Snag List: How to Check Your Home Before Handover

The day of possession is usually a happy blur: keys, sweets, photographs, a quick walk through rooms that look finished. Months later the problems surface — a balcony door that will not lock in the monsoon, a bathroom floor where water pools away from the drain, a bedroom socket with no earth, a hollow tile that cracks under a dropped pressure cooker. Each of these was there on handover day. Nobody looked for it, so nobody wrote it down, and every defect found after possession becomes an argument about whether it was there before.

A snag list solves this. It is a simple, structured inspection carried out before the home is accepted — from a builder at possession, or from an interior contractor before the final payment — in which every defect is recorded with its location, a photograph and a target date for repair. It does not need an engineer, although an experienced inspector helps. It needs a method, a few inexpensive tools, three to five unhurried hours in daylight, and the willingness to check things that look fine.

This guide sets out that method for Indian homes. It covers when to inspect and what the law says about defects, the tools to carry, the practical tolerances that separate an acceptable finish from a defect, room-by-room checks for walls, floors, doors, windows, plumbing and electrical work, the documents to collect, and a separate checklist for handing over an interior project. The tolerances quoted are practical thresholds used by many inspectors and contractors, not fixed legal limits; the safest approach is to agree them in writing before the work starts.

Where the snag list comes from

The term snagging comes from British construction practice, where a snag is a small defect to be put right before a building is formally handed over; American contractors call the same document a punch list. In both traditions it sits at the end of a construction contract, between practical completion and final payment, and it is tied to a defects liability period during which the builder must return to fix faults that appear after handover. Indian construction contracts have long used the same ideas — practical completion, retention money held back from the contractor, and a defect liability period — mainly on public and commercial projects.

For home buyers, the process was much less formal for many years. Flats were handed over with a key and a possession letter, and defects were raised with the builder or the society afterwards with varying success. The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 — RERA — changed the balance. Under Section 14(3) of the Act, if any structural defect, or any other defect in workmanship, quality or provision of services, is brought to the promoter's notice within five years from the date of handing over possession, the promoter must rectify it without further charge within thirty days, failing which the buyer is entitled to compensation. The Act also expects buyers to take possession within a defined period after the occupancy certificate is issued. Professional home-inspection services, offering instrument-based snagging for a fee, have also become common in the larger Indian cities.

RERA's five-year protection does not make the snag list unnecessary; it makes it more useful. A defect recorded with a date and a photograph before possession is undisputed. A defect raised two years later invites the question of whether the occupant caused it. The snag list is the evidence that turns a legal right into a quick repair.

When to inspect, and how to prepare

For a new flat, the best time to inspect is after the builder has issued the offer of possession and the occupancy certificate, but before the buyer signs the possession letter or any document stating that the flat has been accepted in good condition. Many builders arrange a pre-possession visit for exactly this purpose; if they do not, the buyer should ask for one in writing. For an interior project, the inspection should be carried out once the contractor declares the work complete and the site has been cleaned, but before the final instalment is released. In both cases the inspection should happen in daylight, with water and electricity connected, because half the important checks — plumbing, drainage, sockets, lights — cannot be done in a dry, dark flat.

Preparation takes an hour at home. Print the approved floor plan and, for interiors, the working drawings. Agree with the builder or contractor who will accompany the inspection and who will receive the list. Decide on a simple numbering system — room code plus number, such as K-07 for the seventh item in the kitchen — and use the same numbers on photographs. Charge the phone, carry a power bank, and plan the route: start at the main door, move clockwise through each room, and finish with services such as the meter, the distribution board, the water tank and the parking.

What counts as a defect: practical tolerances

The hardest part of snagging is not finding imperfections — every handmade building has them — but deciding which ones are defects. A wall that is two millimetres out of plumb over its height is normal; one that is fifteen millimetres out will show as a tapering gap beside every wardrobe. The table below gives practical thresholds that many inspectors and contractors use in Indian residential work. They are guidance, not statutory limits, and some specifications are stricter. Where a contract or specification states a tolerance, that figure governs; where none is stated, these values are a fair starting point for discussion.

Room-by-room: what to check

A methodical route prevents the most common snagging mistake, which is spending an hour on the living-room paint and ten minutes on the bathrooms. Every room is checked in the same order: ceiling, walls, floor, doors and windows, then services — switches, sockets, lights, taps, drains. The table summarises the checks that matter most in each room; the sections that follow explain the ones people miss.

