Which documents to keep after a renovation, and for how long

Why keep anything at all

Renovation documents are needed in three cases:

• defects appear later - a crack, a leak, an appliance failure: without the contract, certificate and receipts it's hard to make a claim;
• a new repair or a breakdown - where the cable runs, where the valve is, which breaker controls what;
• a sale - the buyer cares what was done, when and by whom; the app route says exactly this in the item “Collect documents and warranties”: it will help when you sell.

What to keep: the list

Contracts and certificates

• the contract with the crew or contractor, its budgets and annexes;
• stage acceptance certificates and the final renovation acceptance certificate;
• remark lists and notes on the fixes;
• contracts with suppliers of furniture, the kitchen, doors, windows, air conditioners;
• for a new build - the apartment handover certificate and the defect list given to the developer.

Receipts and payment documents

Till receipts, delivery notes, invoices, transfer confirmations. A receipt is often a condition of warranty service. Thermal paper fades, so photograph or scan the receipt straight away.

Manuals and warranties

Manuals, instructions and warranty cards for household appliances, air conditioners, the water heater, underfloor heating, the leak protection system, mixers and installation frames. For underfloor heating, manufacturers also ask for a photo of the layout with a tape measure and the recorded cable resistance - taken before the screed is poured or the tiles are laid.

Diagrams and photos of hidden work

• photos of pipes, cables, manifolds, underfloor heating, backing and frames - every wall in full, a tape measure in the shot;
• the electrical panel diagram and breaker labels;
• pressure test and insulation measurement reports, if there were any;
• working drawings and wiring and plumbing diagrams from the designer.

These photos are a map of the apartment: you drill using them and don't hit cables or pipes. More in Photos of hidden work.

Meters and utility accounts

Photos of meter readings at the apartment handover and after the work is finished, documents on transferring utility accounts. The app route advises comparing the readings after the renovation with those taken at the handover.

Materials

The brand, colour or tint code of the paint, the article number and batch of tiles, wallpaper and floor covering. A year later it's easier to touch up a small scratch with the same paint, and finding the same tile collection may be impossible. Master Kistya's tips: keep some paint in a labelled jar and a few whole tiles of each kind.

Layout changes

If you made layout changes or re-equipment - the approval documents and the amended technical passport of the premises. Without them there may be problems registering the changes and selling.

How long to keep them

The law doesn't set a “storage period” for a private renovation - there are periods within which you can report defects. Work from those.

Warranty under the contract. If the contract with the crew or supplier sets a warranty period, keep the documents at least until it ends.

If there's no warranty. Article 724 of part two of the Russian Civil Code (“Periods for discovering improper quality of the result of work”) says: when no warranty period is set for the work, claims about defects can be made if they are discovered within a reasonable time, but within two years from the day the result of the work was handed over, unless other periods are set by law, the contract or business custom. It also covers what to do if the warranty is shorter than two years and the defect is found after it ends. For clients who are consumers, the Russian Law “On Protection of Consumer Rights” (article 29) also applies. Before a dispute, read these articles in the current wording on the official legal information portal pravo.gov.ru: we summarise general rules and don't promise the outcome of any particular case. These are Russian rules; other countries have their own.

Appliances and equipment. Their warranty is given by the manufacturer or seller: the period is on the warranty card.

A practical rule:

• contracts, certificates, receipts - at least as long as the longest warranty period and at least two years after acceptance;
• appliance manuals and warranties - for as long as you have the appliance;
• photos of hidden work, the panel diagram, details of materials - for as long as you own the apartment, and hand them to the buyer when you sell.

How to gather documents while the renovation is still going

It's easier to collect them along the way than to search at the end. In the app route, documents come up at the right moment: the handover certificate in the handover stage, air conditioner manuals when they're started up, appliance manuals and warranties when they're installed. Final acceptance has the item “Collect documents and warranties”, and move-in has “Complete the digital property passport”: making sure the photos of services, documents, warranties and the budget are saved.

Where to keep them in the Doma app

The “Documents” tab has the folders “Photo records”, “Contracts”, “Meters” and “Spec sheets”: open a folder and tap “Add to folder”. Photos of hidden work are already in “Photo records”, named after the items and dates. “Property passport export” gathers the property details, finishes, stages and documents into a table and exports it to Excel or PDF; the app reads the brand, paint colour and article number from a photo of the label. How it works: Property passport and documents.

When the renovation is over, move the property to lived in: “Profile” → “My properties” → “Renovation done - move to lived in”. Documents, the property passport, warranties and receipts stay at hand, and the stages become the renovation history. What happens to the property next: Archiving and deleting a property.