Your new home should be perfect — a snagging survey helps make sure it is.
Buying a new-build property is one of the biggest financial decisions you’ll ever make. But even brand-new homes can have faults. A professional snagging survey gives you an independent, expert record of any problems, putting you in the strongest possible position to get them fixed.
What is snagging?
What is a snag?
A “snag” is any defect, fault, or unfinished element in a newly built home. It might be something obvious — a door that won’t close properly, cracked tiles, or paintwork that’s been missed — or something more subtle, like a window that doesn’t seal correctly, a radiator that isn’t operating correctly, or ground level that is too high against your DPC.
Most new homes will have snags. This isn’t unusual: construction involves many different trades working to tight timescales, and even the best builders produce imperfect results from time to time. The important thing is that those imperfections are identified and recorded by someone who knows what to look for, and then fixed by the developer at no cost to you.
What is a snagging survey?
A snagging survey (sometimes called a new build inspection) is a thorough, professional inspection of your new home and grounds, carried out by a qualified surveyor. The surveyor systematically works through the property, from the exterior to the interior, checking the quality of workmanship, finishes, fixtures, and fittings against accepted building standards, producing a clear, detailed report listing any issues found, supported by photographs.
That report becomes your official record. You share it with your developer or builder, who is then responsible for putting things right.
When should I get one done?
Ideally, before you legally complete your purchase — this is called a Pre-Completion Inspection (more on this below). However, a snagging survey is valuable at any point during the first two years of owning a new-build home, because developers are required to address defects reported within their agreed after-sales service period. Don’t assume that because you’ve already moved in, it’s too late.
Why use a professional surveyor rather than doing it myself?
Trained surveyors know where to look and what to look for. They understand construction methods, building regulations, warranty standards, and accepted tolerances for workmanship. Problems that might look minor to an untrained eye, or that are hidden in plain sight, can be significant indicators of deeper issues. A professional report also carries far more weight with a developer than a personal list of complaints.
What is a pre-completion inspection (PCI)?
A Pre-Completion Inspection (commonly known as a PCI) is a formal snagging inspection that takes place before you legally complete the purchase of your new home. It is the most powerful tool available to new-build buyers.
Why is a PCI so important?
The PCI is the only type of snagging inspection that is formally recognised under the New Homes Quality Board’s (NHQB) framework, offering you full consumer protection under the New Homes Quality Code (NHQC). This means that if your developer is registered with the NHQB, they are required by the Code to allow you to have a PCI carried out before you complete. Defects spotted at this stage can be addressed before you move in, or at the very least, you have a formal, dated record that the issues existed before completion.
What does a PCI involve?
Your surveyor will carry out a visual inspection of your new home, working systematically through all accessible areas: the exterior and everything within the plot boundary, every room, and the loft space, checking against a standardised checklist. The inspection covers the quality and completeness of finishes, fixtures, fittings, and visible building elements. A written report, complete with photographs, is produced — typically within 48 hours.
What is the difference between a PCI and a post-completion snagging survey?
Some snagging companies suggest that a post-completion survey is more thorough than a PCI, but this is misleading. A reputable, RPSA-accredited surveyor will carry out both to the same high professional standard.
While the PCI is governed by a formal checklist approved by the NHQB, that checklist is built on exactly the same professional standards that underpin any good snagging inspection — rooted in NHBC warranty requirements and British Standards. It does not restrict what a qualified surveyor will check; it simply sets a recognised baseline. A good surveyor will not stop there.
The key advantage of the PCI is formal recognition: it carries the full weight of the NHQC’s consumer protections, and your developer is required to allow it. If you are buying from a developer registered with the NHQB, commissioning a PCI carried out by a suitably qualified RPSA member is the best first step. If you have already moved in, the same professional standards apply to a post-completion snagging survey, and your developer is still obliged to address any defects raised during the aftercare period.
Your rights as a new-build buyer
If you’re buying a new home, it’s important to understand the framework of consumer protections that exists to protect you.
What is the NHQB?
The New Homes Quality Board is an independent, not-for-profit organisation set up to raise standards of quality and customer service in the new-build housing sector. It was established in response to longstanding concerns about the quality of new homes in England, Scotland, and Wales, following a Parliamentary Inquiry into the issue.
Its purpose is straightforward: to ensure that developers deliver consistently high standards, and that buyers have somewhere to turn if they don’t.
What is the NHQC?
The New Homes Quality Code is the framework developers must follow when they register with the NHQB. It sets out clear requirements covering every stage of the buying process, from marketing and reservation right through to handover and aftercare. Developers who sign up to the Code commit to principles of fairness, quality, transparency, and responsiveness.
Critically for new-build buyers, the Code requires registered developers to:
- Inform customers of their right to carry out a Pre-Completion Inspection
- Allow access for that inspection, carried out by a suitably qualified professional
- Operate an effective aftercare service to deal with any snagging issues following completion
- Have a robust complaints process in place
More than half of all new homes sold in England, Scotland, and Wales are now covered by the NHQC, and the number is growing.
What is the NHOS?
