Law No. 6 of 2019 gives owners two warranties of different lengths: ten years from the completion certificate for defects in the structural parts, and one year from handover of the unit for defective installations. And it adds a rule worth knowing before you sign: an agreement contradicting that article is null and void. Plus compulsory insurance of the building, the alterations procedure, and the management company's bank guarantee.
Verified against official sources on 2026-09-15: the text of Law No. 6 of 2019 comes from the Dubai Legislation Portal (dlp.dubai.gov.ae). Source links sit next to each rule and again at the end. The portal notes that the English version is a translation and that the Arabic text prevails in case of conflict. This is not legal advice: a specific defect is judged on the documents of the specific building.
A developer's warranty in Dubai is usually summed up in one phrase — "ten years". In fact there are two warranties, of different lengths, running from different dates and covering different things. And at the end of the article sits a rule that makes any attempt to contract around them pointless.
The document is Law No. (6) of 2019 Concerning Ownership of Jointly Owned Real Property in the Emirate of Dubai, issued on 4 September 2019. We covered service charges and the boundary of ownership under the same law separately.
Two warranties, not one
Article 40 separates them:
| What is covered | Period | Running from |
|---|---|---|
| defects in the structural parts of the property | 10 years | the date of obtaining the project's completion certificate |
| defective installations: mechanical and electrical works, sanitary and sewerage installations and similar | 1 year | the date the unit is handed over to the owner |
Paragraph (b) closes the deferred-handover loophole: if the owner refrains from taking possession for any reason, the one-year period starts running from the date the developer obtained the completion certificate. Delaying acceptance to stretch the warranty does nothing — the clock is already running.
Paragraph (a) notes that the liability applies "subject to the provisions governing contractor agreements" in Federal Law No. 5 of 1985. We do not analyse or paraphrase that federal text here — it is named in the law and must be read separately.
The rule that makes Article 40 worth reading to the end
Paragraph (c): nothing in this law precludes or prejudices any rights or warranties granted to owners against developers under any other legislation. Those two periods are a floor, not a ceiling.
And paragraph (d):
«An agreement which is made after this Law comes into force and which contradicts, in any way, the provisions of this Article will be deemed null and void.» — Law No. (6) of 2019, Article 40(d)
"In any way" covers both a straightforward shortening of the period and workarounds such as a buyer's waiver of claims. A signature under such a clause does not save it.
Insuring the building is a duty, not an option
Article 41 imposes three duties on the management entity at once: insure the property under a policy covering maintenance and reconstruction in case of fire, damage or destruction for any reason whatsoever; insure against liability for damage and bodily injury sustained by occupants or third parties; and the beneficiary of the property insurance must be the management entity itself.
Paragraph (c) answers the question that follows: premiums payable by owners are calculated under the contracts concluded with insurers and are included in the service charges. They should not appear as a separate line on top of the charge.
Alterations: three approvals, not one
Article 39 is strict: without prejudice to the construction legislation in force, an occupant may make substantial alterations to the structure or external appearance of his unit, or to any part of the property, only after obtaining the approval of the master developer, the DLD and the competent authority. All three, not any one of them.
Whoever breaches this is liable to remedy, at his own expense and in the manner prescribed by the master developer or RERA, any damage arising from his alterations. If he does not, RERA or the master developer may appoint another entity and hold him liable for the costs.
Paragraph (d) adds a rule of communal life: an occupant and his guests must use the common parts only for their intended purposes and in a way that does not prejudice others' rights to use them, disturb them, or endanger their safety or the property's. What counts as common parts and what belongs to your apartment is covered separately.
What the management company answers with
Here the law builds a three-step structure.
The bank guarantee (Article 36). The management entity must provide a bank guarantee in favour of the DLD, in an amount the DLD determines, covering all jointly owned property it manages. It serves as security for remedying any damage to the common parts caused by the manager's omission or negligence. If damage occurs and the manager does not remedy it within the time RERA sets, RERA may appoint another entity and deduct the costs from the bank guarantee.
An order to carry out works (Article 35). If RERA is satisfied that the common parts are not duly maintained or not kept in good, clean and serviceable condition, it serves a written notice on the manager stating the required works and the dates for starting and finishing them. If the manager fails, RERA may appoint another entity and debit the costs to the service charges account or the usage charges account.
Replacing the manager (Article 38). Where RERA deems a management company incompetent or unable, it may appoint a replacement — but must follow four steps: notify the owners committee of the violations and seek its opinion; serve a written warning listing the company's mistakes, to which the company may respond within 14 days; appoint a certified audit firm to audit the service charges account and compliance with the approved budget; and give the company a deadline to hand over management to its replacement — 30 days from the date of RERA's decision. Damage caused by the substituted company is borne by it and deducted from its bank guarantee.
Separately, Article 34 requires the manager to report: every six months a periodic report to RERA on management and maintenance works, and on request, statements of revenue and expenditure on the charges.
Where a dispute goes
Article 42 leaves no choice of forum:
«the RDSC will have the exclusive jurisdiction to hear and determine all disputes and disagreements related to the rights and obligations stipulated in this Law» — Law No. (6) of 2019, Article 42
The body's name sounds tenancy-related, but its jurisdiction here is broader: owners' disputes under this law go to the same place. How the Centre is built is covered in our reading of Decree No. 26 of 2013.
⚠️ On the fines in Article 44 — and what we do not know about them
Article 44 names a range: a fine of not less than one million dirhams, doubled on repetition of the same violation within a year, and not exceeding two million dirhams. Those are the law's own figures and we reproduce them as its text.
What we cannot say is which specific acts attract which fine. Paragraph (b) of the same article assigns the list of violations and the fine for each to a separate resolution of the Chairman of the Executive Council. We have not read that resolution, so we neither match violations to amounts nor assert how these fines are applied in practice.
What we do NOT claim here
- The contents of Federal Law No. 5 of 1985 on contractor agreements. It is named in Article 40 as a framework; we do not quote its provisions.
- Which fine attaches to which violation. That is a separate Executive Council resolution we have not read.
- The amount of the manager's bank guarantee. The DLD determines it; the law contains no figure.
- How the ten-year period is applied in practice. What counts as a defect in the "structural parts" in a contested case is decided by expert evidence, not by the text.
- Amendments after 2019. We read the text as the portal publishes it.
Sources
- Law No. (6) of 2019 Concerning Ownership of Jointly Owned Real Property in the Emirate of Dubai — Dubai Legislation Portal: Article 34 (managers' contracts and the six-monthly report to RERA), Article 35 (RERA's notice to carry out works and debiting the costs to the charges account), Article 36 (bank guarantee in favour of the DLD and deduction of costs from it), Article 38 (replacing a management company: notice to the committee, 14 days to respond, audit, 30 days to hand over), Article 39 (three approvals for substantial alterations, liability for damage, rules on using the common parts), Article 40 (ten years on structural parts, one year on installations, the clock where possession is refused, preservation of rights under other legislation, nullity of a contradicting agreement), Article 41 (compulsory property and liability insurance, premiums included in the service charges), Article 42 (exclusive jurisdiction of the Rent Disputes Settlement Centre), Article 44 (fine not less than AED 1,000,000, doubled on repetition, capped at AED 2,000,000; the list of violations set by a separate resolution). Issued on 4 September 2019.
