Building Works · 2 September 2026

Taking Handover of a Landed Build: The Room-by-Room Defects Check Before You Sign Off

Handover is the one day of a build where the owner has more leverage than at any other point, and it is routinely spent badly. People walk through a finished house, feel relieved that it is finished, say it looks great, and sign.

Six weeks later the list starts arriving — a door that binds in the afternoon, a hairline crack above a window, a slow drain in the second-storey bathroom, a socket that was never wired. All of it fixable, all of it now a favour rather than an obligation, and all of it needing a crew to come back to a house someone is living in.

A proper handover inspection is not distrust and it is not a haggle. It is the last structured conversation of the project, and a builder who has done the work properly wants it to happen, because a signed defects list protects us as much as it protects you. It draws a line: this is what was outstanding on this date, and nothing that appears later can be quietly folded into it.

Here is how to run it.

Before the day: three things that change the outcome

Do not schedule it on the day you move in. The removal lorry and a defects inspection cannot share a house. Once furniture is in, half the floor and most of the walls become invisible, and any damage found afterwards is arguable. Leave a clear gap — a few days is enough.

Insist the house is fully live. Water on and pressurised, power on at the board, every circuit energised, water heaters filled and hot, the pump running if there is one. A handover done on a house with the main isolator off tests nothing. This is worth stating in writing a week ahead, because it takes preparation on our side.

Ask for the documents to be ready on the day, not "to follow". "To follow" has a way of taking months. What you should expect to receive is covered further down.

Bring a torch, a spirit level, a phone with a good camera, a roll of low-tack masking tape and a marker. The tape is the single most useful item — you mark defects on the spot with a small piece of tape beside them, and the crew that returns finds them without you being there to point.

Structure and envelope first, finishes last

The instinct is to start with the kitchen because it is the exciting room. Resist it. Work outside-in, because envelope defects are the expensive ones and the ones that get worse.

Walk the perimeter of the house at ground level. Look at where the building meets the ground: is the apron or perimeter drain complete, does it fall away from the house, is there any ponding. Look up the external face for staining below window sills and below any junction between old and new construction. On an A&A, that junction is the single most informative line on the whole building — it is where two structures of different ages meet and it is where movement shows first.

Look at the roof edge and gutters from the ground with a torch and a phone zoom. You are looking for whether gutters are level and continuous, whether downpipes actually discharge somewhere and not onto a wall, and whether flashings are dressed down properly.

Check every external door and window from outside. Seals, drainage slots at the bottom of frames clear rather than filled with grout, and no daylight visible around a closed frame.

Then the roof terrace and any flat area, if there is one. Ask for a water test rather than accepting a visual check. Plug the outlets, flood it, leave it, and look underneath. Our post on waterproofing failure points in landed homes covers where it goes wrong; handover is the moment to prove it does not.

Room by room: the order that catches things

In each room, do the same five passes in the same order. The discipline matters more than the speed.

1. Stand still and look at the ceiling. Line, level, and the junction with the wall. Cracks at a corner, a wave in a bulkhead, a shadow gap that opens and closes along its length. Look at every light fitting for whether it sits flush.

2. Walk the walls with your hand on them. Feel for undulation you will not see. Look along the wall from one end at a low angle with the room light off and a torch held flat against the surface — this is the only way to see poor plastering, and it takes ten seconds. Check corners are square and beads are straight.

3. Operate everything that moves. Every door through its full swing, listening for binding and watching the gap at the top; every window and its lock; every drawer and cupboard door in fitted joinery, opened fully, not half. Doors that bind are the most common defect on a new house and almost always the easiest to fix before the frame has settled into the finish.

4. Test everything electrical. Every switch against the fitting it should control — a two-way switch tested from both positions. Every socket, using a socket tester or, failing that, a phone charger you can see the light on. Every fan on all speeds. The distribution board: labelled, and every breaker actually corresponding to what the label says. This is tedious and it is where the real omissions hide.

