The snag inspection is the last time a defect is clearly the builder's problem and not yours. It is worth doing slowly and properly, even if you are excited to move in. This checklist is written for someone doing it for the first time, with no special tools.
Before you go
Ask the builder for the inspection date in writing, and confirm that water and electricity will be connected that day. A flat without water cannot be tested for leaks, and one without power cannot be tested at the sockets. If either is missing, ask for another date.
- Plan for at least two hours, in daylight. Electric light hides uneven walls and patchy paint.
- Carry your approved floor plan and the specification list from your agreement for sale. You are checking the flat against these, not against memory.
- Bring a phone with a torch and camera, a phone charger to test sockets, a small ball or marble, a coin, a measuring tape, masking tape and a marker.
- Decide a fixed route, room by room, and do not jump around.
Bathrooms, kitchen and utility first
Water problems are the costliest to find later, and they can damage the flat below you too.
- Pour a bucket of water on the bathroom floor. It should flow to the drain from every corner and not pool.
- Check that water does not cross the bathroom door step.
- Run every tap and shower for a few minutes, then look under basins and sinks for drips.
- Fill the basin and sink, release the water, and see how fast it drains.
- Flush each toilet several times and check the tank does not keep running.
- Tap tiles gently with a coin. A hollow sound means the tile is not stuck down well.
Doors and windows
- Open each door halfway and let go. It should stay where it is.
- Check the gap around each closed door is even.
- Slide every window fully open and shut, and lock it.
- Look for clear drainage holes at the bottom of sliding window tracks.
- Open and close every wardrobe and kitchen shutter.
Electrical points
- Test every socket with your charger, not just a few.
- Switch every switch and note what it controls.
- Count the points against your specification list: AC, geyser, washing machine, chimney, water purifier.
- Open the main board. Circuits should be labelled, and the breakers should switch on and off.
- Test the doorbell and intercom.
Floors, walls and ceilings
- Roll the ball across each room. It should not run towards one wall.
- Shine your torch along walls at a low angle to spot bumps and patch repairs.
- Look at ceilings below bathrooms of the flat above for damp patches.
- Check corners and the joint between wall and ceiling for cracks.
Balconies, for Bengaluru rain
- The balcony floor should slope away from the door, and sit a little lower than the room.
- Pour water near the balcony drain and check it actually drains.
- Ask where the AC outlet pipe will drain, so it does not drip on the floor.
Safety and shared items people forget
- Press the test button on the main circuit breaker panel's residual current device, if one is fitted. It should trip at once.
- Check balcony and window railings for wobble and gaps a child could slip through.
- Look at the main door: lock, peephole, door closer if any, and the gap at the bottom.
- Check the gas pipeline point in the kitchen, if your specification includes one, and ask for its test record.
- Find your water meter, if one is fitted, and note the reading on handover day.
- Test your parking slot: is it the number in your allotment letter, and can your car actually turn into it?
Why it is worth the time: an illustrative example
The numbers here are invented to show the idea. Suppose a bathroom floor slopes the wrong way. Found at the snag inspection, it is the builder's job to fix, at no cost to you. Found eight months after you have fitted a vanity and shower glass, fixing it may mean breaking tiles, removing your fittings and refitting them. If the tiles, labour and your refit together cost, say, ₹35,000, that is money and weeks you could have saved with one bucket of water on inspection day. Section 14(3) of RERA still covers defects reported within five years, but your own additions are not the builder's to replace.
A simple plan for the day
- Arrive early and note the time, date and who from the builder's team is with you.
- Walk once without writing, just to get a feel for the flat.
- Do wet areas first, so water has time to show leaks while you check the rest.
- Then doors, windows, electrical, and finally floors and walls.
- Go back to the wet areas and look under the sinks and at the ceiling below again.
- Read the list aloud with the builder's representative before you leave, so nothing is disputed later.
Common mistakes first-time buyers make
- Going in the evening. Artificial light hides most surface defects.
- Checking only a few sockets and taps. The faulty one is always the one you skipped.
- Accepting a verbal promise. "We will fix it next week" is not a record.
- Starting interiors before snags are closed. Your carpenter's work can hide or complicate a repair.
- Not rechecking. A repaired item should be tested again, not just marked done.
How to write each entry so it counts
"Tiles bad" is not useful a year later. Every entry needs five parts:
| Part | Example |
|---|---|
| Number | 12, also written on tape next to the defect |
| Where | Bedroom 2, wall next to the bathroom, near the floor |
| What | Three floor tiles sound hollow |
| Photo | A wide shot and a close shot, with the tape number visible |
| Standard | The line in the specification list it falls short of, if any |
Also take a quick video of every room. The date on the file shows the defect existed before you moved in.
If you cannot be there yourself
Many first-home buyers work in another city or abroad. You can send a trusted family member or a paid inspector, but set them up properly:
- Give them this checklist, your floor plan and the specification list in advance.
- Ask for a video call during the walk-through, so you can see problem areas live.
- Agree that every photo must show the taped number, and that the list is emailed to you and the builder the same day.
- Give a short authorisation letter if the builder asks who they are, but do not let them sign acceptance of possession on your behalf unless you have read the final list.
Getting it acknowledged
- Hand the list over the same day and also email it, so there is a time stamp.
- Ask for a signature or written reply, with a repair date for each item.
- Do not sign a possession letter that says the flat is accepted "without defects" while the list is open. Ask for the list to be attached to the letter.
- After repairs, check each numbered item again and photograph it.
The law backs you here. Section 14(3) of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 gives you five years from handover to report defects, with free repair due within thirty days. A clear list is what turns that right into results.
Want the whole route from booking to moving in? Read our first home guide.