Since 1 June 2026, the United Arab Emirates has applied a new Civil Code. Ten-year liability, which protects the buyer of a new villa against structural defects, has a new article number — and gains clarity on a point that directly concerns owners.
What changed, in one sentence
The 1985 UAE Civil Code (Federal Law No. 5 of 1985) has been replaced by Federal Decree-Law No. 25 of 2025, in force since 1 June 2026. Ten-year liability, previously in Article 880, is now in Article 821. The principle itself does not change: ten years of liability, starting from the handover of the works.
What ten-year liability really covers
This is the point buyers most often misunderstand, and it is the one that costs the most when they realise it too late.
Ten-year liability does not cover “every defect for ten years”. It covers the total or partial collapse of the building, and defects that threaten the stability or safety of the construction. A cosmetic crack in the plaster, a leaking mixer tap, a badly connected socket: none of this falls within ten-year liability.
In return, within this narrow scope, the protection is strong. It is strict liability: the owner does not have to prove any fault by the builder. They only need to establish the defect and that it relates to the works.
Three years to act, from discovery
The ten-year period is a window of exposure, not a deadline to act. Once the defect is discovered, action must be brought within three years. In other words, a structural defect revealed in year nine does give rise to a right — but that right lapses if it is left dormant.
One more reason to document everything. A crack that is photographed, dated and located in a handover report is not the same thing as a crack described from memory three years later.
The point the new code clarifies
The 2025 Decree-Law specifies that ten-year liability applies to the relationship between the project owner on one side, and the main contractor and the engineer on the other. It does not extend directly to subcontractors.
For an owner, the practical consequence is this: your counterpart remains the developer and its main contractor. You do not need to identify which subcontractor laid which slab in order to claim — but you have no direct action against that subcontractor either.
A protection that cannot be waived
The new code keeps an essential rule: any clause that excludes or limits ten-year liability is void. A sale contract claiming to reduce it to five years, or to exclude it for a particular type of defect, would have no effect.
This is the only layer of protection that is not negotiable. All the others — the one-year defects warranty, equipment warranties, late-delivery penalties — depend on what your sale contract says.
Why this matters for the handover of your villa
Ten-year liability is a safety net for the worst case. It does not spare you the one thing that settles the vast majority of cases: recording defects before you sign the handover report.
A defect listed before signing is a defect the developer acknowledges it must fix. The same defect discovered after signing becomes a discussion, then a claim, and sometimes a dispute — over issues that, in most cases, will never fall under ten-year liability.
The hierarchy is simple. Handover settles finishes and equipment. The one-year contractual warranty covers what appears in the following months. Ten-year liability only comes into play when the structure itself is at stake. The more rigorous you are at the first level, the fewer reasons you have to climb to the next ones.
This article outlines the legal framework in general terms and does not constitute legal advice. For a specific situation, consult a lawyer registered in the United Arab Emirates.