Walls, ceilings and paint

Walls and ceilings are best checked in raking light — a torch held flat against the wall, or the natural light from a window falling across it. Waves in the plaster, patched chases and poor sanding show up instantly. Hairline cracks at the junction of a beam and brick wall, or at the corners of door and window openings, are common in new buildings as materials shrink and settle; they should be noted and filled before painting, but they are usually not structural. Cracks that are wide, diagonal, run through the full wall, or reappear after filling are a different matter and should be referred to the builder's structural engineer. Aaditya Interior's article on wall cracks explains the difference in detail. Damp patches, especially on walls behind bathrooms, under windows and below the terrace, are always snags: they point to a plumbing, waterproofing or sealant failure that will grow.

Floors and tiles

Tap every tile — not a sample, every tile, including the skirting. It takes about twenty minutes in a 3BHK with a coin or a rubber mallet and finds the most expensive future repair in the home. A tile that sounds hollow at a corner or an edge has an incomplete adhesive or mortar bed beneath it and is likely to crack or lift under a point load. Lay the straight edge across joints to check lippage, and along the floor in several directions to find dips. Look along the grout lines from a low angle; joints should be straight, even and fully filled. Check that the tiles have not been laid with a heavy chip or scratch turned towards the light, and that cut tiles at the edges of the room are not slivers narrower than a few centimetres.

Doors and windows

Open and close every door and every window several times. A door should stay where it is left — if it swings open or shut by itself, its frame is out of plumb. Gaps between shutter and frame should be even all round; a door that rubs at the top corner on the lock side has usually dropped on its hinges. Check every lock with its keys, every tower bolt and every stopper. On windows, check that sliders run smoothly, that locks engage, that mesh shutters fit, that the sealant around the frame is continuous on the outside, and that the weep holes in the bottom track of sliding windows are open, because blocked drainage holes are the usual reason a sliding window leaks in the monsoon. Check that every sill slopes outward.

Plumbing and bathrooms

Run every tap for a minute, hot and cold. Fill a bucket from the bathroom tap and time it: a reasonable flow fills a 10-litre bucket in roughly one to two minutes; much slower suggests low pressure, a partly closed valve or a choked aerator. Watch the drains as the water runs — a basin or sink that gurgles or empties slowly has a slope or venting problem. Flush every WC several times, look for water seeping at the base, and check that the cistern refills and stops. Look under every basin and sink with a torch for drips at joints. Then pour a full bucket on each bathroom floor and each balcony and watch where the water goes; it should run to the trap and clear within a few minutes, without pooling and without heading for the door. A day or two later, if the flat allows a second visit, check the ceiling of the room below and the wall behind each bathroom for damp.

Electrical

Plug the socket tester into every socket and the charger into every switch-controlled point. Turn on every light and fan, and every exhaust. At the distribution board, check that every MCB is labelled with the room and circuit it serves, and press the test button on each RCCB — it should trip immediately; if it does not, the device or its wiring is faulty and must be checked by the builder's electrician. Check that each AC point is on its own circuit, that the geyser points are wired and switched, and that the electrical layout handed over matches what is on the walls. Electrical defects are safety defects and always go into the highest priority on the list.

Recording and closing the snag list

A snag list is only useful if the other side can act on it. Every item needs five things: a unique number, its exact location (room, wall, height), a short factual description, a photograph with the masking-tape number visible, and a priority. Opinions — 'poor quality', 'bad finish' — get argued; facts — 'tile K-07, second row from sink, hollow at north-east corner' — get fixed. The list should be sent by email or through the builder's customer portal so that it carries a date, and the builder should acknowledge it with a target date for each item.

After repairs, the re-inspection follows the same list, item by item, and each item is marked closed, partly closed or open, with a new photograph. Snags fixed badly — a hollow tile replaced with one of a different batch shade, a damp patch painted over without finding the leak — are reopened. Only when the list is closed, or the remaining items are accepted in writing with dates, should the possession letter or final payment be signed. The repair loop is where most disputes start, and it is where a calm, numbered, photographed list does its real work.

Snagging an interior project before final payment

An interior handover is a second snagging exercise with its own checklist. Furniture, ceilings, lighting and finishes have different failure modes from civil work, and many of them show only when everything is in use. The inspection should be done with the designer and the contractor, with the working drawings in hand, before the retention — typically 5–10 per cent of the contract — is released. The table lists the checks that most often find defects.

