Renovation Contract Checklist for Dubai: 15 Clauses to Check Before You Sign

This is general guidance from a contractor’s side of the table, not legal advice. For a large villa project, have a lawyer read the contract before you sign.

A Dubai renovation contract should name both parties and the contractor’s licence, attach the drawings and a priced BOQ, and fix the price and the payment milestones. It should also set retention, start and finish dates, delay terms, who handles the NOC, how changes are priced, snagging, warranty, and how either side can exit or settle a dispute.

Most renovation arguments we get called into are not about bad tiling. They are about a contract that never said what was included, when money was due, or what happens when the finish date passes. By then both sides remember the conversation differently, and there is nothing on paper to settle it.A good renovation contract, or contractor agreement, does not need to be long. It needs to answer the questions you will ask when something goes wrong. This renovation contract checklist for Dubai covers the 15 clauses we check on every contract, the wording to look for, and the wording that should make you stop and ask again.

A contract only protects you if the company behind it is sound, so the contract comes after you have chosen the contractor. If you are still comparing firms, start with our list of renovation companies in Dubai and come back here once you have a draft to review.

Renovation Contract Checklist: The 15 Clauses at a Glance

Here is what to include in a renovation contract in Dubai, in the order we review it.

Part 1: Parties and Paperwork

1. Parties, Trade Licence and Insurance

The renovation agreement should be between you and the company, not the salesperson who visited. Check that the company name matches the trade licence issued by Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) exactly, and that the licence number is written in the contract.

Look at the licensed activities too. A company licensed only for maintenance or interior decoration may not be the right party for wall removals or MEP changes. Ask which insurance the contractor holds for your job, usually contractor’s all-risk, third-party liability and workers’ compensation, and ask for the certificates. Third-party cover matters most in apartments, where a leak from your bathroom can damage the flat below.

2. Contract Documents and Which One Wins

The signed contract is usually a few pages. The detail sits in the attachments: drawings, the BOQ, material specs, the programme and the payment schedule. List each one by name and date, and initial every page.

Add one line that says which document wins if two disagree. For example, if the drawing shows a 60 × 120 cm tile and the BOQ says 60 × 60 cm, the contract should already say which one applies. Without that line, the cheaper option usually wins.

Part 2: Scope and Price

3. Scope of Work and Exclusions

Renovate kitchen and two bathrooms is not a scope. A scope says what happens in each room: remove old tiles to the screed, relocate the sink by 1.2 m, new waterproofing, new false ceiling with four downlights, and so on.

The exclusions list is just as important. Common ones are appliances, loose furniture, curtains, AC replacement, authority fees and repairs to hidden damage found after demolition. If something is excluded, you want to know now, not when the invoice arrives.

4. BOQ, Material Specs, Allowances and Owner-Supplied Items

The BOQ (bill of quantities) lists every item with a quantity, unit and rate. It lets you compare quotes line by line instead of comparing two totals that cover different work.

Check three things in the BOQ:

• Specs: brand, range, size and finish. Porcelain tiles can mean AED 40 or AED 400 per square metre.
• Allowances: if you have not chosen an item yet, the BOQ should show a fixed allowance, such as AED 90 per square metre for tiles. If you pick something dearer, you pay the difference, and only the difference.
• Owner-supplied items: if you buy the sanitaryware yourself, the contract should say who checks it on delivery, who stores it, and who pays if it arrives broken or the wrong size.

5. Price Type, VAT and Quote Validity

Contractors in Dubai price most residential renovations in one of three ways:

UAE VAT is 5%. The contract should say whether the price includes it. On a AED 200,000 job that is a AED 10,000 question.

Also check how long the price is valid. Material prices move, and a quote valid for 30 days protects both sides from arguments about old rates.

6. Variation Orders

Scope always changes a little. You see the tiles laid and want a niche in the shower, or demolition shows a corroded pipe. That is normal. What causes arguments is a change that was agreed on site and priced at the end.

The contract should say that every change gets a written variation order (also called a change order) showing the extra cost and any extra days, and that work on it starts only after you sign. Some homeowners we speak to have been charged design-change fees they never saw coming, from a thousand dirhams to several thousand per revision. If the contractor charges for design revisions, the fee should be in the contract, not a surprise.

