on two clocks. Mechanical, electrical and sanitary installations get one year from handover. The structural parts get ten years, counted from the project completion certificate.

In short

  • Installations are covered for twelve months from your handover. That's the clock that runs out first.

  • The ten years on structure start at the project completion certificate, and that date can be well before you got your keys.

  • On top of both, your sale agreement may carry a contractual defects period for finishing and workmanship.

  • Put complaints in writing and keep the whole thread. Telling the handover agent in person leaves you nothing to point to later.

What it costs

Dubai snagging inspection, advertised 2026 pricing
UnitAdvertised fee, AED
Studio800 to 1,200
1 bedroom1,000 to 1,500
2 bedroom1,300 to 1,800
3 bedroom1,600 to 2,200
Villafrom 2,000, and often far higher with size
Priced by area instead0.50 to 1.50 per sq ft

Sampled from published UAE inspection price lists including Expert Property Snagging, Atom Inspections, Snagify and Handover Heroes, read 18 September 2026. Firms quote either a flat fee by unit type or a rate per square foot of built-up area. Large villas commonly exceed the figures below. VAT treatment varies by provider, so confirm it in the quote.

How long you are covered

Once you’ve taken the keys, the developer is still on the hook under two statutory periods, one short and one long, and usually a contractual one as well. Which of them a fault falls under decides how long you’ve got to chase it.

Developer liability under Law No. 6 of 2019
What failsHow longRunning from
Structural parts: foundations, main supports, columns, structural walls, ceilings and joists, staircases, facades, roofs10 yearsThe project completion certificate
Mechanical and electrical work, sanitary installations, sewerage1 yearHandover of your unit, or the completion certificate if you refuse possession
Finishing and workmanshipAs your sale agreement says, commonly 12 monthsUsually handover

Law No. 6 of 2019 concerning the ownership of jointly owned real property in the Emirate of Dubai, Article 40. Read 18 September 2026.

  • Statute covers the installations, whatever the contract says.

    Under Law No. 6 of 2019 the twelve-month period takes in the AC and the wiring, along with plumbing and drainage. If the AC dies or a waste pipe turns out to be badly run during that year, the developer pays to put it right.

  • The ten-year period starts at the completion certificate.

    Where a building hands over in phases, the certificate can come a year or more before your keys, which means some of your structural cover has gone before you've unpacked. Ask the developer for the date and note it next to your handover date.

Federal decennial liability runs alongside

Separately, the Civil Transactions Law makes the contractor and the designer liable for ten years if the building collapses or has defects threatening its stability or safety. The liability is strict, so nobody has to prove negligence. You do have to start proceedings within three years of the collapse, or of discovering the defect.

Using the first year

  • Inspect before you sign, where you can.

    If there's a pre-handover visit, that's when the inspector should come. Otherwise get them in soon after you have the keys. Leave it to month eleven and you'll barely have time to report a fault, never mind see it fixed.

  • Report in writing, then re-inspect.

    Date the report, put the unit reference on it and send it. Ask for a rectification schedule; a polite acknowledgement is no use to you. When they say the work's done, pay for a second visit. It costs a fraction of the first, and it's how owners find out which items got ticked off without anyone touching them.

A micro-cement stair with a black steel balustrade in a finished Dubai villa

Keep the file.

Save the report and the email you sent it with. Save their reply too, and the rectification schedule, and take photos once the work is done. Say the same leak comes back in year three. Your claim then rests on dated records, and having them puts you in a far better spot than trying to remember what someone promised you at handover.

The prices are advertised ranges we sampled from published UAE inspection price lists on 18 September 2026, and VAT treatment varies. What we say about developer liability summarises Law No. 6 of 2019 concerning the ownership of jointly owned real property in the Emirate of Dubai; federal decennial liability is only sketched in general terms. Any contractual defects period is whatever your sale agreement says. This is general information for owners and isn’t legal advice.

Questions

How much does snagging cost in Dubai?

For a flat, the advertised prices go from roughly AED 800 for a studio to about AED 2,200 for a three-bed. Villas start around AED 2,000, and for big ones the published lists go to AED 9,000 or more. A few firms charge by area, at AED 0.50 to 1.50 per square foot of built-up area. Ask whether VAT's included. Some quote with it, some without, and they don't always say which.

Is snagging worth it on a brand new property?

We think so. In a flat nobody has lived in, nobody has had time to notice the hairline crack or the door that won't quite close. Or the AC that never gets the bedroom cold, or the shower tray leaking into the wall. The inspection costs a fraction of a per cent of what you paid. And the developer's statutory liability for installations ends twelve months after you get the keys, so the clock is already going.

When should the inspection happen?

Ideally before you sign the handover, if the developer lets you in for a pre-handover visit. If they won't, book it for soon after you've got the keys. Mechanical and electrical installations are covered by statute for a year from handover, and if you only get round to inspecting in month eleven, there's barely time to report anything, let alone get it fixed.

What is the defects liability period in Dubai?

People use the phrase for two separate things. One is in your sale agreement: a contractual defects period, commonly twelve months, for finishing and workmanship. The other sits underneath it in Law No. 6 of 2019, which makes the developer liable whatever your contract says.

What does Law 6 of 2019 make the developer liable for?

There are two periods. The long one is ten years, counted from when the developer gets the project completion certificate, and it covers defects in the structural parts (foundations, main supports, columns, structural walls, ceilings and joists, staircases and stairwells, facades and roofs). The short one is a year from handover of your unit. In that year the developer has to repair or replace defective mechanical and electrical work, sanitary installations and sewerage. If an owner refuses to take possession, the year counts from the completion certificate instead.

What happens if I find a structural problem years later?

Check the date on the project completion certificate first. Under Law No. 6 of 2019 the ten years count from that date, not from your handover, so you may well still be inside the window. Separately, federal law has its own decennial liability, on the contractor and the designer, for collapse and for defects that threaten the building's stability or safety. Under that one you have three years from the collapse, or from finding the defect, to start proceedings. Be aware that not every fault an owner would call structural is covered by either.

Can I do the snagging myself?

Walk round and write down whatever you can see, by all means. Where you'll fall short is the stuff that needs kit. Think AC airflow and temperature differentials, damp behind the finishes, the electrics, whether the bathroom floor falls towards the drain. And a developer takes a signed inspector's report more seriously than a list you typed up on your phone.

Does the developer have to fix everything on the list?

The defects, yes. A sticking door is a defect, so is a leaking trap, and so is an AC unit that can't reach its design temperature. Deciding you don't like the tiles after all isn't. Pad the report with that sort of thing and the developer starts taking the whole list less seriously.

Related

A finished dining room with a flush door, in a Dubai villa

Mulki keeps the handover file with the unit, report, replies and all.