Snagging inspections, answered properly

An independent inspection of a new build home that records everything the developer should put right. We work through the property room by room, photograph every defect, and give you a report you can send straight to them. We are not inspecting the structure or valuing the house, and we have no relationship with your builder.

Before you legally complete, if you possibly can. Once you have signed, a defect stops being something your developer needs to clear to finish the sale and becomes an aftercare request on their schedule. If you have already moved in, book anyway and do it soon: an early written, photographed list is the one that gets acted on.

From £400 for an apartment or two bed, £450 for a three bed, £525 for a four bed and £600 for five or more. That is the inspection and the report, with no separate report fee. A re-inspection once the work is done is £175. For context, UK snagging surveys generally run between about £300 and £600 in 2026 (HomeOwners Alliance, 2026).

More than you expect, and that is normal rather than alarming. Published industry guidance puts a typical new build somewhere around 50 to 150 items (HomeBuyerCheck, 2026), most of them small. The number matters far less than which ones are serious, which is why our reports are ordered by severity instead of by room.

No, and the difference is worth understanding. A Pre-Completion Inspection is a specific step under the New Homes Quality Code, carried out on the Code’s own checklist before you complete. A snagging survey is broader and not limited to that checklist. Under version 2 of the Code (March 2026), if you appoint someone to carry out a PCI on your behalf they must belong to a recognised professional body such as CABE, CIOB, ICWCI, RICS or RPSA and hold professional indemnity insurance, and a developer may refuse entry to an inspector it does not consider suitably qualified.

Two to three hours for most properties, longer for larger or more awkward ones. We do not charge by the hour, so there is no reason for us to rush it.

Within 48 hours of the inspection, and often the next day. It comes with a call so you can ask about anything in it rather than trying to interpret it alone.

No, as long as we can get access — that might be you, a key safe, or the site office by arrangement. If you can join us for the last twenty minutes it is genuinely useful, because we can walk you through what we found.

No. A snagging survey is a non-invasive visual check of workmanship and finish. We do not lift floors, open up walls, go into sealed voids, or test electrics, gas, heating or drainage. If what you need is a structural report or a mortgage valuation, that is a different professional and we will say so.

A dated, photographed, itemised report is exactly what you need at that point, because it moves the argument off memory and opinion. Start with your developer’s own complaints process. If that stalls and your developer is registered with the New Homes Quality Board, you can take it to the New Homes Ombudsman Service, which is free to use; you will generally need their final closure letter, or to have waited 56 days, and the issue must have arisen within two years of reservation or completion, whichever is later (New Homes Quality Board, 2026). We tell you plainly what we found; we do not act as your representative in a dispute.

Yes, for £175. We go back with the original report and check each item has genuinely been dealt with rather than taking the developer’s word for it. It is the cheapest part of the process and regularly the most useful, because items do get marked complete without being touched.

The Midlands, from a base in Telford. If you are not sure whether your postcode is in range, send it and we will tell you straight away rather than wasting your time.