Snagging checklist: room by room, what to look for and how to test it

How should you use this snagging checklist?

Work through the unit in one direction, usually from the entrance clockwise, and finish one room before starting the next. In each room look at the ceiling, then the walls, then the floor, then the fittings, so your eyes always move the same way. Test everything that moves or runs: a door that looks fine can still fail to latch, and a tap that looks fine can still leak under the basin. Use daylight and a torch held low against the surface, because raking light shows uneven paint, lippage between tiles and scratches that are invisible from straight on. For every snag, take one wide photo that shows where it is and one close-up that shows what it is, and write down the room and position in plain words, such as “Bedroom 2, wall left of the window, 1 m from the floor”. If you can, mark it on the floor plan.

Utilities need to be connected for the tests below. If power, water or air conditioning are off on the day, note it on your list and ask for another visit.

What should you bring to a snagging inspection?

A phone with plenty of storage and battery, or the SnagOwl app
A torch, for raking light and dark cupboards
A small spirit level, for worktops, door frames and floor falls
A socket tester, or a phone charger to check each socket
A coin or a small rubber mallet, to tap tiles and listen for hollow sounds
A tape measure, for gaps and dimensions
Masking tape or small stickers, if the developer allows you to mark snags on site
A copy of the floor plan and your handover notice

Living and dining room

Check	What to look for	How to test
Walls and ceiling	Paint drips, roller marks, patchy coverage, cracks, nail pops, uneven corners	Shine a torch along the surface from the side
Floor tiles	Chips, cracks, scratches, lippage between tiles, hollow tiles, uneven grout	Walk the floor, tap tiles with a coin, look along the joints at floor level
Skirting	Gaps to the wall or floor, damage, missing sealant, paint on the tiles	Run your eye along the full length
Sliding doors to the balcony	Rough or noisy running, scratches on the track, missing locks or seals	Open and close fully several times, lock and unlock
Lights and switches	Fittings that don’t work, loose or crooked switch plates	Switch every light on and off
Sockets and data points	Missing faceplates, loose sockets, no power	Plug in a charger or tester at each one
Air conditioning	No cooling, noise, misaligned grilles, stains around them	Run each unit for several minutes on cool

Kitchen

Check	What to look for	How to test
Cabinets	Misaligned or rubbing doors, loose hinges, damaged edges, missing handles	Open and close every door and drawer
Worktop	Chips, scratches, visible joints, gaps to the wall, missing sealant	Look at joints and edges in raking light
Sink and tap	Gaps in the silicone, leaks, low pressure, no hot water	Run hot and cold, fill the sink, check under it with a torch
Splashback	Cracked or chipped tiles, uneven grout, gaps at sockets	Look along it from both ends
Appliances (if supplied)	Not working, damaged, missing parts	Switch on the hob, oven, extractor and fridge
Extract	Weak or no extraction, rattling	Run it and hold a sheet of paper to the grille

Bathrooms and en-suites

Check	What to look for	How to test
Wall and floor tiles	Cracks, chips, hollow tiles, gaps or cracks in the grout, especially near wet areas	Tap tiles, look closely at grout lines behind the vanity and around the shower
Shower or bath	Water pooling, slow drainage, gaps in the silicone, damaged tray or bath	Run the shower for a few minutes and watch the water go down
Floor falls	Water flowing away from the drain	Pour water on the floor near the shower and watch where it goes
Basin and vanity	Leaks under the basin, loose basin, gaps in the sealant, scratched vanity	Fill and drain the basin, check the trap with a torch
WC	Loose pan, running cistern, weak flush, leaks at the base	Flush several times, wait and listen
Taps and mixers	Drips, low pressure, hot and cold reversed	Run each one fully hot and fully cold
Extract fan	Not running, noisy, not pulling air	Switch on and hold a tissue to the grille
Mirrors and accessories	Loose fixings, damage, missing items	Gently check each one

