01
Go in daylight, with water on
Half of this list needs running water and natural light. A 6pm handover walkthrough with the supply off tells you almost nothing.
Practical · Bengaluru
Snag list and pre-possession checklist
What to check before you sign for a new flat in Bengaluru, in the order that matters, and why the day you take possession is the day you have the most leverage you will ever have.
The short answer
Check the things that are expensive to fix later.
Paint marks and a scratched tile are annoying and cheap. What deserves your attention on possession day is the small number of defects that are expensive or disruptive to fix once you have moved in and fitted out: water, level, electrical capacity and drainage. Fill every trap and run every tap. Check floor level with a spirit level, particularly in bathrooms where the fall should run to the drain. Test every socket and check the distribution board against the sanctioned load. Look for damp at every external wall and around every window. Then sign, with the outstanding items listed on the acknowledgement rather than promised verbally.
The checklist
Room by room.
| Area | Check | Why it matters later |
|---|---|---|
| Bathrooms | Fall toward the drain, no ponding after 5 minutes of water | Redoing a floor fall means removing the whole floor |
| Bathrooms | Every trap fills and holds; no smell | Dry or missing traps are a builder fix, not yours |
| Kitchen | Water inlet and drain positions against your layout | A sink 400mm from where the plumbing is means chasing a wall |
| Everywhere | Floor level with a 1.2m spirit level | Wardrobes and kitchen units need a level base; packing them out is visible |
| Everywhere | Wall plumb and corners square | Out-of-square rooms show at every full-height joinery run |
| Electrical | Every socket live, correct polarity, earth present | Rewiring after fit-out means opening finished walls |
| Electrical | DB capacity and circuit count against sanctioned load | Air conditioners and a hob need circuits that may not exist |
| Windows | Open, close, lock; drainage holes clear; no damp below | Window leaks show up in the first monsoon, after your paint |
| Doors | No binding, gap at the bottom consistent | Doors that bind now will bind worse after flooring |
| External walls | Damp patches, especially shared and north walls | Damp behind new joinery destroys it quietly |
On the day
How to run it.
02
Photograph everything, with a scale
A photo with a tape measure or a coin in frame settles arguments a written note cannot. Date-stamped, before you sign.
03
List snags on the acknowledgement itself
Not on a separate sheet, not verbally. The document you sign should carry the list, and you should keep a countersigned copy.
04
Do it before you plan the interiors
The snag list changes the interior scope. A bathroom that needs its floor redone or a DB that needs upgrading belongs in the plan, not in a surprise six weeks later.
Questions
Asked and answered.
For a large flat or a first purchase it is usually money well spent, and it costs a small fraction of what one missed drainage defect costs. For a compact flat this checklist and a careful two hours will catch most of what matters.
You can withhold sign-off, and that is your leverage. In practice most buyers accept possession with a documented snag list and an agreed rectification window, which is reasonable, just make sure it is documented rather than promised.
Directly. Floor level, wall plumb, DB capacity and plumbing positions all determine how much preparation your fit-out needs. We ask for the snag list at the first meeting for exactly this reason.
Most of the list is still worth running, and defects covered by the builder's defect liability period, commonly a year, can still be raised. Do it before you fit out, not after.
Keep reading
Related.
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