Snagging is the inspection at the end of a project where every defect is listed and cleared before handover. Check in daylight, check with the services running, and check the things you cannot see — run every tap, fill every waste, open every door and drawer, and test every socket and switch. A good contractor snags the property themselves first and gives you a cleared list, not a blank one.
Before you start
Do it in daylight. Raking light across a wall shows plaster and paint defects that overhead lighting hides completely.
Take your time and write everything down as you go. A snag list produced calmly is more useful than one produced under pressure at a handover meeting.
Finishes
Walls and ceilings for plaster defects, roller marks, missed cutting-in and patch repairs. Tiling for lipping between tiles, consistent grout colour and width, and whether cuts land sensibly rather than at eye level. Skirting and architrave for gaps at mitres and to the floor. Flooring for level changes, damaged boards and thresholds.
Services
Every socket and switch tested. Every light on the correct circuit and dimming correctly. Every tap run hot and cold, checking pressure and temperature. Every waste filled and drained, watching for slow drainage and leaks under the trap. Every extract fan tested. AC tested in every room, checking each outlet actually delivers air.
Joinery and doors
Every door and drawer opened and closed, checking alignment, consistent shadow gaps and soft-close operation. Handles and ironmongery secure. Doors closing without binding and latching properly. Wardrobes checked internally, not just at the front.
Water, which matters most
Run showers for ten minutes and check for water escaping the enclosure and for standing water not reaching the drain. Check the ceiling below any first-floor wet area the following day.
Ask to see the waterproofing flood test records. We photograph ours and include them in the handover file.
Documentation
O&M manuals, manufacturer warranties, as-built drawings, electrical certification, and a written record of the defects liability period and how to raise a claim under it.
What snagging is, and when it happens
Snagging is the inspection at practical completion that identifies incomplete or defective work before you take the property over. It happens before final payment, not after, and the resulting list should be agreed in writing with dates against each item.
Snagging before final payment is one of the clearest differences between UK and Dubai practice. It is separate from the defects liability period, which covers things that appear later. Snagging covers what is visible now, and the leverage you have at that moment is the strongest you will ever have on the project.
Inspect systematically, not by wandering
Take one room at a time and work the same order in every room: ceiling, then walls, then floor, then joinery, then services, then doors and windows. A systematic inspection finds two or three times as much as walking round looking for things that catch the eye.
Bring a torch, use it at a shallow angle across walls and floors, and go in daylight. Raking light shows plaster defects, poor paint coverage and uneven tiling that direct overhead light conceals entirely.
What to actually check
Open and close every door and window, including the ones nobody uses. Run every tap, fill every basin and bath, and check for leaks underneath afterwards. Flush every WC. Operate every socket and switch. Turn on every light.
Run the air conditioning in every room and give it time. Check grout lines and silicone. Look along tiled surfaces at an angle for lipping. Open every drawer and cupboard fully. Check that keys exist for everything that locks.
Documentation is part of the handover
Electrical test results and completion certificate. Air conditioning commissioning records. Pressure test records for pipework. Operation and maintenance information. Product warranties. Keys, labelled.
This is the part most owners forget to ask for and the part that matters most later — at resale, for an insurance claim, and whenever a dispute arises about whether something is a defect or a maintenance failure. It is far harder to obtain three months after handover than on the day.
| Element | What to look for |
|---|---|
| Ceilings | Cracks at junctions, paint coverage, level of any downstand. |
| Walls | Raking light for plaster defects; paint coverage at edges. |
| Floors | Lipping between tiles, hollow sounds, grout consistency. |
| Joinery | Alignment, soft-close function, edges, drawers fully out. |
| Services | Every tap, socket, switch, light and AC unit operated. |
| Doors and windows | Every one opened and closed; seals; keys present. |
| Wet areas | Leaks below after running; silicone; falls to gully. |
Related Questions
Should I use a professional snagging company?
On a large or high-value project it is money well spent, particularly if you are not confident testing services yourself.
On a smaller project, a careful owner with a checklist and good daylight will find most of it. Either way, snag before final payment rather than after — that is the only point at which you have leverage.
What if snags are not fixed?
This is precisely what retention exists for. A percentage of the contract sum — typically five per cent — is held until snags are cleared, and often partly held until the defects period closes.
Agree that mechanism in the contract at the outset. Negotiating it at handover, when the work is already done, is a much weaker position.
When should snagging happen?
At practical completion, before final payment and before you take over the property. That sequencing matters, because your leverage is at its strongest while a payment is outstanding. Snagging after you have paid in full relies on goodwill and a defects liability clause rather than on anything practical.
How should I inspect?
Systematically and in daylight, one room at a time, in the same order every time: ceiling, walls, floor, joinery, services, doors and windows. Bring a torch and use it at a shallow angle across surfaces — raking light reveals plaster and tiling defects that overhead lighting hides completely.
What gets missed most often?
Things that require operating rather than looking: doors to rooms nobody uses, taps in a guest bathroom, the AC in a spare bedroom, drawers opened only part way. Also leaks under basins, which only appear after water has actually run for a while rather than at a glance.
Is snagging the same as the defects liability period?
No. Snagging covers what is visible and incomplete at handover. The defects liability period — commonly twelve months — covers defects that appear afterwards. You need both, and retention held against the defects period is what makes the second one enforceable.
What documentation should I receive?
Electrical test results and completion certificate, AC commissioning records, pipework pressure tests, operation and maintenance information, product warranties and labelled keys. This is what settles later disputes about whether something is a defect or a maintenance failure, and it is substantially harder to obtain after the event.
How long should I allow for snagging?
Several hours for a villa if it is done properly, and it is worth doing in more than one visit. Things reveal themselves on a second look, particularly after services have been run for a while. Rushing the inspection to hand over on a planned date is a false economy.
What if the contractor disputes an item on the list?
Some disagreement is normal and most of it resolves on inspection together rather than by correspondence. Where it does not, the question is almost always whether the item was specified — which is why a measured bill of quantities and a written specification matter so much at this stage. An item that appears in the bill and has not been delivered is not a matter of opinion. A finish standard that was never defined is harder to argue, which is an argument for defining it at the start rather than relying on an assumption about what is reasonable.
How long should the contractor have to clear the list?
Two to four weeks is reasonable for most snagging items, agreed in writing with dates against each one rather than as a general undertaking. Anything requiring a reorder — a damaged worktop, a wrong tile batch — takes longer and should be identified separately with its own date. Retention held until the defects period ends is what keeps this moving; a list with no date and no money outstanding against it tends to stay open indefinitely.