Frequently Asked
Questions

Law No. (3) of 2026 — formally titled the Quality and Safety Certificates for Buildings Law — is a Dubai Municipality regulation requiring every building in Dubai that is more than 20 years old to obtain a Quality & Safety Certificate from a licensed engineering office. The law applies across residential, commercial, industrial and mixed-use buildings throughout the emirate.

The certificate confirms that the building's structural systems, envelope and essential services meet the safety standards required by Dubai Municipality. It must be obtained by approximately May 2027, though property owners are strongly advised not to wait — demand for compliant engineering firms is expected to significantly exceed capacity before the deadline.

All buildings in Dubai that are more than 20 years old — calculated from the year of completion of construction — are required to obtain the certificate. This applies to residential buildings (villas, apartment towers, compound units), commercial buildings, industrial facilities and mixed-use developments located within the Dubai emirate.

The obligation falls on the building owner, which may be an individual, a developer, an Owners Association or a corporate entity. Owners Association management companies responsible for multiple buildings should plan portfolio programmes well in advance of the deadline to ensure all buildings are covered within the required timeframe.

The maximum fine for non-compliance with Law No.3 is AED 2,000,000 per building. This financial penalty is significant, but the operational consequences may be equally impactful — non-compliant buildings risk DLD transaction freezes (blocking sales and lease registrations), Ejari suspension (affecting existing and new tenancies), and permit halts (stopping any construction or renovation works).

Dubai Municipality has the authority to enforce these penalties from the compliance deadline. Building owners who proactively initiate the certification process are in a significantly stronger position than those who wait — both in terms of avoiding fines and securing access to licensed engineering firms before deadline capacity is exhausted.

The compliance deadline is approximately May 2027. However, given the volume of affected buildings across Dubai and the limited number of licensed structural engineering consultancies capable of delivering compliant reports, property owners who delay risk being unable to secure qualified engineering services in time.

New Nordic strongly advises initiating the certification process as early as possible. The standard New Nordic process takes 3–4 weeks per building — but for portfolio programmes covering multiple buildings, planning should begin immediately to allow structured scheduling and delivery well before the deadline.

If Dubai Municipality requests technical revisions to the structural report, New Nordic will revise and resubmit the report at no additional cost — subject to contract terms. This free revision guarantee reflects our confidence in our reports and our commitment to delivering compliant outcomes for every client.

The primary reason engineering reports are rejected by Municipality is insufficient technical content, incomplete data or the use of generic templates rather than bespoke, building-specific analysis. New Nordic's reports are produced specifically for each building from actual site inspection and NDT test data — significantly reducing rejection risk compared to firms using standardized report formats.

The standard New Nordic certification process takes 3–4 weeks from mobilization to certificate delivery. The timeline is: site assessment Days 1–2, in-house NDT testing Days 2–5, concrete coring and laboratory analysis Days 5–10, bespoke structural engineering report preparation Days 10–20, Municipality submission and Quality & Safety Certificate delivery upon acceptance.

The 3–4 week timeline assumes a building with standard access, no significant defects requiring further investigation, and prompt client cooperation with document requests and site access arrangements. Buildings with extensive defects or complex remediation requirements will require additional time for remediation design and supervision phases before the final certificate can be obtained.

Clients are asked to provide as-built drawings (if available), previous inspection or maintenance reports, building completion certificate, title deed or ownership documentation, and site access arrangements. New Nordic does not require comprehensive historical documentation — we conduct a full independent assessment that is not dependent on historic records.

If as-built drawings are not available (common in older buildings), New Nordic's engineers will work from site observations and NDT data. The absence of historic drawings does not prevent certification — it may extend the on-site assessment duration, which will be scoped and confirmed at proposal stage.

Yes. New Nordic offers structured Portfolio Inspection Programmes specifically designed for Owners Association management companies, developers and institutional property owners with multiple buildings requiring Law No.3 certification. Portfolio programmes include a structured inspection schedule, consolidated project management, and consistent reporting standards across all buildings.

Portfolio programmes are the most efficient and cost-effective approach for clients with three or more buildings. New Nordic coordinates site access, NDT scheduling and report delivery to minimize disruption and ensure all buildings in the portfolio are certified before the compliance deadline.

