Our Office:
Proxima Eight FZE LLC
23rd Floor, Anantara Downtown Business Tower, Business Bay, Dubai - UAE
Proxima Eight FZE LLC
23rd Floor, Anantara Downtown Business Tower, Business Bay, Dubai - UAE
Your Dubai Property Handover Didn’t Match What You Paid For.
What Now?
What Now?
2026
Updated: April 2026
After months or years of waiting, you collected the keys. And then you walked through the door and found problems. Poor finishing. Structural issues. A layout that’s been quietly changed. A snagging list that the developer is refusing to engage with seriously.
In the current environment - with developers facing significant financial pressure - instances of handovers that fall short of SPA specifications are becoming more frequent. Understanding how these situations are typically handled is useful before you decide how to respond.
In the current environment - with developers facing significant financial pressure - instances of handovers that fall short of SPA specifications are becoming more frequent. Understanding how these situations are typically handled is useful before you decide how to respond.
Why Handover Quality Is a Growing Issue
Developers across Dubai are navigating a more difficult financing environment. Reducing specification quality or rushing completions to book revenue is one of the more direct ways to manage margins under pressure. For buyers, this translates into a real - and growing - risk of receiving a property that doesn’t match what was agreed.
Developers across Dubai are navigating a more difficult financing environment. Reducing specification quality or rushing completions to book revenue is one of the more direct ways to manage margins under pressure. For buyers, this translates into a real - and growing - risk of receiving a property that doesn’t match what was agreed.
What the Framework Looks Like
Under UAE law, developers carry obligations relating to the condition and specification of properties they hand over. These include structural warranty provisions and a requirement that the property materially conforms to what was described in the SPA.
When a property falls short - in size, layout, materials, or finish - there are formal channels through which buyers can raise this. RERA provides a process for snagging complaints. Beyond that, formal legal routes exist when developers don’t respond adequately.
How useful these channels are in practice depends significantly on the documentation a buyer has at the point of handover.
Under UAE law, developers carry obligations relating to the condition and specification of properties they hand over. These include structural warranty provisions and a requirement that the property materially conforms to what was described in the SPA.
When a property falls short - in size, layout, materials, or finish - there are formal channels through which buyers can raise this. RERA provides a process for snagging complaints. Beyond that, formal legal routes exist when developers don’t respond adequately.
How useful these channels are in practice depends significantly on the documentation a buyer has at the point of handover.
The Single Most Important Thing at Handover
Most buyers who later struggle with snagging disputes share one thing in common: they signed handover documents before properly recording defects in writing.
Once you’ve signed a general acceptance, your ability to raise issues retrospectively becomes significantly more limited. The developer will point to the signed document.
Before signing anything:
If you’ve already signed and are dealing with a developer who won’t engage, the situation is harder - but not necessarily without options, depending on what was documented.
We connect buyers with specialists who handle snagging disputes and developer claims in the UAE. Get in touch if you’d like to understand your situation better.
Most buyers who later struggle with snagging disputes share one thing in common: they signed handover documents before properly recording defects in writing.
Once you’ve signed a general acceptance, your ability to raise issues retrospectively becomes significantly more limited. The developer will point to the signed document.
Before signing anything:
- Walk the entire property carefully - ideally with a professional snagging surveyor
- Photograph everything thoroughly with timestamps
- Put your defect list in writing and send it to the developer before or alongside signing
- Avoid signing any document that includes a general waiver of outstanding issues
If you’ve already signed and are dealing with a developer who won’t engage, the situation is harder - but not necessarily without options, depending on what was documented.
We connect buyers with specialists who handle snagging disputes and developer claims in the UAE. Get in touch if you’d like to understand your situation better.