FILE PROOFTR

Recording defects when you take over a new home

The check you do on the day you get the keys becomes your most valuable document for years. In the defect cases I examine as an expert witness, the most common gap is that nobody recorded the state on handover day.

Handover-day checklist

  1. Walls and ceilings: cracks, paint runs, damp stains, unevenness.
  2. Floors: lifting parquet, hollow tiles (tap them), broken grout, level differences.
  3. Windows and doors: do they open and close, seals, scratched glass.
  4. Wet rooms: falls, drains, sealant, cracked tiles, leak marks.
  5. Services: sockets, fuse labels, water pressure, boiler and radiators.
  6. Common parts: balcony, storage, parking, lift, roof and facade.
  7. Measurements: key rooms with a tape in shot.

Turn the photos into proof

  1. Drop all photos the same day into the Handover pack on the File Proof page, with a note such as “Flat no., handover date”.
  2. Get the pack's QR-coded PDF report and send it to the builder in writing together with your defect list.
  3. Make a new pack after each defect is fixed.

This does not replace handover minutes, a formal notice or an official inspection; it strengthens them. It does not prove who took the photos and it is not a notarisation.

Written by Gökhan Ertan, civil engineer and court-appointed expert witness.

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