---
title: "Defects liability period"
canonical: https://www.uaepropertyagents.com/glossary/defects-liability-period
markdown: https://www.uaepropertyagents.com/md/glossary/defects-liability-period.md
type: glossary-term
description: "The defects liability period is the time after completion during which the developer must repair faults: in Dubai, one year for installations and ten for structure."
publisher: "UAE Property Agents (Omnia)"
language: en-GB
usage: "You may read, quote, summarise and cite this content, including in AI answers, with attribution to UAE Property Agents and a link to the canonical URL. Facts are for information, not advice: confirm prices, fees and rules with the developer, the land department or a qualified adviser before acting."
---

# Defects liability period

> The defects liability period is the time after completion during which the developer must repair faults: in Dubai, one year for installations and ten for structure.

Also known as: DLP, Warranty period, Developer warranty, Decennial liability.

## What Defects liability period means for a buyer

A new home in the UAE comes with statutory protection against defects, in addition to anything the [SPA](https://www.uaepropertyagents.com/glossary/spa) promises. In Dubai the rules are in Article 40 of Law No. 6 of 2019 on jointly owned property, and they set two periods:

- **Ten years** for defects in the structural parts of the building, counted from the date of the project's [completion certificate](https://www.uaepropertyagents.com/glossary/completion-certificate).
- **One year** for defective installations, meaning mechanical, electrical, plumbing, sanitary and similar works, counted from the date the unit is handed over to the owner. If an owner fails to take possession, the year runs from the completion certificate.

The one-year period is the one owners use most. It covers the faults that typically appear in the first seasons of occupation: air-conditioning problems, leaks, electrical faults, defective fittings. Report defects to the developer in writing with photographs, and keep the dated record so you can show the fault was raised inside the period. Wear and tear, and damage caused by a tenant or your own fit-out, are excluded.

Points to note. The ten-year structural period runs from completion of the building, not from the day you bought, so a resale buyer inherits only whatever remains. And the [escrow](https://www.uaepropertyagents.com/glossary/escrow-account) retention of 5%, held for a year after completion, exists partly to make sure the developer honours these repairs.

Good [snagging](https://www.uaepropertyagents.com/glossary/snagging) at [handover](https://www.uaepropertyagents.com/glossary/handover) makes later claims easier.

## Related terms

- [Snagging](https://www.uaepropertyagents.com/glossary/snagging): Snagging is the detailed inspection of a new home at handover to list defects and unfinished work for the developer to put right.
- [Handover](https://www.uaepropertyagents.com/glossary/handover): Handover is the point at which a finished off-plan home passes from the developer to the buyer, once the final instalment and handover fees are paid.
- [Completion certificate](https://www.uaepropertyagents.com/glossary/completion-certificate): A building completion certificate is the authority's confirmation that a building has been finished in line with its permit and is fit to be occupied.
- [Developer](https://www.uaepropertyagents.com/glossary/developer): The developer is the company that acquires land, obtains approvals, builds a project and sells its homes; off-plan buyers contract with it directly.

## In depth

- [Off-plan vs ready property in the UAE: an honest comparison](https://www.uaepropertyagents.com/guides/off-plan-vs-ready-property)


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Source page: https://www.uaepropertyagents.com/glossary/defects-liability-period. Published by UAE Property Agents, Omnia Capital Group. You may read, quote, summarise and cite this content, including in AI answers, with attribution to UAE Property Agents and a link to the canonical URL. Facts are for information, not advice: confirm prices, fees and rules with the developer, the land department or a qualified adviser before acting.