On this page
Completion notice
Handover starts with a notice from the developer, usually giving you a window of a few weeks to complete final payments, provide documents such as your passport and title deed application, and book a handover appointment. Read the notice carefully. It sets deadlines that affect fees and your position if you need more time.
Snagging inspection before you sign
Before you sign anything that confirms acceptance of the unit, an independent snagging inspection should take place, either instead of or alongside the developer's own walk. This is the moment your leverage is strongest: the developer still wants the handover to complete cleanly, and correcting a numbered list is far easier for them to agree to now than after you have taken possession.
See our full guide to what a snagging inspection covers if you have not commissioned one before.
The handover walk takes an hour. A proper inspection takes a day.
The developer's own handover walk
Most developers run their own walkthrough with a representative present, working through a much shorter checklist over roughly an hour. It is worth attending, but it is not a substitute for an independent inspection: the representative works for the developer, not for you, and the checklist is rarely made public in advance.
Final payments and fees
Handover typically triggers the final instalment of the purchase price, along with one-off charges such as the Oqood-to-title-deed transfer fee, DEWA connection deposits and the first service charge instalment. Confirm the exact figures with the developer in writing before you attend, since these vary by project.
Utilities and moving in
Once keys are released, connecting DEWA (power and water) and, where applicable, district cooling and internet is usually the first practical task. Keep the snagging report to hand during this period: defects such as low water pressure or an air conditioning fault are far easier to identify and report against a documented baseline.
If you can't attend in person
Many owners buying from overseas are not in Dubai for handover week. An inspector can attend on your behalf, collect keys, complete the walkthrough, and report back the same day with everything you would have seen yourself. Our remote handover service is built for exactly this.
Written by the Kensington Inspection Co team
Reviewed for technical accuracy by our technical director, a qualified surveyor. Kensington Inspection Co carries out independent property inspections in Dubai, benchmarked to British surveying standards.
Keep reading
Related guides
See what a real report looks like
A full sample, with every entry graded and cited exactly as your own report would be.