Every defect found before you sign for the keys

What snagging means

Snagging is the inspection of a newly built or newly renovated property against the standard it was supposed to be built to, carried out before you accept it. A "snag" is any item that falls short: a door out of plumb, a tile laid unevenly, a socket that was never wired in. None of these are matters of taste. Each is measured against a tolerance, and either the work meets it or it does not.

In Dubai, snagging is most often associated with new-build handover, where a developer hands a unit to its buyer for the first time. The same discipline applies to a resale property before you complete on it, and to a contractor's work at the end of a renovation.

A snag is not an opinion about finish. It is a measurement against a tolerance, and either the work meets it or it doesn't.

Why it matters before you accept the keys

Once you sign the handover form and accept the unit, your leverage changes. Most sale and purchase agreements still oblige the developer to correct defects raised within the warranty period, but the burden shifts to you to notice, document and chase each one individually. A snagging inspection carried out before handover produces a single numbered list the developer works through as a condition of that handover, rather than a series of separate complaints raised after you have already moved in.

This matters more, not less, when you are buying from overseas and will not be resident to notice problems as they surface.

What an inspection actually checks

A thorough inspection works through the property room by room and system by system: structure and finishes, doors and windows, flooring and tiling, paint and plaster, kitchens and bathrooms, electrical and lighting, plumbing and drainage, and air conditioning. Our own snagging inspections run to 412 checkpoints on a typical apartment. Each item is measured rather than eyeballed: flatness under a straightedge, plumb with a spirit level, socket output with a tester, then checked against British-founded tolerances such as NHBC standards and BS 5606, which is the benchmark most Dubai developer specifications reference in any case.

Who is responsible for fixing what

For a new-build handover, the developer is responsible for correcting defects within the warranty period set out in your contract, commonly around twelve months from handover for most finishes and longer for structural items. For a resale property, responsibility depends on your sale contract with the seller, so inspect before you complete, since your leverage narrows sharply afterwards. For a renovation, responsibility sits with your contractor under the scope of works you agreed and paid for.

In every case, the report is the evidence. A defect with a photograph, a measurement and the standard it fails is a fact to be corrected. An unrecorded complaint is a conversation to be had.

What the report looks like

A useful snagging report numbers and locates every defect to the room, photographs it, states the measurement against the tolerance it fails, cites the standard or specification clause, and grades severity as critical, major or minor. It should read as a worklist a contractor can act on directly, not a narrative for you to interpret.

When to instruct one

Before you sign the handover form on a new build, before you complete on a resale, and again roughly eleven months after handover, while the developer's warranty period is still open. See our guide to the defect liability period for what that final window covers.