---
title: "Snagging"
canonical: https://www.uaepropertyagents.com/glossary/snagging
markdown: https://www.uaepropertyagents.com/md/glossary/snagging.md
type: glossary-term
description: "Snagging is the detailed inspection of a new home at handover to list defects and unfinished work for the developer to put right."
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."
---

# Snagging

> Snagging is the detailed inspection of a new home at handover to list defects and unfinished work for the developer to put right.

Also known as: Snag list, Pre-handover inspection, Defects inspection.

## What Snagging means for a buyer

A snag is a defect or a piece of incomplete or poor-quality work: a cracked tile, a door that does not close, a leaking trap, an air-conditioning unit that does not cool, missing sealant, a faulty socket. Snagging is the inspection that finds them, carried out when the developer invites you to view the finished unit before or at [handover](https://www.uaepropertyagents.com/glossary/handover).

The result is a snag list, which you submit to the developer. The developer's contractor works through it and invites you back for a second inspection, known as de-snagging.

Most buyers are better served by a professional snagging company than by doing it themselves. Inspectors test what an owner would not: water pressure and drainage, electrical circuits, cooling output, moisture behind walls using thermal imaging, and the fall on balcony floors. Fees depend on the size of the property and are small against its price. Overseas buyers can instruct an inspector to attend with their representative.

Timing matters. Your position is strongest before you sign the handover acceptance, so inspect as early as the developer allows. That said, accepting the keys does not end the developer's responsibility: under Dubai law it must repair or replace defective installations for one year from handover and remains liable for structural defects for ten years. See [defects liability period](https://www.uaepropertyagents.com/glossary/defects-liability-period). Keep the dated list and photographs, and report later defects in writing.

## 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.
- [Defects liability period](https://www.uaepropertyagents.com/glossary/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.
- [Handover notice](https://www.uaepropertyagents.com/glossary/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.
- [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

- [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)


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Source page: https://www.uaepropertyagents.com/glossary/snagging. 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.