New builds and warranties
The developer's snagging app lists a scratched skirting and your surveyor has flagged a missing restraint strap in the loft. Why do those two notes not belong on the same list?
They do not belong on the same list, because a scratched skirting and a missing restraint strap are different kinds of note. The developer's app is collecting a finish item. The surveyor has flagged a strap in the loft that should be holding the roof structure and was not seen. NHBC describes Buildmark as a 10-year warranty and insurance product. The survey does not open a claim. A paint scratch on the app does not absorb or cancel the strap.
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?
Snagging lists are the developer's way of gathering items they are prepared to look at before or just after handover: marks, gaps, small pieces of finish. A restraint strap is a fixing in the loft, part of how the roof is tied. Its absence is a survey observation about the building, not a scuff on a skirting. Putting it on the paint list invites someone to tick it off as decoration. The home survey has not opened a Buildmark claim, and the app has not become that claim either.
Tell the developer about the missing strap in writing, as a building item, not as another scratch on the skirting. Ask the solicitor how Buildmark sits against that item. NHBC describes it as a 10-year warranty and insurance product. The survey does not open the claim for you. Keep the app's scratched skirting on the finish list, and keep the loft strap off it.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Why is the scratched skirting a finish item rather than a structural one?
- Did you flag the missing restraint strap as a loft observation?
- Has the survey left any Buildmark claim unopened?
What are the typical next steps?
- Keep the scratched skirting on the developer's finish list.
- Raise the missing restraint strap as a building item, not a paint snag.
- Do not treat the survey as the opening of a Buildmark claim.
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 paints the skirting, is the strap closed?
No. Paint on a skirting does not put a restraint strap in the loft. The two notes were never the same item. The survey has not cancelled the strap because a scratch was dealt with. Finish items and a missing strap do not belong on the same list.
Does the surveyor's flag start the warranty clock?
No. NHBC describes Buildmark as a 10-year warranty and insurance product. The survey does not open a claim, and a flag in a report is not that claim. The strap still needs to be raised properly. Painting a skirting does not start or settle that warranty question.