# Handover, Snagging and Defects: Closing a Project Properly

> A proper handover transfers a building the client can actually operate: the space itself, the documentation describing what was installed, evidence that it performs, warranties, and training. Keys alone are not a handover, and a project closed without records costs more to run for the rest of its life.

## Four things that get confused

| | What it is | When |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Commissioning** | Proving systems perform as designed | Before handover |
| **Snagging** | Finding incomplete or poor finishing work | Before handover |
| **Practical completion** | A contractual state — usable, minor items only | The milestone |
| **Defects liability** | Contractor returns to fix faults that appear | After handover |

Projects go wrong when these are collapsed into one event at the end. They are
four different activities with different owners, different evidence and
different timing.

## Commissioning first, then snagging

The order matters. Commissioning frequently requires access above ceilings and
into equipment; snagging assesses the finished surface.

Snag first and commission after, and the commissioning work damages what was
just snagged. It also means comfort problems surface after the client has
accepted the finish.

Commissioning should also be **witnessed and recorded with measured values** —
airflows against design figures, control responses, interface tests. A signed
statement without data is not evidence.

## The handover pack

This is what determines your operating cost for the next decade:

- **As-built drawings**, editable format as well as PDF
- **Operating and maintenance manuals** for every system
- **Test and commissioning records** with measured values
- **Equipment schedules** — make, model, serial number, location
- **Warranties**, with start dates and what each covers
- **Spare parts and attic stock** — including carpet tiles from the original
  batch, since dye lots will not match later
- **Statutory certificates** applicable to the works
- **Training records** for the facilities team
- **Access panel locations**, so services can be reached

Make these contractual deliverables with a defined format, tied to a payment
milestone. Documentation and record provisions sit within the administrative
framework of **NBC 2016, Part 2**, with services in **NBC 2016, Part 8**.

## Running snagging so it closes

- Snag **progressively**, area by area, while the trade is still on site
- **One list, one owner** — parallel lists never converge
- Location, description, **photograph**, date on every item
- **Separate variations** out and price them honestly
- Close items with a date and a **re-inspection**, not a verbal assurance
- Agree the **standard of finish** before it is built, where it matters

## Practical completion without a fight

Disputes cluster here because a single date moves money, risk and
responsibility.

The way to avoid the argument is to **agree completion criteria in writing
early** — what must be finished, tested, commissioned and handed over. An hour
at contract stage; weeks if left until the date arrives.

Remember what the milestone triggers: possession passes, risk and insurance
usually transfer, delay damages stop, retention is partly released, and the
defects liability period begins.

## Using the defects period well

- Report **promptly and in writing**, as things appear
- Keep **one log** with dates and photographs
- Distinguish defects from maintenance items as you record them
- **Inspect deliberately** before the period ends
- Confirm in writing when items are made good

Consider whether the period spans the season that will test the building — a
period ending before the first monsoon will not surface a facade leak, and one
ending before peak summer will not test cooling capacity.

## After the first year

The handover pack only stays valuable if it is maintained.

The most common failure is not a missing document at handover; it is an accurate
document that nobody updates after the first alteration. Assign someone in the
client organisation to own it, and make updating it part of any future change.

## Standards referenced

Administrative provisions covering completion, documentation and occupancy in
**NBC 2016, Part 2**; building services provisions in **NBC 2016, Part 8**.
Completion criteria, documentation requirements and the defects liability
period for a specific project are set by the project's contract and should be
settled with legal advice.

## Frequently asked questions

### What should a handover pack contain?

As-built drawings in editable format as well as PDF, operating and maintenance manuals, test and commissioning records with measured values, equipment schedules with makes and models, warranties with their start dates, spare parts and attic stock schedules, statutory certificates where applicable, and a record of training given. Anything missing becomes a cost the client carries for years.

### Why is the documentation so often incomplete?

Because it is produced last, when the programme has no slack, and because it is nobody's visible priority at that moment. The fix is contractual — make the documentation a defined deliverable with a stated format and tie it to a payment milestone. Requesting it politely after handover rarely works, since the leverage has already gone.

### How should snagging be organised?

Progressively, area by area as work completes, not as one inspection at the end. One list, one owner, each item with a location, description, photograph and date, closed with a date and a re-inspection. Variations — changes of mind — must be separated out and priced, or the contractor will dispute the whole list and the genuine items lose credibility.

### Does practical completion require a zero snag list?

No. Practical completion means the works are usable for their intended purpose with only minor items outstanding. A snag list almost always exists at that point. What it cannot contain is anything preventing use — uncommissioned systems, missing statutory certificates or incomplete fire systems are not minor items.

### How should the defects period be used?

Report defects promptly and in writing as they appear, not in one batch at the end. A defect raised at month two is easier to attribute and cheaper to fix than the same defect raised at month eleven, when the contractor can reasonably argue it was caused by use. Keep one log, and inspect deliberately before the period expires rather than letting it lapse.

### What is most often missing a year later?

The as-built drawings, or a usable version of them. Once the first alteration is made without updating the record, the record stops being accurate and quickly becomes worthless. Assigning someone in the client organisation to own the documentation, and to update it after each change, is what keeps it valuable beyond the first year.

## Sources

- [NBC 2016, Part 2](https://www.bis.gov.in/standards/national-building-code/?lang=en) — Administration — completion, documentation and occupancy
- [NBC 2016, Part 8](https://www.bis.gov.in/standards/national-building-code/?lang=en) — Building services

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Source: https://hagerstone.com/guides/handover-snagging-and-defects-guide