---
title: "Handover notice"
canonical: https://www.uaepropertyagents.com/glossary/handover-notice
markdown: https://www.uaepropertyagents.com/md/glossary/handover-notice.md
type: glossary-term
description: "A handover notice is the developer's formal letter telling an off-plan buyer the home is complete and setting a deadline to pay the balance and take possession."
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."
---

# Handover notice

> A handover notice is the developer's formal letter telling an off-plan buyer the home is complete and setting a deadline to pay the balance and take possession.

Also known as: Completion notice, Notice of completion, Handover letter.

## What Handover notice means for a buyer

Once a building has its [completion certificate](https://www.uaepropertyagents.com/glossary/completion-certificate), the developer writes to each buyer, by email and often by courier to the address in the [SPA](https://www.uaepropertyagents.com/glossary/spa). The handover notice states that the unit is ready, lists the sums due and the documents needed, and sets a deadline, commonly 30 days, to complete.

The statement of account attached to it normally includes the final instalment, [service charges](https://www.uaepropertyagents.com/glossary/service-charges) from the handover date, the [title deed](https://www.uaepropertyagents.com/glossary/title-deed) fee, any utility or cooling connection charges and, occasionally, an adjustment if the measured area differs from the contract.

The notice starts clocks running. Under most SPAs, service charges accrue from the date in the notice whether or not you have collected the keys, and if you miss the deadline the developer may charge late-payment interest or treat the unit as handed over to you regardless. Persistent non-payment allows the developer to begin the default procedure through the land department.

What to do on receiving one:

- confirm the completion certificate has been issued, not merely expected
- book [snagging](https://www.uaepropertyagents.com/glossary/snagging) at once, before the deadline
- tell your mortgage lender immediately if the balance is being financed
- check every line of the statement against the SPA
- arrange a [power of attorney](https://www.uaepropertyagents.com/glossary/power-of-attorney) if you cannot attend

Keep your contact details with the developer up to date. A notice sent to an old email address is still validly served under most contracts.

## Related terms

- [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.
- [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.
- [SPA](https://www.uaepropertyagents.com/glossary/spa): The Sale and Purchase Agreement is the binding contract between an off-plan buyer and the developer, setting the price, payment schedule and completion date.

## In depth

- [Buying off-plan property in the UAE: how it works and how buyers are protected](https://www.uaepropertyagents.com/guides/buying-off-plan-in-the-uae)


---

Source page: https://www.uaepropertyagents.com/glossary/handover-notice. 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.