New builds and warranties
The developer says the defect-liability period is still running. Does that period turn the home survey into a snagging list they must obey?
No. A defect-liability period that the developer says is still running does not turn the home survey into a snagging list they must obey. The survey is your report of condition. Their period, if the contract has one, is their clause. The survey does not become a punch list, and the developer is not bound to complete every sentence in it merely because that period is open. Do not merge the two into one obligation the inspection enforces.
Last reviewed 24 October 2026. Written for buyers in England and Wales unless this answer says otherwise. No named surveyor has signed this page. It is general guidance, not a report on your house, and not legal advice.
What is the fuller explanation?
Developers mention the period to suggest that defects will be picked up anyway, so a survey is a duplicate. It is not. A survey describes what the surveyor saw, for you, within the level you bought. A defect-liability clause, where it exists, is a contract term about the builder's obligations. The surveyor does not administer that clause, does not set its end, and does not hand the builder a list the builder has promised the survey to finish.
Use the survey to decide what matters before you are bound. If you also want the developer to attend to items, that request has to follow the contract, not the assumption that a rating is an instruction they must accept. Ask the solicitor what the period covers and who enforces it. Ask the surveyor which findings are serious. Keep those answers in separate columns. An open period is not a substitute for reading the report.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Which findings are yours, regardless of any period the developer has named?
- Are you writing a snagging list the developer must complete?
- What should I not assume about their obligation to obey the report?
What are the typical next steps?
- Read the survey as your condition report, not as their punch list.
- Ask the solicitor what the defect-liability clause actually says.
- Do not treat an open period as a reason to ignore the findings.
Costs vary with the building and with who you instruct. Where this page does not cite a published figure, ask the surveyor, a relevant specialist, or your solicitor for a written quote. Do not treat a forum average as the price.
Also asked about this
If the developer agrees the period is open, must they fix every rating?
No. An open period is their contractual point, if the contract says so. It does not convert the survey into a list they must obey item by item.
Does the survey set the date the period ends?
No. The survey does not set that date and does not run the clause. Ask the solicitor to read the contract rather than the condition ratings.