Dubai Property Handover Checklist: Before You Accept the Keys

Developers run handover in different ways, so use this as a general map and check your sale and purchase agreement (SPA) and the developer's handover process for the details, dates and documents that apply to you.

1. Read the completion or handover notice. Note what it asks for, such as outstanding payments or documents and utility or service arrangements, and whether it invites you to inspect, to collect keys, or both.
2. Confirm the process in writing. Ask whether an independent inspection is allowed and on which visit, and how defects must be reported: format, channel and any deadline.
3. Arrange services and access. Ask for water, power and cooling to be running, and for every room, balcony and outdoor area to be open.
4. Prepare what to bring. Gather your documents and the printable checklist below.
5. Inspect the property. Walk every room with services running, and arrange a structured inspection if you want one.
6. Submit the snag list. Send it once, completely and through the formal channel, and ask for acknowledgement.
7. Review the handover documents before signing. Check whether outstanding items are recorded, and take advice if you are unsure.
8. Collect the keys and follow up. Track each item by reference number until it is closed, and check repairs when you are told they are complete.

Confirm the details in writing and prepare your paperwork. The days before handover are the best time to head off avoidable problems.

• Check what the notice actually says. Is it an invitation to inspect, to collect keys, or both? Is the date confirmed or provisional?
• Ask about access. Will every room, store, balcony and outdoor area be open? Can you bring an independent inspector, and if so, on which visit?
• Ask about utilities. Will water and electricity be connected? Will cooling be running? Without them, fittings cannot be checked in use.
• Ask about the process. How does the developer want defects reported, in what format and through which channel? Is there a deadline?
• Plan your time. A rushed visit at the end of a working day leaves little room to look properly.

Bring only what is relevant to the property and the handover. Useful items include:

• your SPA and any specification schedule;
• the handover notice and any developer correspondence about the process;
• floor plans, so you can check rooms and fittings against what was agreed;
• any earlier lists of items you have already raised;
• identification as required by the developer for the handover itself;
• a printed copy of the checklist below, a pen and a charged phone for dated photographs;
• a small torch for cupboards, under-sink areas and dim corners;
• the contact details of anyone you have authorised to attend or help with access.

Keep payment records, passports and unrelated personal documents away from anyone who does not need them. An inspector needs property information and access, not your financial or identity records.

Walk every room with water, power and cooling running, and record anything that does not look or work as it should. If you have arranged an inspection, the appropriately licensed inspection provider, subject to verification and confirmed in your agreement, works through the agreed scope methodically; it still helps to walk the property yourself so you understand the findings.

Throughout the property

• walls and ceilings: cracks, uneven paint, patches and marks;
• floors: chipped, cracked or loose tiles, gaps at skirting, uneven joints;
• doors: they open, close and latch without force; locks and handles work;
• light fittings, sockets and switches: fitted, level and working at user level.

Kitchen and wet areas

• taps run and drains clear without pooling;
• sealant is continuous around baths, showers, basins and worktops;
• cabinet doors and drawers align, close and stay closed;
• extract fans run.

Cooling

• each room responds when cooling is turned on;
• air is moving at each outlet, with no drips or obvious noise.

Windows, balconies and outdoor areas

• windows and sliding doors open, close and lock, with seals in place;
• balcony and terrace floors fall towards the drain, and drains are not blocked;
• balustrades and handrails are firm when pressed;
• garden, parking and external doors, where they belong to the property.

That is a decision about your contract, so read what you are being asked to sign and take independent advice if you are unsure. What the documents mean, and whether outstanding items are listed in them, varies between developers.

What we can say practically is this: make sure your list of observed items is submitted in the developer's required format, and keep a dated copy. Developers are expected to hand over in accordance with applicable contractual standards and to address eligible defects under relevant legal and contractual obligations. An inspection report can help you document concerns and follow up.

Read it within a day or two of receiving it, while the visit is fresh. Check that:

• the property details and inspection date are correct;
• the scope matches what you agreed, and limitations are clearly listed;
• each finding has a reference number, location, photograph and description;
• priorities are explained, so you know what the provider means by each category;
• anything you noticed on the day but cannot find in the report is queried promptly.

Our guide on how to read a snagging report walks through each section.

How you submit matters almost as much as what you submit.

1. Use the developer's formal channel. Your handover documents or the developer's customer team should confirm it. A message to a sales contact is not usually a substitute.
2. Use the format the developer asks for. Some developers provide their own form; if so, complete it and attach the full report rather than retyping findings.
3. Send everything once. Submit the complete list, not items in dribs and drabs, and do not edit a signed report.
4. Add a short covering note. Identify the unit and the report date, state the number of items and ask for a response for each item by reference number.
5. Ask for acknowledgement. Keep any case number or reply with your copy.

Our guide to following up with the developer includes an example covering note.

• Keep the report unaltered, with the inspection date and the date you sent it.
• Save every message, including the channel, the date and any case number.
• Take dated photographs from positions you can repeat, so before-and-after views are comparable.
• Keep one log, by reference number: date submitted, developer response, planned action, date reported complete, and your own check or the reinspection result. Add new entries rather than overwriting old ones.
• Store copies in two places, so the record does not depend on one phone or inbox.

There is no single answer. Check your SPA, any handover or warranty documents and the developer's stated process for response times, repair periods and reporting deadlines, and note them in your log. If no timeframe is stated, follow up politely and in writing at regular intervals, and record each contact. Keep an eye on any DLP or warranty end date, so open items are raised well before it.

When you are told work is complete, check each item before closing it in your log. You can check simple items yourself, such as a door that now latches. Where there are many items, you are abroad or you want an independent, documented update, a Reinspection (sometimes called de-snagging) revisits each earlier finding by reference number and records it as appearing resolved, remaining open or not checked. It is a visual check on the day, so it cannot confirm concealed workmanship.

Use these five questions as a final check before you leave the property.

1. Have I seen every room and space that belongs to the property? If not, list what was locked or inaccessible.
2. Were water, power and cooling running? If not, note which checks could not be done.
3. Is every observed item recorded with a location and photograph? If not, add it before you leave.
4. Do I know how and when to submit the list? If not, ask the developer in writing.
5. Do I know how I will check the repairs? Decide now whether you will check them yourself or arrange a reinspection.

If you can answer yes to all five, you have done what you can to make handover a proper one.

A walk-through by you is valuable. A structured inspection by the inspection provider adds a consistent method, functional checks where safe, and a signed, photographed report that is easier to submit and track. It is still visual and non-destructive, limited to accessible areas in the agreed scope, and it cannot find every defect.

Learn more about Pre-Handover Snagging.