Documents to collect at handover

Defects are only half of a handover; the other half is paper. A home without its documents is harder to sell, insure, repair and register. Before signing the possession letter, the buyer should receive or see the documents below, and keep copies. For interior projects, the as-built drawings and warranty cards are the documents that save the most money later, because every future repair begins with the question of what is behind the wall and who supplied it.

Hiring a professional inspector

A careful owner with the tools above can find most defects. A professional home inspector adds experience, instruments and time: moisture meters that find damp behind fresh paint, thermal cameras that show missing insulation or hidden leaks, and the habit of checking hundreds of homes. In Indian cities, independent snagging and home-inspection services typically charge either a fixed fee per flat or a rate per square foot; indicative October 2026 figures are roughly ₹5,000–25,000 for an apartment depending on size, city and the instruments used, with bungalows quoted separately. For a purchase worth tens of lakhs, an inspection fee in that range is small insurance, especially for buyers who live in another city and can visit only once.

Whoever inspects, the result should be the same: a written report with numbered, photographed items and priorities. A verbal list is forgotten by the time the builder's site engineer reaches the flat. The most effective approach Aaditya Interior sees in practice is a joint inspection — owner, builder's engineer and, where an interior project follows, the interior designer — walking the same route, agreeing each item on the spot, and signing the list before anyone leaves.

Where handover is heading

Handover is becoming more digital and more evidence-based. Large developers now run customer portals where snags are logged with photographs and tracked to closure, and some offer pre-possession inspection appointments as a standard step. Inspection tools that used to belong only to specialists — laser levels, thermal cameras that clip onto a phone, moisture meters — have become affordable. On larger projects, digital as-built models and handover manuals record what is inside walls and ceilings, which turns future repairs from detective work into a lookup. The direction is clear: possession is moving from a ceremony with keys to a documented transfer of a building and its information. Buyers who insist on a proper snag list are simply early to a standard that will become normal.

Rules for a snag inspection that works

• Inspect before signing anything that says the home is accepted in good condition, and before the final payment on interiors.
• Inspect in daylight with water and electricity connected; ask in writing for a pre-possession visit if one is not offered.
• Carry the ten tools: level, 2 m straight edge, tape and laser, socket tester, charger, torch, coin, bucket and marble, masking tape, notebook.
• Follow one route — ceiling, walls, floor, openings, services — in every room, and tap every tile.
• Record each snag with a number, exact location, factual description, photograph and priority.
• Put safety items first and refuse possession until they are fixed.
• Send the list in writing, get a target date for each item, and re-inspect against the same list.
• Collect the occupancy certificate, as-built layouts, warranties, meter readings and keys schedule before you sign.
• Keep a 5–10 per cent retention on interior work until the snag list is closed.

Frequently asked questions

What should I check before taking possession of a flat?

Check every wall and ceiling for cracks and damp, every tile for hollowness and lippage, every door and window for smooth operation and locking, every tap, drain and WC for flow and leaks, every socket with a tester, every light and fan, and the distribution board labels and RCCB test. Pour water on bathroom and balcony floors to confirm slope. Collect the occupancy certificate, as-built layouts, warranties and meter readings before signing.

How long does a snag inspection take?

For a 2BHK, about two to four hours; for a 3BHK, about three to five hours; for a bungalow, a full day. Rushing is the most common reason defects are missed, so plan the visit for daylight hours and do not combine it with the possession ceremony.

Can I refuse possession because of defects?

Buyers commonly decline to sign the possession letter until serious safety or functional defects are fixed, and record the defects in writing. Minor finish snags are usually listed and fixed after possession within an agreed period. Because RERA also sets expectations on taking possession after the occupancy certificate, it is sensible to communicate in writing and, if a dispute grows, to seek advice on the specific agreement and the state's RERA rules.

What is the defect liability period for a new flat in India?

Under Section 14(3) of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, the promoter must rectify structural defects and defects in workmanship, quality or services brought to notice within five years from the date of handing over possession, without charge, within thirty days. The snag list and possession date are the evidence that supports a claim.

Is a professional snagging inspection worth it?

For most buyers, yes, particularly for large purchases, buyers who cannot visit often, and homes where damp or hidden leaks are suspected. Indicative fees in October 2026 are roughly ₹5,000–25,000 per apartment. A careful owner with basic tools can still find most visible defects.