What should I check at handover?

Which documents do I bring to the handover?

Bring the contract, the payment schedule, the receipts for the instalments paid, your identity document and the developer's handover notice. The contract is the reference for everything you are about to check: the areas, the finishing level, the floor and the unit number. A handover is a comparison between that document and the unit in front of you, not a first look.

How do I check the areas against the contract?

Compare the built-up area in the contract with what the unit measures on site, and match the land and garden areas where the unit has them. The contract states the areas you are buying and the tolerance attached to each; a unit that measures under the contracted figure is a point to raise in writing before you sign. If the unit sits in a building, check the floor, the apartment number and the entrance on the same page.

How do I check the finishing level?

Check the unit against the finishing level named in the contract — core and shell, semi-finished, or fully finished. Walk the walls and floors for cracks and damp, open and close the doors and windows, and test the taps, the drains and the electrical points. Where a finishing schedule lists materials, check that the tiles, the doors and the fitments are the ones named.

How do I check the meters and the services?

Confirm the water, electricity and gas meters are installed and in your name or ready to transfer. Test the water pressure and the drainage, switch the electricity on and off, and check the building's lifts, the entrance and the common lighting. Ask when the meters are transferred and what the developer still owes on the unit's utility connections.

What goes into the handover report?

The handover report is the list of defects you and the developer agree on the day, and it is the record the developer works from afterwards. Write every point down — room by room — with the date, and take photographs. Sign nothing until the list is written, and keep your own signed copy beside the developer's.

When is the maintenance deposit paid, and what does it cover?

The maintenance deposit is a sum held for the compound's upkeep, and it is paid at or before handover, or against the delivery notice. Check the contract for its amount and for what it covers, and ask for a receipt. The deposit is separate from the unit price and from the clubhouse or services figures, which the developer's own terms set.

What if the unit is not ready on the day?

If the unit is not ready, the defects go into the handover report and the developer returns to them. Where the unit is not delivered at all, the contract's delivery clause is what applies, and the separate answer on a late handover sets out what it covers.