Part 3: Money

7. Milestone Payment Schedule Tied to Finished Work

The fear we hear most from homeowners in Dubai is simple: “I paid the advance and the contractor disappeared.” The payment schedule is how you avoid that.

An advance is normal. The contractor has to order materials and book labour. But each payment after that should follow a stage you can see and check, not a date on the calendar. A typical structure looks like this:

8. Retention and When It Is Released

Retention is a small part of the price, often 5 to 10%, that you hold back after handover. You release it at the end of the defects liability period, commonly 6 to 12 months, once any problems that showed up have been fixed.

It gives the contractor a reason to come back when a grout line cracks in month four. A serious contractor will expect it. The contract should state the percentage, the release date, and what has to be fixed first.

Part 4: Time

9. Start Date, Programme and Handover Date

The contract needs a start date and a handover date, not “approximately eight weeks.” Attach a simple programme showing the main stages so you can see early if the job is slipping.

It should also say what moves the handover date. Fair reasons are a late NOC from the developer, changes you ask for, or items you supply arriving late. Unfair reasons are the contractor’s labour being sent to another site. In summer, outdoor work on villas, roofs and pools also stops for the midday break from 12:30 pm to 3:00 pm between 15 June and 15 September, so a good programme already allows for it.

10. Delay Penalty and Its Cap

A handover date with no consequence is a wish. The contract should set a delay penalty, often called liquidated damages: an amount per week of delay caused by the contractor, usually with a cap. A fair way to set the amount is to start from what a week of delay actually costs you.

If your apartment would rent for AED 10,000 a month, a week’s delay costs you about AED 2,300 in lost rent. If you are paying for temporary accommodation, use that figure instead. Agree a cap as well, set as a percentage of the contract value, so the clause stays realistic for both sides.

Part 5: Approvals and the Site

11. NOC and Permits: Who Applies and Who Pays

Most Dubai communities and buildings, including those run by master developers such as Emaar, Nakheel, Meraas and DAMAC, need a no objection certificate (NOC) before work starts. Work that touches structure, layout, plumbing or electrics may also need a permit from Dubai Municipality, Trakhees or the Dubai Development Authority, depending on where the property sits. Changes to electrical load can involve DEWA as well.

The contract should answer four questions:

• Who prepares the drawings and submits the applications?
• Are authority fees inside the price or charged separately at cost?
• Who pays the refundable community deposit, and who gets it back?
• What happens to the programme if the NOC is late?

If the contract says “approvals by client” and nothing more, you are the one chasing the developer.

12. Site Rules, Protection and Subcontractors

Your building or community has its own rules: permitted working hours, service lift bookings, where debris can be left, and parking for vans. The contract should make the contractor responsible for following them and for any fines that come from breaking them.

It should also cover:

• Protection of floors, lifts and corridors, and who pays if they get damaged
• Daily clean-up and debris removal off site
• Which trades are subcontracted (glass, stone and AC are common) and confirmation that the main contractor stays responsible for their work

Take photos and a short video of the property, corridor and lift before work begins. If there is a damage claim later, in either direction, that record settles it.

Part 6: Finishing and After

13. Snagging and Handover Documents

Snagging is the joint walk-through near the end where you list every defect, from a chipped tile to a door that does not close cleanly. The contract should say you will walk it together, how many days the contractor has to fix the list, and that the final payment follows the closed list.

It should also list what you receive at handover:

• Signed, closed snag list
• As-built drawings showing where pipes and cables run
• Warranty documents for waterproofing, appliances and fittings
• Permit or NOC closure, so your community deposit can be refunded
• Paint codes and product details for future repairs

14. Warranty and Defects Liability Period

A warranty on WhatsApp is not a warranty. The contract should say what is covered (workmanship, waterproofing, joinery), for how long, and how fast the contractor responds after you report a problem, as a set number of working days, with a faster response for urgent problems such as an active leak.

It should also say what is not covered, such as damage from misuse or items you supplied yourself. Clear limits on both sides avoid arguments later.

