Handover checks before the final payment in Kerala
Nothing gets covered here. This is where the record of your whole build is collected, checked and handed to you.
The checks at this stage (6)
- Snag list closed
Every defect found in the room-by-room walk is either fixed or knowingly accepted before the final release. Snags raised after the contractor leaves are snags you pay someone else to fix.
- Warranty documents collected
The waterproofing warranty promised at design, hardware and appliance warranties, treatment and test certificates - collected in writing. A warranty you cannot produce is a warranty you do not have.
- As-built drawings received
Drawings of what was actually built, not what was first drawn - plus the buried-services photo record from the plaster stage. Every future repair or renovation on this house will be planned from these.
- Occupancy certificate obtained
Permanent power and water, property tax assessment, loan release and any future sale all hang on this one document. Moving in without it is common - and every one of those doors can later stick because of it.
- Snag list agreed in writing before the final payment
The final payment is the last leverage you have. A snag list agreed after it is a list of favours; agreed before it, it is a condition.
- As-built drawings and warranties handed over
The drawing showing where the concealed pipes and cables actually run is worth more than any other document in the file, and it is the one most often never asked for.
What good work looks like
Snagging is a system, not a stroll
Room by room against a written list: walls, ceilings, floors, every door and window action, every tap and point, water flow and drainage. Each defect photographed and classed - cosmetic, functional or safety - then rechecked after the fix.
- A written, room-named snag list with photos
- Defects classed by seriousness, not lumped
- A second walk after fixes, with before-after pairs
- A single walkthrough with verbal promises
- Snags raised after the final payment moved
- Fixed items never actually rechecked
Trade practice - no IS governs snagging
The warranty set, assembled while asking is easy
Waterproofing system warranty, appliance and hardware warranties, the termite treatment certificate, the electrical and plumbing test records - every one dated, signed and physically with you. After the last payment, collecting these becomes remarkably hard.
- Every certificate present, dated and signed
- Warranty void-conditions read and understood
- Everything gathered before the final payment
- Warranties existing only as claims in the quote
- Papers scattered between vendor phones and files
- Collection deferred until after money moved
IS 6313 · IS 732 · IS 3043 · IS 2065 · IS 5329 (the individual records)
As-builts: the house as it is, not as drawn
The final drawings updated to what was actually built, plus the buried-services photo record from the plaster stage. Every future repair, extension or sale query starts from these. Without them, future work starts with exploratory demolition.
- Drawings reflecting built reality, changes included
- The buried-services photo record attached
- A digital copy stored somewhere safe
- Original drawings handed over unchanged as as-builts
- No record of where services actually run
- Everything living in one person's phone
Trade practice - priceless anyway
The occupancy certificate is not a formality
Issued by your local body after inspection confirms the building matches the sanctioned plan. It unlocks permanent power and water, tax assessment, loan release and lawful sale. Moving in without it is common - and each of those doors can later stick.
- The certificate obtained before moving in
- Permanent utility connections tied to it
- The building matching the sanctioned plan
- Living on temporary connections for years
- Deviations from the plan surfacing at inspection
- A future sale stalling on the missing certificate
KMBR / KPBR · K-SMART / Sanketham
Red flags and money traps
Warranties, certificates, as-builts and open snags all collect easily while the final payment is still yours to release - and remarkably slowly after. The last payment is a checklist, not a date.
Before release: Snags closed, warranty set in hand, as-builts received. Then the money.
Walk every room with the contractor and write the list together, dated and signed by both. Agree which items are held against the final payment and which against the retention period. A verbal list is not a list.
Trade practice, not a code: Standard contract practice; NBC 2016 Part 6 for completion requirements
Ask for as-built drawings marked with any deviation from the approved plan, warranty documents for waterproofing, fittings and appliances, and the anti-termite treatment record. Store them where you can find them in ten years.
Trade practice, not a code: NBC 2016 Part 6; standard practice for residential handover