5. Floor last. Walk it slowly in socks feeling for hollowness and lippage at joints. Tap suspicious tiles with a knuckle — a hollow ring means poor bedding, and it will crack eventually. Check skirtings for gaps and for cuts that do not meet.

The wet areas need more than a look

Bathrooms and the kitchen are where a rushed inspection costs the most, because everything of consequence is behind tile.

Run every tap hot and cold to full flow and leave the basin filling while you do something else, then check under the sink for weeping at the trap and the isolation valve. Fill each basin and bath and release it in one go — a drain that copes with a trickle can be too slow for a full release, and that is a fall problem that only shows under load.

In the shower, run it for a good ten minutes and watch where the water goes on the floor. It should move decisively to the outlet from every corner. Standing water anywhere is a fall defect, and it is the sort of thing that gets called minor at handover and becomes the thing you dislike about the house for a decade.

Flush every WC twice in succession. Check the seal at the floor. Open the cistern and look.

Then, an hour later, go back and look at the ceiling of the room directly beneath each wet area. That hour is why the wet areas should be tested early in the inspection rather than at the end.

The parts of the house nobody inspects

These are the ones that get missed, every time, and are the most awkward to fix later.

The roof void and any attic space. Get a torch into it. You are looking for daylight, for insulation displaced by whoever was last up there, and for whether services running through it are supported rather than resting on the ceiling.

Ducts, risers and service cupboards. Open every access panel. Check panels are actually removable and have not been sealed or painted shut — an access panel that cannot be opened is not an access panel, and this is a genuinely common and irritating defect.

The water tank and pump, if fitted. Look at it running. Check the overflow discharges somewhere sensible.

Behind and under the joinery. Open the sink cabinet fully and look at the back and the base for finishing.

The car porch and driveway. Falls away from the house, no ponding, and the finish consistent across the whole area rather than showing where a pour stopped and restarted.

External taps, bibcocks and the gate. The gate especially — operate it fully, both leaves, lock included, and if it is motorised run it through a full cycle and test the safety reverse. Gate defects appear on a large share of handover lists and are almost never on the owner's own list.

What you should receive, on the day

Handover is a transfer of information as well as a building. Ask for these and do not accept "we will send it":

The Certificate of Statutory Completion, or the current status of it in writing. This is the one document that matters most and it is worth understanding properly — see our post on the CSC on a landed rebuild. Do not confuse a TOP with a CSC and do not accept an assurance in place of a document.
As-built drawings, particularly anything showing concealed services. In ten years, when someone wants to hang something on a wall or open a floor, this is what stops them hitting a pipe.
The distribution board schedule, matching the labels physically on the board.
Warranties and manuals for installed equipment — pump, heaters, gate motor, any specialist system — with model and serial numbers recorded.
Paint schedule and tile references, by name and code, for every area. You will want this the first time something needs touching up, and tracking a colour down two years later is a small misery.
Key schedule, including which keys exist for the gate, the riser cupboards and any external stores, and how many copies were issued.

Writing the list so it actually gets done

A defects list that says "bathroom — tiles" achieves nothing. Each item needs four things: the room, the exact location, what is wrong, and a photograph. Number them. Mark each on site with the masking tape and write the same number on the tape.

Then agree three things in writing before anyone leaves:

Which items are accepted and which are disputed. Disputed is a legitimate outcome and should be recorded as disputed rather than argued to a conclusion on the day. Some things are genuinely within tolerance and some are a matter of what was specified; that is a separate conversation with the drawings in front of you.

A date for rectification, and a date for re-inspection. Two dates, not one.

What is being released and what is being held. If your contract provides for a retention or a final payment against completion, this is when it is discussed, openly. Tie it to the list rather than to the calendar. And be reasonable about proportion — holding a large sum over a snag is as unfair as releasing everything over a promise.

