Buying
Taking possession: the inspection to do before you accept the keys
6 min read · Last verified
In short
Before accepting possession, verify the occupancy certificate covers your building, measure the flat against the carpet area in the agreement, check the specification against the agreement schedule, test every fitting and service, and record all defects in writing and have them acknowledged before you take keys or pay the final instalment.
Key facts
- Your leverage
- The unpaid final instalment
- Verify first
- Occupancy certificate covering your building
- Measure
- Carpet area against the agreement figure
- Document
- Every defect, in writing, acknowledged
- Collect
- Full document set including plans and receipts
Handover feels like a formality after years of waiting, and it is treated as one by most buyers. It is in fact the last moment at which you have real leverage, because the final instalment has not yet been paid.
An hour of proper inspection here is worth more than any amount of correspondence afterwards.
Before you go: the documents
Establish the paperwork position before the inspection, because one of these can stop the process.
- The occupancy certificate — confirm it exists and covers your specific building and tower.
- Your agreement, so you can check carpet area and specification against it.
- The approved plan for your unit.
- The full payment record, so the final figure can be reconciled.
Measure the flat
Take a measure and check the carpet area against the figure in the agreement. This is rarely done and occasionally decisive.
If there is a shortfall beyond the tolerance the agreement permits, the adjustment mechanism is triggered — and it is far easier to raise before you take possession than after.
Check the specification against the schedule
The agreement contains a specification schedule. Walk the flat with it and check what was actually installed against what was promised — flooring, fittings, sanitaryware, doors, windows, electricals.
The show flat is not the standard; the schedule is. Where they differ, the schedule governs.
Test everything that has a function
Nothing here requires expertise. It requires patience and a systematic route through the flat.
- Run every tap and check drainage in every outlet.
- Flush every WC, and check for leaks under sinks and around fittings.
- Switch every light and socket; test the distribution board.
- Open and close every door and window, and check locks and handles.
- Look for damp, particularly on external walls, around windows and in bathrooms.
- Check floor level and tile finish, and tap tiles for hollowness.
- Check the balcony railing height and fixing.
- Confirm water pressure at the top of the range you would use.
Record defects properly
A verbal list is worth nothing three weeks later. Write every defect down, photograph each one with something for scale, and have the list acknowledged in writing by the developer's representative.
Agree a timeline for rectification and record it in the same document. A snag list without a date is an aspiration.
Understand the defect liability position
RERA provides for a defect liability period after handover, during which structural defects and defects in workmanship are the developer's responsibility to rectify.
Know what that period is for your purchase and when it starts. Report defects within it, in writing, and keep the correspondence.
Collect the full document set
You will need these for the society, for your lender, for property tax and eventually for your buyer.
- Registered agreement for sale.
- Possession letter.
- Occupancy certificate.
- Approved plan for the unit.
- All payment receipts and the final statement.
- Warranty documents for anything installed.
- Details of the maintenance arrangement and what your advance covers.