The New Homes Ombudsman Service is the independent dispute resolution service that sits alongside the NHQC. If you have a complaint about your new home and your developer has not resolved it to your satisfaction, you can refer the matter to the Ombudsman — free of charge and without needing a solicitor.
The Ombudsman can require a developer to apologise, rectify defects, or pay compensation of up to £75,000. Developers registered with the NHQB are bound by the Ombudsman’s decisions.
Does the Code apply to my developer?
You can check whether your developer is registered with the NHQB by visiting the NHQB’s public Register of Developers. If they are listed as “Active”, you are covered by the Code’s protections.
Why choose an RPSA member for your snagging survey?
Who is the RPSA?
The Residential Property Surveyors Association (RPSA) is the professional body for independent specialist residential surveyors in the UK. Unlike general-purpose surveying bodies, the RPSA is dedicated exclusively to residential property, with its members specialising in the very type of property you’re buying.
The RPSA is a not-for-profit representative body committed to raising standards across the residential surveying sector and ensuring that homebuyers receive the best possible advice.
What makes RPSA members different?
RPSA members focus solely on residential properties. Their qualifications, training, and day-to-day experience are centred on homes like yours, rather than commercial buildings, industrial sites, or investment portfolios. They are ideally placed to understand the specific issues that affect new-build housing, from common construction faults to the detail of building warranty standards.
All RPSA members are required to maintain professional indemnity insurance and to work to the highest standards of professional practice. The RPSA monitors standards across its membership and provides ongoing guidance and development to ensure those standards are met.
The RPSA and the NHQB
The RPSA has worked in direct collaboration with the New Homes Quality Board to develop the standards and framework for snagging inspections in the UK. In fact, the RPSA was instrumental in establishing the very first recognised standards for new-build inspection and reporting — a landmark moment for the industry and for consumers.
The RPSA has been formally recognised by the New Homes Ombudsman as a body whose members have the skills and knowledge required to carry out Pre-Completion Inspections under the NHQC. This means that when you instruct an RPSA member to carry out your PCI, you can be confident their report will be accepted by your developer and taken seriously.
Only members of recognised professional bodies (such as the RPSA) are considered “suitably qualified inspectors” under the New Homes Quality Code. Developers are entitled to refuse access to inspectors who do not meet this standard.
Does the RPSA have its own inspection standards?
The RPSA has published its own New Build Inspection and Reporting Standards, developed in collaboration with an industry-wide technical working group and cross-referenced with the NHQB’s criteria. These standards set out exactly how an inspection should be conducted and reported, ensuring consistency and rigour across every survey carried out by an RPSA member.
This means that when you book a snagging survey through an RPSA member, you are not relying on an informal or unregulated process; you are getting an inspection carried out to a defined, recognised standard.
What about unaccredited snagging companies?
The snagging market includes many companies and individuals who are not members of any professional body. While some may be experienced, they offer no formal consumer protection, no guaranteed professional standards and, critically, their reports may carry less weight with developers. Under the NHQC, developers can refuse access to inspectors who are not suitably qualified.
Choosing an RPSA member removes that uncertainty.
Finding an RPSA snagging surveyor
How do I find an RPSA member who carries out snagging surveys?
Use the RPSA’s Find a Surveyor tool to locate qualified, accredited snagging surveyors in your area. All surveyors listed are RPSA members who meet the association’s professional standards.
What should I ask when I make contact?
When you get in touch with an RPSA surveyor, it’s worth asking:
- Do you carry out snagging surveys (both pre- and post-completion) in line with the NHQB checklist and professional standards?
- What does your report include, and how quickly will I receive it?
- Do you have professional indemnity insurance?
All RPSA members should be able to confirm they work to the NHQB’s professional standards — regardless of whether the inspection takes place before or after completion — confirm they hold professional indemnity insurance, and give you a clear answer on their report timescales and format.
Quick-reference glossary
- Snag — A defect, fault, or unfinished element in a newly built home.
- Snagging survey — A professional inspection of a new-build property to identify snags, producing a written report for the developer.
- Pre-Completion Inspection (PCI) — A formal snagging inspection carried out before legal completion, following the NHQB-approved checklist. The only type of snagging inspection with formal recognition under the New Homes Quality Code.
- New Homes Quality Board (NHQB) — An independent, not-for-profit organisation that sets and oversees standards of quality and consumer protection in the new-build sector.
- New Homes Quality Code (NHQC) — The Code of Practice operated by the NHQB, setting out developers’ obligations to customers throughout the buying process, including the right to a Pre-Completion Inspection.
- New Homes Ombudsman Service (NHOS) — The independent, free dispute resolution service for buyers whose developers are registered with the NHQB. Can require developers to fix defects or pay compensation.
- RPSA (Residential Property Surveyors Association) — The professional body for independent specialist residential surveyors in the UK. RPSA members are formally recognised as suitably qualified to carry out Pre-Completion Inspections under the NHQC.
- Suitably qualified inspector — The NHQC’s term for an inspector who is a member of a recognised professional body (such as the RPSA), holds professional indemnity insurance, and works within their area of competency.
