Snagging in the UAE: How to Inspect Before You Accept

Book it for the window between receiving the completion notice and your handover appointment, so defects are logged before you accept the keys. Developers schedule many handovers a day, and slots fill — as soon as the notice arrives, lock in either your own inspection time or a professional snagging company.

Even after accepting keys, the 12-month defect liability period commonly running from handover on off-plan units means defects found later can still be submitted. The difference is leverage: defects documented before acceptance are typically scheduled for repair around your move-in; defects found after tend to queue behind everything else.

A proper inspection walks the unit with a checklist and instruments: walls, ceilings and floors for cracks, hollow tiles and paint defects; doors and windows for alignment, locks and sealing; plumbing for pressure, drainage and leaks; electrics for socket function and distribution board labelling; and the AC for cooling output in each room, since undersized or poorly installed units are a classic hidden defect.

Good inspectors also check what owners forget: water heater function, balcony drainage and waterproofing, silicone lines around wet areas, paint on external-facing walls, and that everything promised in the specification — fittings, appliances, finishes — is actually present. The output is a photographic, room-by-room report the developer can action.

The developer schedules repairs, usually within the defect liability period, and you re-inspect the fixes — genuinely re-inspect, because first-pass repairs sometimes need a second visit. Keep written acknowledgment of the list and dated photographs; if repairs stall, those records are what RERA in Dubai, or the local authority elsewhere, will ask for.

Separate defects from wear and tear or your own modifications, which the DLP does not cover. And note what the DLP is not: it is not a warranty on your appliance purchases, not an excuse to skip maintenance, and not a substitute for the service charge funded upkeep of common areas. Know what each regime covers before you claim against the wrong one.