What should you check at a new condo handover?

Condo defects checklist: room by room

At a new condo handover, look for defects you can see, hear or test: cracks and stains, hollow or chipped tiles, doors and windows that do not close or lock properly, poor sealant, leaks, slow drainage, and points, switches or fittings that do not work. Go room by room before furniture or renovation work can hide anything.

Bring a torch, masking tape to mark each defect, a coin to tap tiles, a phone charger to test power points and your phone for photos. A condo handover inspection goes faster with two people: one checks while the other writes. Photograph each defect with its marker in the shot, plus a wider photo showing where it is.

• Walls and ceilings: cracks, uneven or patchy paint, stains and damp marks.
• Floors: hollow-sounding tiles (tap each one with a coin), chips, cracks and gaps at joints and skirting.
• Doors and windows: alignment with the frame, smooth opening and closing, working locks and complete, undamaged seals.
• Wet areas: run water and check that the floor falls towards the floor trap without ponding; look for missing sealant and leaks under sinks.
• Electrical: every power point and every switch, plus lights, fan points and the doorbell, one by one.
• Fittings: dripping or loose taps, chipped sinks and basins, and wardrobes with misaligned doors, stiff drawers or loose hinges.

For a new HDB flat, use the BTO defects checklist instead.

What the defects liability period means

The Building and Construction Authority (BCA) explains that when you buy a private condominium unit, you become a subsidiary proprietor and part of the Management Corporation Strata Title (MCST). It describes the defects liability period (DLP) as the period in which you can report defects arising from substandard workmanship or materials. Developers resolve these defects in accordance with the Sale and Purchase Agreement.

The same BCA page says a defect reported during the DLP remains the developer's responsibility even if it is not rectified before the DLP ends. A written, dated list shows what you reported and when.

What this means in practice:

• Report defects as soon as you find them, not near the end of the DLP.
• Ask the developer in writing when your DLP starts and ends, and keep the reply.
• Keep reporting new defects in writing if they appear during the DLP.

New HDB flats come with their own one-year defects liability period. For how that works, see the BTO defects liability period guide.

How to report defects

Keep one defect list for the whole unit, not scattered notes and chat messages. For each defect, record:

• a number that matches the marker on the defect
• the room and exact spot, such as "master bathroom, left of the basin"
• a short description of what is wrong
• the photo file name or number
• the date you found it

Send the list to the developer in writing, by email or the channel the developer gives you, and keep a copy. Ask for a joint inspection to walk through the list together, and for a repair schedule showing when workers will come and what they will fix.

After each round of repairs, check every item again, mark what is fixed and send the updated list in writing. Keep every email, reply and photo in one folder until all items are closed.

Quality track records

BCA's Quality Housing Portal provides information on developers' and builders' track records, including CONQUAS (Construction Quality Assessment System) scores.

BCA's guide on what to know before owning a condo explains that CONQUAS results are grouped into bands, from Band 1 (very low incidence of major defects) to Band 6.

Use these records before you buy, when you are comparing projects and developers. They describe a developer's or builder's track record, not your own unit, so they are not proof that your unit is free of defects. Inspect your unit at handover whatever the record shows.

Before you renovate

BCA says insignificant building works do not require plan submission to BCA. For other works, consult a Qualified Person, which means a registered architect or professional engineer. Works in a strata development may need the MCST's approval, and approvals from other authorities may still be needed.

Let the developer finish defect repairs first, then take dated photos of every room before your contractor starts. These record the unit's condition before renovation. Read the guide to condo renovation rules for what to arrange with your MCST before work begins.

When the work is done, go through the unit again with the post-renovation defects checklist and send any issues to your contractor in writing, with photos and locations.

Questions