Snagging Survey
- A snagging survey is generally carried out on new-build properties, in order to make sure that they are built to a high standard.
- You can get this professional snagging inspection either before you move in, or post-completion.
- It aims to pick up any 'snags' on the property that the house builder needs to address. You can check the pictures below as an example.
What is a professional snagging survey?
You get a snagging survey or snagging list when you want to identify defects in a property and get them corrected.
They are particularly associated with new-build properties. You instruct your new build snag survey once your developer serves you with a notice that the property is built; alternatively, you may do this at any time during the first 2 years of the property’s warranty period.
The objective is to ensure that the new property is constructed to a specific quality and standard. If not, the developer needs to be informed of necessary improvements.
Snag reports have been making headlines more frequently due to the increasing trend of purchasing newly built flats off-plan.
This means that the flats were not even constructed when the buyer started the buying process with the developer, leaving buyers vulnerable to issues when the construction process has finished.
Why get a snagging survey?
You hire a building surveyor to carry out an inspection to ensure that the new-build home you’re buying matches the plans and specifications that the developer set down, and to check if it's completed to a high standard.
In common with a standard home buyers survey, it is well worth hiring professional snagging inspectors because they examine all aspects of the build and fabric of the property with an experienced eye.
Given the amount of money you are spending, you should do everything possible to ensure that what you intend to buy is worthwhile.
An experienced RICS (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors) surveyor performing a new build snag inspection will be able to pick out faults, whether they are the more serious issues, such as subsidence, or more subtle – but very annoying – faults such as broken tiles, leaking showers and generally bad finishing. They will then present them in a comprehensive snagging inspection report.
They will use cutting-edge equipment such as drones and thermal imaging cameras to inspect your home which will identify any defects that fall short of warranty standards and regulations.
16% of homeowners discover defects
In our recent survey, 16% of homeowners found defects; including 2% who were able to pull out of a bad purchase, 7% who were able to negotiate a better price, and sadly, 7% of homeowners who did not get a survey and discovered defects after the purchase.
12 of the 39 who remembered how much these defects cost to remedy spent over £5,000
Don't burn your money, book a survey.
What types of snagging survey are there?
Pre-completion inspection
Introduced by the new homes quality board, you hire a surveyor to examine the property pre-completion. This way, if there are any major faults from the detailed inspection, you can negotiate before you hand over your completion monies.
Post-completion inspection
This occurs once you’ve moved in and had time to notice more subtle mistakes and deviations from what you were told you were buying. As stated, you’d normally get this type of survey in the first 2 years after buying, and within the period that was guaranteed.
The longer you live in the home, the less chance you have of holding a developer responsible for defects because the property’s occupiers are causing wear and tear and guarantees eventually expire.
What can you spot in a comprehensive snagging inspection?It’s impossible to list all possible snags that might be noted in a report, however, we've pictured some actual snags observed in real professional snagging inspections. Other commonly observed faults and shortcomings include cracked tiles, leaking boilers, and sloppy painting. You can read more about these matters and other facts of interest in the following article about new build homes. |
New-build houses are exempt from most UK consumer protection legislation
UK new homes are excluded from the majority of consumer protection legislation, for example, the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982.
For many other goods, a buyer would normally be able to order that any defects were put right in 14 days and have the right to use another contractor if the original property developer were unable to do this.
However, the providers of warranties for new builds, such as those offered by the National House Building Council, although they provide a dispute resolution service, insist that developers be given 8 weeks to solve defects.
This puts matters on the same level as most other matters related to buying and selling property, where ‘let the buyer beware’ is the guiding principle. Essentially, the buyer purchases at their own risk. This gives even more reason for a newly built buyer to hire a surveyor to carry out a survey.
Do developers always fix issues in a new home snagging report?
The build quality should be to a reasonable standard and as part of the exchange contract, there'll be an agreement to address post-completion snags.
- Pre-completion inspection - if you have the survey before completion you can ask your solicitor to provide the report to the developer's solicitor and obtain their agreement to fix the snags before completion; if not before then agree on a date by which they will make the repairs. The best time to book the survey is when you get Served Notice to Complete.
- Post-completion inspection - if after you move in you find a number of snags then the sooner you get the survey the better. Leaving it for a long period of time leaves you exposed to questions of whether the defects are caused by wear and tear rather than from the original build. Once you get the survey you'll need to provide it to the developer and get an estimated time for when the snags can be fixed.
Before exchanging contracts on your new home, you need to ensure that you have a clause in your exchange contract agreeing to fix any reasonable snag repairs and in what time frame.
Forgetting the last bit could mean the developer agrees to fix the snag defects but in a number of months, sometimes years and sometimes never if they go bankrupt before they get around to doing it.
You may encounter a first come first served approach to fixing snags if there are similar defects found in other new-builds near you, so make sure to keep on top of chasing and log all your communications.
Can you do a HomeBuyers Report on a new property?
A HomeBuyers Report is a comprehensive report undertaken by a RICS surveyor on standard construction properties where you are looking for the following types of defects:
- Subsidence
- Damp
- Infestation
- Damage and maintenance
- Asbestos
Whilst the above are of concern to any home, on a new build these are addressed via building control and supported by a building quality assurance such as NHBC.
What a buyer needs is a surveyor to inspect the property and put together a snagging list of issues with build quality. This is why you wouldn't book a HomeBuyer Survey on a new-build home.
Snagging Survey Cost
The cost for a snagging list is less than for a HomeBuyer Report or a Building Survey, however not much less.
Instead of concentrating on wear-and-tear defects, it focuses on build quality and whether a property has been completed to a reasonable standard. It ranges from £499 INC VAT upward and the defects found could save you money in excess of this in repairs that the developer should pay for.
We have local RICS snagging surveyors throughout England and provide:
- Specialist New Build RICS surveyors.
- Photos of all defects.
- Detailed reports.
Caragh is an excellent writer and copy editor of books, news articles and editorials. She has written extensively for SAM for a variety of conveyancing, survey, property law and mortgage-related articles.
