Defects at apartment handover: how to record them and what to do next
If you find defects during the inspection, write each one into a single list: where it is, what's wrong, a photo. Hand the list to the developer so that you keep a copy with proof of receipt. When the developer reports the fixes, inspect the apartment again and check every item. Sign the handover certificate once the defects are fixed or written into the certificate.
Why record everything before signing the certificate
Until the apartment is accepted, defects clearly belong to the developer. Once the renovation starts, a crack in the screed or a crooked reveal is easy to blame on your contractors. That's why in the app route the item “Sign the certificate and get the keys” comes after the defect list, handing it to the developer and the follow-up inspection.
A recorded defect is useful even if it's minor: a list makes it easier to check the fixes, and dated photos show what state the apartment was in before you.
How to inspect without missing anything
Walk the apartment in one order: from the entrance door clockwise, room by room. In each room, look from top to bottom: ceiling, walls, windows, radiators, floor. Bring:
- a charged phone and a torch;
- a tape measure and, if you have one, a long level or a 2 m straightedge;
- a sheet of paper to test the ventilation draught;
- the apartment plan from the contract.
What exactly to check is listed item by item in the apartment handover checklist: door, windows, balcony door, walls, floor, ceiling, ventilation, radiators, water supply, electrical panel, meters, floor area.
How to write a defect down
A good entry makes sense to someone who hasn't been in the apartment. It has four parts:
- Where: the room and the spot - “bedroom, window, left sash”.
- What's wrong: in plain words, without judgement - “sash doesn't close tight, draughty”.
- How it was measured, if you measured: “gap under a 2 m straightedge by the wall”.
- Photo: a wide shot to show the spot and a close-up of the defect. If you measured - with the tape or level in the shot.
Don't write “the walls are crooked” - that can't be checked. Write a separate entry for each wall or spot. If you're unsure whether something is a defect, write it down and photograph it anyway: crossing it out is easier than proving it later.
How to hand the list to the developer
Developers do this differently: an inspection report, a defect sheet, an application through the sales office or an online account. The general rule is the same - you must keep a document showing that the developer received the list:
- a copy marked as received, with the date and the representative's signature;
- or a confirmation from the developer's online account;
- or a list of enclosures and a receipt if you send it by post.
Photograph or save that document. The app route says exactly this in the item “Submit the defect list to the developer”: keep a copy of the document or take a photo of it.
What the law says
In Russia, apartments bought under a shared-construction participation agreement are covered by Federal Law No. 214-FZ of 30.12.2004. Two articles are worth reading before the inspection:
- article 7 - the quality of the property and the developer's warranty, including what you can demand if the apartment was built with defects;
- article 8 - how the apartment is handed over to the buyer: the handover certificate, the inspection and what to do if non-conformities are found.
These articles have been amended, so check deadlines, the inspection procedure and what counts as a significant defect in the current wording: on the official legal information portal pravo.gov.ru or in a legal reference system, with the date of the version. We don't restate deadlines and figures here so as not to get the version wrong. If the apartment wasn't bought under a shared-construction agreement (for example, under a sale and purchase contract), different rules apply. These are Russian rules; other countries have their own.
A dispute - the developer refusing to accept your list, refusing to fix things, or arguing over what counts as a defect - is a question for a lawyer. The list with photos and the proof that you handed it over are what to bring.
Follow-up inspection
When the developer reports that everything is fixed, don't sign the certificate over the phone. Come and go through your list:
- fixed - photograph it and tick it off;
- not fixed - keep it on the list and ask for it to be written into the certificate;
- new (for example, damaged during the repair) - add it as a separate entry.
In the app route this is the item “Do a follow-up inspection”: leave anything not fixed in the certificate.
Signing the certificate
The handover certificate is signed once the defects are fixed or written into it. Get all sets of keys and keep the certificate. From this point the renovation begins - and everything you recorded remains proof of what was there before it.
How to track defects in the Doma app
In the “Apartment handover” stage every check is a separate item: mark it and attach photos of defects in the “Photo records” block. A photo is named after the item and the date, so it's easy to find on the “Documents” tab → “Photo records”. Put the defect list, the developer's proof of receipt and the signed certificate in the “Contracts” folder. At the follow-up inspection, photograph the fixes against the same items - the “before” and “after” shots will sit side by side. How to take and find photos: Photo records.
What to do after you get the keys: Where to start renovating a new-build apartment.