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A snagging report lands in your inbox as a 40-page PDF with 180 numbered items, and the first reaction is usually the same. You scroll, you see a lot of red, and you have no idea which three items actually matter.
That’s a shame, because the report is the only leverage you get. Send it to your developer well written and specific, and things get fixed. Send it as an unread attachment and it sits in a queue.
So here’s how to read a snagging report properly: what each section is for, what a single defect entry should contain, what the severity ratings really mean, and how to spot a weak report before you’ve paid for one.
What should a snagging report contain?
A complete report has six parts: property and inspection details, a summary of findings, the methodology and equipment used, a numbered defect schedule, a photographic appendix, and a re-inspection or status section. If any of those are missing, you’re holding a checklist rather than a report.
The defect schedule is the working document. Everything else supports it. A professional snagging report should let a contractor walk to a specific defect, understand what’s wrong, and know what fixing it involves without phoning anyone.
How to read a snagging report, section by section
Read it out of order. Start with the summary, jump to the severity-rated items, then work through the full schedule room by room.
- Property details. Check the unit number, community, inspection date and weather conditions. Wrong details on the cover page undermine everything after it.
- Summary of findings. Total defect count, the split by severity, and the inspector’s overall view. This is what you quote in your first email to the developer.
- Methodology and equipment. What was tested and with what. Thermal imaging, moisture meter, socket tester, laser level, tapping rod. No equipment list usually means a visual walk only.
- Defect schedule. The numbered list, organised by room or by trade. This is the bulk of the document and the part contractors work from.
- Photographic appendix. Each defect should reference specific photo numbers, and each photo should show both a close-up and enough context to locate it.
- Status column. Open, closed, or rejected. This is what turns a one-off report into a tracking document across the rectification period.
What does a single defect entry look like?
Every defect should be its own record with a reference, a location, a trade, a description, a severity, photo evidence and a required action. Here’s a real example from an apartment report, anonymised:
| SAMPLE DEFECT ENTRY | |
|---|---|
| Ref | B2-014 |
| Location | Bedroom 2, east elevation, window reveal |
| Trade | Windows and doors |
| Defect | Perimeter mastic to window frame incomplete at left jamb over approximately 340mm. Weep holes to bottom track obstructed with mortar residue. |
| Severity | Major |
| Evidence | Photographs 47, 48, 49 |
| Reference | Manufacturer’s installation detail. Drainage path to remain unobstructed. |
| Action required | Rake out and reseal full perimeter, clear weep holes, retest under water |
| Status | Open, awaiting developer response |
Look at what that entry does. It gives a location precise enough to find in seconds, a measurement rather than an adjective, a named cause, and an action a contractor can price. Compare it to what a weak report says about the same window: paintwork and sealant need attention.
What do the severity ratings mean?
Severity tells you what happens if the defect is ignored, not how ugly it looks. Most reports use three levels.
- Critical: a safety or compliance issue, or a defect actively causing damage. Loose balustrades, exposed conductors, active leaks. These get raised immediately, not on the normal list.
- Major: a defect that will worsen, cost significantly more later, or affect how the property performs. Failed waterproofing, wrong floor falls, condensate drains without fall, hollow tiles.
- Minor: cosmetic or finishing items that don’t get worse. Paint marks, small chips, misaligned cupboard doors, silicone tidiness.
The distinction matters because developers rectify in order of effort, not order of importance. If your list doesn’t separate a hairline paint mark from a shower floor draining the wrong way, both get treated as touch-ups.
One caveat on severity. It’s a judgement rather than a fixed standard, so a good report explains why an item was graded the way it was. An entry marked major with no reasoning behind it is nearly as unhelpful as one with no grade at all.
Which defects should you push hardest on?
Push hardest on anything hidden, anything involving water, and anything that gets worse with time. Those three categories are where the money is.
Hidden means above ceilings, inside voids and under floors. Once the property is furnished and lived in, nobody reopens a ceiling void for a drain that only leaks in August. Water means waterproofing, falls, seals and drainage, all of which fail slowly and expensively. Getting worse means anything structural, anything moving, and anything already cracking.
Cosmetic items are worth listing and worth chasing, but never at the expense of the ones above. A full property snagging inspection should make that hierarchy obvious on the page rather than leaving you to work it out.
How do you turn the report into something the developer acts on?
Send it whole, but lead with the items that matter and attach a date. A covering email that opens with four reference numbers and a requested rectification schedule gets a different response to one that says please see attached.
Then track it yourself. Keep your own copy of the defect schedule with a status column you update, because the developer’s system and your report won’t stay in sync. When a contractor attends and closes four items, mark those four with the date they were signed off.
That running record is what you fall back on when the same defect reappears in month eight, and it’s the first thing anyone asks for if the dispute has to escalate beyond the developer.
What does a weak snagging report look like?
A weak report describes problems instead of specifying them. If you’re comparing providers, these are the tells:
- Descriptions with no measurements, locations or references
- Photos with no numbering and no link to specific defect items
- No equipment list and no mention of what was tested
- No severity grading, so 180 items all read as equally urgent
- No named inspector, no qualifications and no signature
- No status column, so there’s no way to track rectification
A report that can’t be tracked, quoted from or defended is worth very little when a developer starts pushing back on items.
Frequently asked questions
How many defects is normal in a snagging report?
Between 60 and 150 items is typical for a new apartment, and 150 to 400 for a villa. A high count isn’t a red flag on its own, because thorough inspectors log minor finishing items that a quick walkthrough would skip.
How long does a snagging report take to receive?
Usually 24 to 48 hours after the inspection. Reports that arrive within an hour are generally app-generated checklists rather than reviewed documents.
What format should a snagging report be in?
A PDF with a numbered defect schedule and an indexed photo appendix. Ask whether you also get an editable or spreadsheet version, since that’s far easier to submit and track against a developer’s own system.
Do I send the whole report to the developer?
Yes, send the full document, but lead your email with the summary and the critical and major items. Developers triage on the first paragraph, not on page 27.
What if the developer disputes an item in the report?
Go back to the entry and check what it cites. Items with a measurement, a photo reference and a named standard are difficult to dismiss. Items described only as poor workmanship usually get rejected.
Is a snagging report still useful after the defects liability period ends?
It keeps value as a dated record, particularly for structural items covered for ten years. General defects raised after the one-year window closes usually become your own cost, so the report’s leverage is highest while the period is still live.
Should the report include a re-inspection?
Ideally yes. A re-inspection updates the status of each item after rectification, and it’s the only way to confirm work was completed rather than just marked as done.
The report is only as good as its detail
A snagging report isn’t a list of complaints. It’s a technical document that has to survive being read by a contractor, a handover manager and occasionally a regulator. Measurements, references and photographs are what carry it. That’s the standard we write to at Dubshy on every property we inspect.
If you want to see what a proper defect schedule looks like for your own unit, book an inspection and we’ll walk you through the report line by line once it’s issued.
