Snagging a Dubai apartment at handover: the process, the usual defects and how to get them fixed
Snagging in Dubai works best as two inspections at once: a technical one by a broker or engineer and a domestic one by the person who will live there. Until the handover documents are signed, every defect recorded goes to the developer to fix; afterwards it becomes correspondence, proof and the owner’s own expense.
Why do the buyer and the professional find different defects?
Because they look from different heights and for different things. A broker inspects from standing height along practised points. The person who will live there kneels on the marble with a phone torch and shows a scratch his foot catches in socks — and he is almost always right.
The professional eye is quick: within a minute of walking into a villa or an apartment the general quality of the finish is clear. Speed has a price. We look from the top down, and we check what often breaks, not what will bother one particular person every day.
The buyer is not inspecting a property; in his mind he already lives in it. He places the sofa, walks barefoot, rests a palm on the worktop, opens the bedroom wardrobe and looks at the ceiling against the light.
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That scenario-led look catches what no standard checklist contains. So in my practice the ideal inspection is always both views at once: one finds what is hidden, the other what is domestic.
What does a specialist check first?
A map of problem points. It is formed from situations repeated across dozens of properties and hardly depends on the developer. It starts with the wet areas — bathrooms, kitchen, laundry: floor falls, drainage, sealing, and traces of damp on the ceiling below.
Air conditioning comes next: evenness of supply from room to room, noise, condensation on the grilles, access to the service hatch. Then doors and windows: misalignment, gaps, the working of the ironmongery, how tightly things close, the seals on panoramic glazing.
Electrics are tested under load: every switch and socket, the distribution board, the lighting in wardrobes and on the balcony.
On the balcony and terrace the points are drainage, the joint between the tiling and the threshold, the balustrade, and signs of water getting in under the threshold.
Last comes geometry: the flatness of walls and screed, the junctions between materials, and whether the areas and the position of service points match the plan.
Why is close attention not fussiness?
Because the cost of a defect changes on the day the papers are signed. Marble and quartz cannot be touched up: the slab has to be replaced, the batch matched, the old one taken out, and time found. Before signing that is the developer’s problem; after it, yours.
It is also a matter of documents. Until the handover is signed, defects are simply put right. After it, the correspondence and the proving begin.
Then there is daily life. A defect you feel underfoot or see every morning turns into a permanent irritant, and a repair in an occupied apartment means workmen, dust and moving furniture. In an empty one it is ordinary contractor’s work.
And there is liquidity. In the premium segment the next buyer or tenant will also bend down and look at the floor against the light.
How does a handover inspection work in Dubai?
On the primary market the pattern is broadly the same everywhere. The developer gives notice that the property is ready and sets a window for inspection before the handover documents are signed.
That window is the most valuable period of the whole transaction. Everything you record in it goes into work without argument about causes.
There are separate snagging companies on the market. An engineer goes through the property with a level, a moisture meter, a thermal camera and a tester, checks the building services, and issues a report with photographs, references to the plan and a description of every item.
The value of such a report is that the developer receives not emotion but a list with the address of each defect.
After the repairs comes a second inspection, de-snagging. This is where it turns out that some items were closed only formally: the gap was filled but the door still catches, the slab was replaced but the joint is now wider. It must not be skipped.
Then the warranty period begins: usually a year on finishes and building services, and a long term on the structure under UAE law. Beyond that there are the management company and the service charge, so some questions after moving in are settled through it.
Which defects turn up most often?
The list repeats so steadily that it could be printed in advance. Stone leads it: scratches, chips, uneven joint widths and stains from construction chemicals. Scratches and chips are almost impossible to see standing upright, and are caught at once in side light and by touch.
Paintwork: runs where wall meets ceiling, missed patches behind radiators and in niches, traces of filler visible against the sun. Plumbing: weak pressure at one tap, a slow floor drain, an access cover set unevenly, a squeaking sliding shower door.
Fitted furniture: drawers out of true, missing soft-close fittings, shelves left unfixed, scuffs on the laminate film.
Climate and light close the list. One diffuser blows and the next barely does, the unit is noisy in night mode, lamps in a single row differ in colour temperature, a dimmer flickers.
Running the inspection so that defects are actually fixed
The difference between having complained and having it fixed is almost always organisation, not a hard tone. A calm, structured approach works better than pressure.
Come in bright daylight, because side sun shows what cannot be seen at all in the evening. Walk the property without shoes: feet and palms find defects faster than eyes.
Put a sticker on every finding, and photograph the defect together with the sticker and a reference point in the frame. Record everything in writing, because agreements made verbally with the site foreman do not survive a change of contractor.
Test under load. Turn on all the water, all the lights and the air conditioning at the same time, which is how the weak points in the systems come out.
Insist on the re-inspection, and sign the handover only after it.
And be there in person. No report replaces the person who, a month later, will walk across that floor barefoot. Bending down, switching on a torch and crossing the apartment without shoes is the cheapest investment in the whole transaction.
Frequently asked
Is a separate snagging inspection obligatory in Dubai?
Formally no, but on properties with expensive finishes it almost always pays for itself: an engineer sees hidden problems with damp, ventilation and electrics that do not show to the eye.
How long do you have to inspect before signing the handover?
Usually the developer opens a window of several weeks after the notice of readiness. The exact term is stated in your contract and in the handover letter.
What if a defect is found after you have moved in?
Report it at once and in writing, with photographs and the date, within the warranty period. The later the claim, the higher the chance of a dispute over whether it is wear from use or a fault.
Can the developer refuse to replace scratched stone?
It may offer polishing or a local repair. If the defect can be seen and felt, it is reasonable to demand replacement of the slab and to record that on the list before the handover is signed.
Can you accept a property remotely through a power of attorney?
It is done, but then the inspection should be led by an engineer with a report and a video recording, not only by a representative with a signature. Otherwise small domestic defects pass into your own area of responsibility.
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