15. Termination and Dispute Resolution

This is the clause most homeowners skip, and the one they need when things go badly. It should say:

• When you can end the contract, for example if work stops for more than 14 days without a valid reason and the contractor does not restart within 7 days of your written notice
• When the contractor can end it, for example if a payment is still unpaid 14 days after a stage is signed off and a written reminder has been sent
• How finished work, materials on site and money already paid are settled if either side ends it
• How disputes are handled: a written notice, a meeting to settle it, then the forum and law that apply

A contract with no exit terms does not stop disputes. It just means nobody knows the rules when one starts.

Weak vs Clear Wording in a Renovation Contract

The same clause can protect you or leave you exposed depending on a few words. These are examples of what we see in quotes and what we would want instead.

Red Flags in a Renovation Contract in Dubai

If you see any of these, ask for the wording to change before you sign. A contractor who refuses is telling you something.

• Most of the price due before demolition starts
• “Approximately” next to the handover date
• Quantities written as “as required” or “lump sum” with no breakdown
• Approvals left to you with no mention of fees or deposits
• No retention, or a final payment due before snagging
• Warranty promised verbally but missing from the contract
• No clause on what happens if either side wants to stop
• Payment to a personal account instead of the company named on the licence

Special Cases

If You Are a Tenant

A tenant in Dubai needs the landlord’s written permission before changing the property, and most buildings will not issue an NOC without it. Attach the landlord’s signed approval to the renovation contract, and make sure it covers the same scope. Also agree in writing who owns the improvements when the tenancy ends, so there is no argument at move-out.

If You Live Abroad

Many owners renovate their Dubai property without being in the country. A few extra lines in the contract make this workable:

• Name the person who can approve variations and sign stages for you, and attach the power of attorney if they are signing on your behalf
• Agree how you sign documents remotely, such as a digital signature or scanned copies by email
• Ask for photo and video updates at each stage, before you release that stage’s payment
• Name one person at the contractor’s side who answers your messages

If You Are an Investor or Holiday-Home Owner

For a rental or short-stay unit, the handover date is tied to income. Every week late is a week without rent or bookings. Tell the contractor the date the unit must be ready, put it in the contract, and make sure the delay amount reflects what a lost week costs you. If the unit must meet holiday-home standards before it can be listed, list those items in the scope so they are not left out.

How Nova Renovation Writes Its Contracts

We use the same checklist on our own contracts. Here is how each point works with us.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much advance payment is normal for a renovation in Dubai?

There is no fixed rule, but the advance should cover the contractor’s start-up costs, not most of the job. After the advance, every payment should follow a finished stage you can check. Be wary of any contract that asks for most of the price before demolition starts.

Is a fixed-price or cost-plus contract better for a villa renovation?

For most villa and apartment jobs with a clear scope, a fixed price is easier to control because the contractor carries the risk of underpricing. Cost-plus puts that risk on you. If the villa is old and quantities are hard to judge, a remeasured contract with fixed rates is a fair middle ground.

Should retention be part of my renovation contract?

Yes. Holding back a small part of the price, often 5 to 10%, until the defects period ends gives the contractor a reason to return for issues that appear after handover. The contract should state the percentage and the release date.

Who pays for the NOC and the community deposit?

It depends on the contract, which is why it must say so. Many contractors prepare and submit the NOC, while authority fees and refundable deposits are either included in the price or charged at cost. Get it in writing before you sign.

Can a contractor increase the price after signing?

On a fixed-price contract, only through a variation order you have signed, or for hidden conditions the contract already names, such as damaged pipes found after demolition. If the contract lets the price change “as per site conditions” with no limits, ask for that wording to change.

What happens if the contractor stops work halfway?

That is what the termination clause is for. It should say how long work can stop before you can end the contract, how finished work and materials on site are valued, and how any extra money you paid is returned. Keep your photos, payment records and messages in one place.

Is VAT included in renovation quotes in Dubai?

Not always. UAE VAT is 5%, and some quotes show it separately while others include it. The contract should state which, so the final invoice matches what you expected.

Do I need a lawyer to review a renovation contract?

For a small job, this checklist covers most of what matters. For a large villa project, a structural change, or a contract with unusual terms, a short review by a lawyer is worth the fee.