Completion day: your first 7 days in a new build

The week you get your keys is the most important week of your whole two-year warranty. Cosmetic damage usually has to be reported within about 7 days, and the one chance to inspect an empty house disappears the moment the removals van pulls up. Here's the plan — what to do on the day, what to ask at handover, and what to check before a single box comes in.

The first-week plan

Snagging isn't one job — it's a sequence, and the order matters. Each window below protects you from a different way of losing a free fix.

Completion day

Keys, meters and the handover demo

Take meter readings the moment you're in, and photograph them. Do the handover demonstration with the site team, ask the questions below, and don't be rushed — this is also your first look at the finish. Note anything you spot, but don't worry about being exhaustive yet.

Before the boxes

The empty-house inspection

This is the single most valuable hour of the whole process. In an empty house, with daylight, walk every room and log every chip, scratch, crack and cosmetic fault — because once your removals company has been through, the builder can (and often will) suggest the damage came in with the furniture. If you can, snag the day before the van arrives.

Days 1–7

The cosmetic deadline

Most builders and warranty terms expect cosmetic damage — chipped worktops, scratched glass, dented doors, marked baths — to be reported within about 7 days of completion. Finish your full room-by-room pass and send the complete, photographed list to the builder in writing before this window closes.

Weeks 2–8

Living-in snags

Some defects only show up in use: a radiator with a cold spot, a draught under a door, a socket that doesn't grip, slow drains, doors that swell. Keep adding to the same list and report new items in writing as they appear — you don't need to save them up.

Months 3–24

Settlement and the long game

New homes dry out and settle, so hairline cracks and sticking doors often appear over the first year — most are normal, but anything beyond minor shrinkage belongs on the list. Do a final full inspection a month or two before your two-year builder period ends, so nothing misses the deadline.

What to ask at the handover demo

Most builders walk you through the home when you collect the keys. It's easy to nod along in the excitement — instead, get answers to these while the site team is standing in front of you:

? Where are the stopcock, consumer unit, gas shut-off and meters?
? How do the heating controls and thermostat schedules work?
? Where does the boiler condensate pipe run, and what's the service schedule?
? Which paint colours and tile batches were used, for future touch-ups?
? How do I report snags — exact email address, portal, and who picks it up?
? What's the process and timescale for fixing what I report?

The last two are the ones people skip and regret. Get the snag-reporting route in writing — a named inbox or portal — so your list never disappears into a site manager's pocket notebook.

Before the boxes: the empty-house hour

If you do nothing else from this page, do this. One hour in the empty house, phone in hand, before the removals van arrives:

✓ Photograph every room, empty, from the doorway — a dated 'condition on day one' record
✓ Photograph the meter readings (gas, electric, water)
✓ Check every worktop, bath, basin and shower tray for chips before anything touches them
✓ Open and close every door and window once
✓ Run every tap, flush every toilet, and check under sinks with a dry hand
✓ Test every socket and light switch
✓ Look at every wall in raking light — torch on, lights off
✓ Check floors for scratches, ripples and lifting edges before they're covered in boxes

Then, in the days that follow, work through the full room-by-room snagging checklist and send the builder one complete, photographed list — in writing — before the 7-day window closes.

After you've sent the list

Under the New Homes Quality Code, registered developers are expected to resolve reported snags within around 30 calendar days unless there's good reason. Track what's fixed, chase what isn't, and keep adding new defects as they surface — the builder remains responsible for defects for two full years. How that cover works, and what changes after year two, is covered in our guide to new-build warranties.

And if the builder stops responding? Escalate in writing, then take it to the New Homes Ombudsman Service or your warranty provider's resolution service — both free, and both driven by exactly the dated, photographed evidence you've been building since day one.

Common questions

Can I snag before completion day? +

Often, yes. Under the New Homes Quality Code, buyers from registered developers can arrange a pre-completion inspection against an industry-standard checklist — carried out by you or a professional inspector once the home is finished. It's worth taking: obvious faults get flagged before you complete, though you can't usually demand completion is delayed until they're fixed.

Should I delay moving in until I've snagged? +

You don't need to delay the move — just protect a gap between getting keys and the removals van arriving, even if it's only a few hours. An empty-house inspection is dramatically more effective than one done around furniture, and it protects you from the 'your movers did that' response on cosmetic damage.

I've already moved in and the 7 days have passed — is it too late? +

No. The 7-day convention mainly affects cosmetic damage, where late reports are easier for a builder to dispute. Everything else — faults in workmanship, plumbing, electrics, heating, fixtures — remains the builder's responsibility for the full two-year period. Start your list today, report in writing, and keep it running.

The builder says my removals company caused the damage. What now? +

This is exactly what day-one photographs are for. If you logged the chip or scratch in your empty-house inspection with a dated photo, the conversation is over. If you didn't, you can still argue items in areas the movers never touched, but it's harder — which is why the empty-house pass matters more than any other step on this page.