Off-plan property
Property purchased before construction is complete — sold from the developer with payments staged against construction milestones.
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process
DLP — Defects Liability Period
The window after handover during which the developer is contractually obligated to repair build defects at no cost to the owner.
The Defects Liability Period (DLP) is the contractual window after handover during which the developer must repair build defects (cracks, leaks, fixtures, MEP issues) at no cost to the owner. Under standard Dubai practice the DLP is typically 12 months for finishes and 10 years for major structural defects, in line with UAE Civil Code Article 880.
The practical investor process is: after handover inspection ('snagging'), the owner submits a defect list to the developer's customer-care team; the developer remediates within the DLP. Issues identified after the DLP expires are the owner's responsibility, except where structural defects are covered under the 10-year warranty.
Knowing the developer's DLP procedure — how long they take to respond, whether they outsource snagging, what defects they routinely contest — is part of pre-purchase developer due diligence. Established developers (Emaar, Aldar, Sobha) typically have well-staffed DLP teams; smaller developers can lag.
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