Keys, access cards and parking: your Dubai handover checklist

On the agreed handover date, once your contract is signed, the payments due before handover are made and the landlord or agent confirms the home is ready. Signing doesn't always mean keys that day, so confirm the date and time before booking movers. Your building may also want your Ejari or a move-in permit before you can move furniture in.

Usually your landlord, agent or the property management team. Before the day, confirm their name, number, meeting point and what to bring (Emirates ID, contract, payment proof). If someone unfamiliar turns up, check with your landlord that they're authorised.

Count and test each item before signing the handover form:

• Apartment door keys
• Building access cards or fobs (does each one work at the entrance, lift and your floor?)
• Parking card, remote or sticker, and your bay number
• Mailbox key and mailbox number
• Bedroom, balcony and window keys, where those doors lock with a key
• Storage room key, if storage is included
• A demo of the intercom
• Who to call for maintenance and access problems

Note the card and remote numbers. You'll need the list when you move out.

Write it on the handover form, take photos, and get the landlord or agent to confirm in writing who'll supply the missing items, and when. Building management usually replaces cards and remotes. A missing door key is a good reason to ask for the lock to be changed.

Only with the landlord's written approval. Check your contract and building rules (smart locks or master-key systems may have restrictions). Agree the cost, who installs it, and whether you need to put the original back when you leave. The locksmith may need building registration.

Possibly: the landlord, the agent or building security. Ask who holds spares and how they're used. For smart locks, make sure old codes and cards are deleted. Agree that maintenance visits need notice and your OK, and ask how emergency access works.

Get the bay number and level from your landlord, agent or management, ideally in your contract or handover form, and ask to be shown it. An empty bay may still belong to someone else. If someone's in your confirmed bay, call security.

Sometimes. Ask building management whether spare bays are available and what they cost. Renting from another resident is possible in some buildings, but only with management's approval and your car registered to the bay. For public parking permits, check the RTA.

Some buildings have visitor bays or temporary passes; others send guests to nearby public parking. Ask reception how it works before guests arrive.

• Visitors: usually register at reception, and you confirm on the intercom. Some buildings use QR codes or guest passes.
• Deliveries: check whether drivers can come up or must meet you in the lobby, and whether reception takes parcels.
• Cleaners and nannies: ask whether they need ID, advance registration or a recurring pass.

Use the building's guest system. Don't lend out your own card or code.

Ask for a demo at handover. Whether it's a handset, video screen or app, check that calls reach you, which door the release button opens, and whether visitors also need lift access. Not ringing? Ask reception to check your registration.