The New Nordic certification process includes a comprehensive structural visual inspection of all accessible building elements, in-house NDT testing (GPR, UPV, Rebound Hammer, Half-Cell Potential as required by building condition), concrete coring and laboratory analysis, 72-hour preliminary findings report, and a full bespoke structural engineering report stamped by a UAE-licensed professional engineer.

The process concludes with Municipality submission and the delivery of the Quality & Safety Certificate. If defects are found during inspection, New Nordic can provide remediation design and supervision in-house — avoiding the need to engage separate consultants and ensuring a single point of accountability from assessment to final certification.

A structural inspection is a systematic, professional assessment of a building's structural elements — including foundations, columns, beams, slabs, walls and the building envelope — to identify defects, damage, deterioration and safety risks. New Nordic structural inspections combine visual assessment with non-destructive testing (NDT) to provide a technically accurate picture of the building's structural condition.

The inspection is carried out by qualified structural engineers and results in a detailed report documenting findings, risk classifications and recommended actions. Reports are stamped by a UAE-licensed professional engineer and are suitable for Municipality submission, insurance purposes, property transactions and investment decisions.

A structural inspection should be commissioned whenever: the building is over 20 years old (required under Law No.3); visible cracking, spalling or deflection is observed; the building has experienced a fire, flooding or impact event; before a property purchase or major renovation; as part of an ongoing maintenance programme; or when Municipality, an insurer or a lender requests a structural assessment report.

In the UAE climate, where high humidity, salt exposure and thermal cycling accelerate concrete degradation and rebar corrosion, proactive structural inspection every 5–10 years is recommended for buildings in all age categories — regardless of visible condition. Many structural defects are not visible to the naked eye without NDT testing.

A New Nordic structural inspection report includes: executive summary of findings and risk classification, building description and scope of assessment, visual inspection findings with photo documentation, NDT test results and interpretation, laboratory analysis results (if applicable), structural defect mapping, risk assessment and prioritization, recommended remediation actions with preliminary cost guidance, and professional engineer stamp and signature.

Reports are bespoke to each building — not generated from templates — and are written to be understood by both technical and non-technical stakeholders. Municipality-ready reports include the additional data fields required by Dubai Building Department for Law No.3 certificate submissions.

New Nordic mobilizes to site within 48 hours of contract signing for standard structural inspections. For urgent situations — fire damage, suspected structural failure, post-flood assessment or emergency Municipality requests — New Nordic can typically deploy within 24 hours subject to team availability and site access readiness.

Because all NDT equipment is owned and operated in-house, New Nordic is not dependent on subcontractor availability for mobilization. This gives us a significantly faster response capability than firms that rely on external NDT providers — which is particularly important for time-sensitive compliance or emergency assessment requirements.

NDT — Non-Destructive Testing — is a range of testing techniques that evaluate the condition of structural materials and elements without damaging or removing them. NDT testing is used to detect defects, measure material properties and assess structural integrity in ways that are not possible through visual inspection alone.

In structural engineering, NDT testing is essential for verifying concrete strength, locating rebar position and corrosion, detecting voids and delamination, and assessing the internal condition of structural elements that cannot be visually inspected. All data from NDT testing is interpreted by qualified structural engineers and forms a critical part of every New Nordic inspection report.

New Nordic's in-house NDT testing capabilities include: Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) for rebar detection, void identification and subsurface mapping; Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity (UPV) for concrete quality assessment; Rebound Hammer testing for surface hardness and concrete strength estimation; Half-Cell Potential testing for reinforcement corrosion probability assessment; and Impact-Echo testing for delamination and void detection in slabs and walls.

The selection of NDT methods for each project is determined by the structural engineer based on the building type, visible condition and the specific questions that need to be answered. New Nordic never applies a fixed NDT package — the testing scope is tailored to the assessment requirements of each building.

Engineering consultancies that rely on subcontractors for NDT testing introduce additional coordination steps, scheduling dependencies and accountability gaps into the inspection process. Equipment availability depends on the subcontractor's workload. Data interpretation may be separated from the engineering team. And any issues with test quality may only become apparent when the report is being written — too late to revisit the site promptly.

