Before completion: maximum leverage
A pre-completion inspection happens after the property is build-complete but before you legally complete and pay the balance. Defects found at this point are the developer's problem in the cleanest possible way: you have not yet handed over the money, and your solicitor can hold the snagging list in the completion conversation.
The obstacle is access. Developers are not obliged to let an inspector in before completion, and some refuse or restrict it. Many will allow it if asked early and professionally — it is in nobody's interest to complete on a house with undocumented defects. Ask your sales contact as soon as you have an anticipated completion date, and put the request in writing.
On completion day: the practical sweet spot
If pre-completion access is refused, completion day is the next best option. You collect the keys, the inspector goes in the same day — before furniture, before occupancy, before any argument that damage happened after handover. The house is empty, every surface is visible, and the defects are documented at the earliest moment the property is yours to inspect.
Arrange it in advance: book the inspection for the afternoon of your anticipated completion date, and confirm with the inspector the morning once your solicitor confirms completion has happened. We hold completion-day slots flexible for exactly this reason, because completion dates move.
- Book early, flag it as a completion-day inspection, and keep the inspector updated as the date moves.
- Have the keys in hand before the slot starts — the inspection cannot wait on a delayed key release.
- Keep the property empty until the inspection is done if you can; removals can wait a few hours.
After you move in: still worth it, slightly harder
Most warranty providers allow snagging to be reported well after completion — commonly within the first two years for workmanship defects. So a later inspection is not too late. But it is harder in three ways: furniture and flooring restrict access to walls, sockets and skirting; some defects become arguable as wear and tear; and the developer's urgency drops once you are settled.
If you have already moved in, the answer is simply to do it now rather than later. Every month that passes weakens the causal link between the defect and the build.
What the timing changes — and what it does not
The inspection itself is identical at any of these timings: the same room-by-room method, the same photographic report, the same citations against NHBC standards and Building Regulations. What changes is your negotiating position. Before completion the developer wants your money; on completion day the handover is fresh; months later you are one email thread among many.
Whichever timing you end up with, a documented, independent schedule of defects puts you in a fundamentally stronger position than a verbal list or a phone camera roll.
The short answer
Best: before completion, if the developer allows access. Next best: the afternoon of completion day, before the removals van. Still valuable: any time in the first two years — but the earlier the inspection, the stronger your position.
This guide is general information, not legal advice. Your purchase contract, warranty documents and the applicable customer code determine your rights. Ask your solicitor before making decisions about completion or payments.