Both sides sign, both sides keep a copy, and the list is closed. Anything found after that date is dealt with under the defects liability period written into your contract, which is a different mechanism and should not be muddled with this one.

Two things that are not defects

Being fair here makes the rest of your list stronger, because a list with obvious padding in it invites everything on it to be argued.

Fine hairline cracking at plaster junctions in the first year. A new house dries and moves. Hairline cracking where materials meet is normal shrinkage. Cracking that is stepped, diagonal, wider at one end, or continues to open is a different matter — that one goes on the list and is worth an engineer's opinion.

Minor variation in natural materials. Stone and timber vary by nature; that is why people choose them. Variation is not a defect. A tile that is out of level, chipped, or from a different shade lot to its neighbours is.

The short version

Do the inspection before you move in, with the house fully live, and work outside-in. In every room, run the same five passes: ceiling, walls at a low torch angle, operate everything that moves, test every switch and socket, floor last. Load-test the wet areas early and come back to the ceiling below an hour later. Open the ceilings, risers and access panels nobody opens. Collect the documents on the day. Number every item, photograph it, tape it on site, and agree in writing what is accepted, what is disputed, and two dates.

An hour of structure at handover is worth more than a year of goodwill afterwards.

Wong Lye Pte Ltd is a licensed builder holding a BCA General Builder Class 2 (GB2) licence.

If you are approaching handover on a landed project and want to know what to look for, WhatsApp us on 9107 2601 — tell us the house type, the stage you are at and whether the CSC has issued.

Common questions

When should the handover inspection happen?

Before you move in, never on the same day. A removal lorry and a defects inspection cannot share a house - once furniture is in, half the floor and most of the walls become invisible and any damage found afterwards is arguable. Leave a few clear days. Insist the house is fully live for it: water on and pressurised, power on at the board, every circuit energised, heaters filled and the pump running.

What should I check in each room, and in what order?

Repeat the same five passes in the same order. Stand still and look at the ceiling for line, level and the wall junction. Walk the walls with a hand on them and read them at a low torch angle with the room light off, which is the only way to see poor plastering. Operate everything that moves through its full travel. Test every switch against its fitting, every socket and every fan speed, and check the distribution board labels match reality. Do the floor last, in socks, feeling for hollowness and lippage.

How do I test a bathroom properly at handover?

More than a look, because everything of consequence is behind tile. Run every tap hot and cold to full flow and check under the sink for weeping at the trap and isolation valve. Fill each basin and bath and release in one go, since a drain that copes with a trickle can be too slow under a full release. Run the shower for a good ten minutes and watch the water move from every corner to the outlet. Flush every WC twice. Then go back an hour later and look at the ceiling of the room directly below.

What documents should I receive at handover of a landed build?

The Certificate of Statutory Completion or its current status in writing, as-built drawings showing concealed services, a distribution board schedule matching the physical labels, warranties and manuals with model and serial numbers, the paint schedule and tile references by name and code, and a key schedule covering the gate, riser cupboards and external stores. Ask for them on the day rather than accepting that they will follow.

What makes a defects list actually get rectified?

Specificity and structure. Each item needs the room, the exact location, what is wrong, a photograph, and a number - marked on site with masking tape carrying the same number so the returning crew finds it without you. Then agree three things in writing before anyone leaves: which items are accepted and which are disputed, a date for rectification and a separate date for re-inspection, and what money is being released or held, tied to the list rather than the calendar.

Is hairline cracking in a new house a defect?

Fine hairline cracking at plaster junctions in the first year is normal shrinkage as a new house dries and moves, and putting it on a defects list weakens the rest of the list. Cracking that is stepped, diagonal, wider at one end, or that continues to open is a different matter and belongs on the list, usually with an engineer looking at it. The same fairness applies to natural stone and timber, where variation is the material rather than a fault - though a tile out of level, chipped, or from a different shade lot is a genuine defect.