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Unit handover checklist
Nineteen points in four groups — quality, records, statutory and the handover itself. The list that decides whether a flat is ready, and the record that proves it was, on the day it changed hands.
A unit is ready when the registers say it is, not when the programme says it should be. The value of a checklist is that it makes that a matter of record rather than of optimism on a Friday afternoon.
Four groups, four questions
| Group | The question it answers | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Quality | Has the work been checked, and did the checks pass? | 4 |
| Records | Does the paperwork that proves it exist, and is it in one place? | 4 |
| Statutory | Is it legal to hand it over? | 7 |
| Handover | Is the unit itself, and the person receiving it, actually ready? | 4 |
The nineteen points
One line per point, with what it actually means underneath. Mark each one done, or N/A with a reason beside it — an N/A with no reason is the commonest way a handover pack falls apart under scrutiny.
| No. | Group | Check | What it means |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Quality | All inspection & test plans signed off for this unit | Every applicable ITP stage recorded as Pass or N/A |
| 2 | Quality | Snagging inspection complete, all snags closed | Two-stage close: fixed by the trade, then verified by you |
| 3 | Quality | No open non-conformances against this unit | All NCRs closed with verification evidence |
| 4 | Quality | Pre-handover clean complete | Builders clean and sparkle clean signed off |
| 5 | Records | O&M manual / home user guide issued | Appliance manuals, warranties, product data |
| 6 | Records | Asset and warranty register updated for this unit | Serial numbers and warranty start dates captured |
| 7 | Records | As-built drawings and services layouts issued | Including concealed services routes |
| 8 | Records | Golden thread records uploaded (HRB only) | Building Safety Act 2022 — mandatory for higher-risk buildings |
| 9 | Statutory | Electrical Installation Certificate (BS 7671) issued | EIC plus schedule of test results, competent-person scheme cert |
| 10 | Statutory | Gas safety / heating commissioning certificate issued | Where applicable — Gas Safe or unvented cylinder cert (G3) |
| 11 | Statutory | Water services flushed, tested and chlorinated | Pressure test and sampling records held |
| 12 | Statutory | Fire alarm / detection commissioned and certified | BS 5839-6 grade and category recorded |
| 13 | Statutory | Ventilation commissioned and airflow rates recorded | Part F commissioning sheet per dwelling |
| 14 | Statutory | Fire-stopping and compartmentation verified | Photographic register of penetrations, third-party inspected |
| 15 | Statutory | Air tightness / Part L evidence available | As-built SAP and BREL report where applicable |
| 16 | Handover | Keys, fobs and meter readings recorded | Key numbers issued and signed for |
| 17 | Handover | Utilities live and accounts transferred | Electric, water, comms references confirmed |
| 18 | Handover | Resident demonstration completed | Heating, ventilation, alarm, appliance walkthrough |
| 19 | Handover | Defects liability period and reporting route explained | Contact details and response times issued in writing |
The gates worth automating
Four of these nineteen are not really questions for a person at all. Whether every ITP for the unit is signed off, whether any snag is still open against it, whether any non-conformance is open, and whether every fire stopping record for the unit has its evidence — all four can be answered by the registers themselves, and answered correctly, which is more than can be said for a tick at five to five.
In the spreadsheet you check them by hand. In the app they are calculated, and a unit cannot be signed over while one of them is failing.
N/A needs a reason
“Gas safety certificate — N/A”
This“Gas safety certificate — N/A: no gas supply to this unit, all-electric scheme.”
The reason is what makes the N/A survive somebody reading the pack in two years without the context you had on the day.
Two signatures
One from the party handing over, one from the party receiving. A checklist with a single signature records that somebody filled in a form; a checklist with two records that a transfer happened and both sides agreed what state it was in. On a residential scheme that distinction tends to matter about six months later.
The walk, and what comes off it
Anything raised on the handover walk goes onto the defects list as a dated item with a trade against it, not into a conversation. It is the same rule as the snagging list, and for the same reason: an item that exists only in somebody’s memory of a Thursday is not going to be fixed.
Let the registers decide when it is ready
Four gates calculated from the live registers, nineteen points, two signatures and a branded certificate for every unit.