Bedrooms

Check	What to look for	How to test
Walls, ceiling and floor	As in the living room	Raking light and tapping
Wardrobes	Rubbing or misaligned doors, loose rails and shelves, damaged panels	Open and close every door, slide every sliding door end to end
Windows	Hard to open, missing restrictors or locks, damaged glass or seals	Open, close and lock each window
Bedroom door	Uneven gap at the head, rubbing, latch not catching, missing stopper	Close it slowly and look at the gap all round
Sockets, switches, AC	As in the living room	Test each one

Maid’s room and its bathroom

Check	What to look for	How to test
Door and window	Same checks as the bedrooms; these rooms are often finished last	Open, close and lock
Ventilation	No window or fan, or a fan that does not work	Switch on and check air movement
Bathroom fittings	Same checks as the main bathrooms	Run, flush and drain everything

Balcony or terrace

Check	What to look for	How to test
Balustrade and glass	Loose fixings, chips or scratches on the glass, gaps at the ends	Push firmly at several points; report any movement straight away
Floor	Chipped tiles, water pooling, falls away from the drain	Pour water and watch it run to the drain
Drain	Blocked or missing grate, debris	Look in with a torch
Door threshold and track	Scratches, dents, bent track, missing seals	Look along the track and run the door
External lights and sockets	Not working, missing covers	Test each one

Laundry

Check	What to look for	How to test
Connections	Missing or leaking water supply and drain points for the washer	Open the valves briefly and check for drips
Ventilation	No extract where one is required	Switch on the fan
Finishes	Damaged doors, unfinished paint, missing skirting	Same checks as the other rooms

Electrical, plumbing and other services (MEP)

Check	What to look for	How to test
Distribution board	Unlabelled circuits, missing cover, breakers that trip	Check the labels match the rooms; switch circuits off and on if allowed
Exposed wiring	Any live wiring visible at sockets, lights or ceilings	Look, don’t touch; report it as critical
Water heater	No hot water, leaks, missing insulation	Run a hot tap and wait
Water pressure	Weak flow at any outlet	Run two outlets at once
Smoke detectors and sprinklers	Missing, damaged or painted-over heads	Look at every ceiling
Intercom and doorbell	Not working	Ring from the corridor

Air conditioning

Check	What to look for	How to test
Cooling	A unit that does not cool, or cools one room much less than the others	Run every unit for at least ten minutes
Thermostats	No response, wrong room, display not working	Change the set point and listen for the unit
Grilles and diffusers	Misaligned, loose, stained ceiling around them	Look up in every room
Condensate	Drips from units or ceilings, damp patches	Look and touch around each unit after it has run
Noise	Rattles or loud fans	Listen with the room quiet

Doors and windows

Check	What to look for	How to test
Front door	Gaps, damage, lock and handle, door closer, spy hole, fire rating label if fitted	Open, close and lock from both sides
Internal doors	Uneven gaps, rubbing, latches, stoppers, damaged edges	Close each one slowly and watch the gap
Windows	Seals, locks, restrictors, scratches on frames and glass	Open and close each one fully
Sliding doors	Running, locking, track condition	Run end to end several times

Finishes throughout

Check	What to look for	How to test
Paint	Drips, roller marks, patchy coverage, paint on fittings, glass or tiles	Raking light, from a low angle
Plaster	Cracks, bulges, nail pops, uneven corners	Torch along walls and ceilings
Tiles	Chips, cracks, lippage, hollow tiles, grout gaps	Tap and look along joints
Silicone and sealant	Gaps, mould, messy joints	Look closely at every wet area and worktop joint
Joinery	Damaged edges, gaps, loose fixings	Touch and look along each piece

How do you record what you find?

A snag is only useful if someone else can find it and fix it. For each one, write a short title, a description of what is wrong, the room and exact position, and how serious it is; then add a close-up and a wider photo. Mark the defect on the photo, and on the floor plan if you have one. Grade each snag as minor, major or critical using the severity definitions, and keep your list in the same order as the walk so the developer’s team can follow it. When the list is complete, send it through the process in your handover notice and keep a copy. For what a finished report should look like, see the snagging report template, and for how the whole process fits together, read property snagging in Dubai.

Deadlines for submitting snags, and what happens to defects found after you move in, are set by your SPA and the developer’s handover notice. Check both before your inspection.