New Nordic owns and operates all key NDT equipment in-house. This means our engineers select and control the testing scope on site, interpret data in real time, and can conduct additional tests immediately if findings require it. The result is faster mobilization, better data quality and more reliable reports — with a single point of accountability throughout the entire inspection and testing process.

The on-site NDT testing phase typically takes 1–3 days depending on building size, access conditions and the scope of testing required. For a standard mid-rise residential building, NDT testing is generally completed within 2 days of the visual inspection. In the New Nordic process, NDT testing is conducted in Days 2–5 following mobilization.

Because New Nordic operates all equipment in-house, NDT scheduling is not dependent on subcontractor availability — testing can begin immediately following the visual inspection, and any additional tests identified during the inspection can be conducted on the same visit or the following day. This continuity significantly reduces total project timelines compared to firms with fragmented inspection and testing teams.

Yes. All structural engineering reports produced by New Nordic are stamped and signed by a qualified professional engineer licensed in the UAE. This professional stamp is a requirement for Dubai Municipality submission and for Law No.3 certificate applications — and it represents the engineer's personal accountability for the findings and conclusions in the report.

New Nordic reports are not generated from standardized templates. Every report is a bespoke document produced from the specific data collected during inspection and NDT testing of that building. This approach takes more time per report but produces technically robust documents that are accepted by Municipality and provide genuine value to the building owner.

Municipality report rejections typically occur for one of the following reasons: insufficient technical content or analysis depth; incomplete NDT data or missing test results; use of generic template language not specific to the building assessed; inadequate photographic documentation; recommendations that do not align with the findings; or submission by an engineering office not properly licensed for this category of work.

New Nordic's bespoke, data-driven approach to report production significantly reduces the risk of rejection. Our reports are written by the engineers who conducted the inspection and reviewed the test data — not by junior staff applying templates to field notes. If Municipality does request revisions, we revise and resubmit at no additional cost under our free revision guarantee.

New Nordic's free revision guarantee means that if Dubai Municipality requests technical revisions to a structural report we have produced, we will carry out those revisions and resubmit the report to Municipality at no additional charge to the client — subject to the terms of the engagement contract.

This guarantee reflects our confidence in the quality of our technical work and our commitment to ensuring clients achieve compliance through our services. It is not a standard offering across the structural engineering industry — many firms charge for each revision cycle. We include it because we believe that if Municipality requires revisions, the engineering firm should address them, not pass the cost to the client.

When structural defects are identified during an inspection, New Nordic will document them fully in the preliminary findings report and the final structural report — including severity classification, risk assessment and recommended remediation actions. If the defects require remediation before the Quality & Safety Certificate can be issued, New Nordic's in-house structural strengthening team can design the remediation solution.

Clients do not need to engage a separate engineering consultant for remediation design. New Nordic provides a complete service from initial inspection through defect identification, remediation design, supervision of remediation works and final certification — under a single contract with a single point of accountability throughout.

Yes. New Nordic provides full structural strengthening design services where defects or capacity deficiencies are identified through inspection. Our structural engineers design appropriate strengthening solutions — which may include carbon fibre reinforcement (CFRP) jacketing, concrete repairs, column or slab strengthening, foundation remediation or a combination of interventions depending on the specific structural defects identified.

Strengthening designs are produced to relevant international standards and are submitted to Dubai Municipality for approval as required. The design takes into account the building's operational status, construction programme constraints and budget requirements — practical, constructable solutions rather than theoretical ideals.

Yes. New Nordic provides site supervision of remediation and structural strengthening works — attending site to monitor contractor execution against the approved design, verifying materials and workmanship, and certifying the completed works. Supervision by the design engineer is important for both quality assurance and for the Municipality approval process.

Post-remediation, New Nordic can conduct a follow-up inspection and NDT testing to confirm the structural condition has been adequately addressed, and then proceed to the Quality & Safety Certificate submission. This end-to-end capability — from first inspection to final certificate — is the core of the New Nordic service model and what distinguishes us from firms that can only provide one element of the process.