New builds and warranties
New windows have no trickle vents and the developer's snagging list does not mention them. What ventilation path is absent, and what decoration snag has not answered it?
The background ventilation path through trickle vents is absent, and a decoration snag has not answered that. The new windows have no trickle vents, so the small openings that would have let a steady trickle of outdoor air into the rooms are not there. The developer's snagging list does not mention them. Paint, scratches and sealant are decoration items. They do not put vents into the frames. The survey has seen windows without those vents. It has not measured airflow, has not designed a replacement path, and has not accepted the snagging list as a reply.
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?
Trickle vents are part of how a modern window is meant to keep a home ventilated when it is shut. Their absence is a ventilation fact about the frames, not a scuff on the sill. A snagging list written by the developer records what the developer has agreed to look at. If vents are missing from that list, the list has not answered the missing path. The survey did not test the extract fans, did not calculate an air change, and did not certify the windows.
Put the missing vents to the solicitor with the specification and the snagging list, and ask why a ventilation path is absent from both the windows and the list. A window specialist or the developer can say how background air is supposed to be provided. Do not close the point because the decorating snags are minor. They were never the question. The survey has not signed the house off as ventilated.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Which windows lacked trickle vents, and were any present elsewhere?
- Did you measure airflow, or only see that the vents were absent?
- Does the snagging list mention ventilation, or only decoration?
What are the typical next steps?
- Treat the trickle-vent path as absent from the new windows.
- Do not let a decoration snag stand as the answer.
- Ask how background ventilation was supposed to be provided.
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 bathroom fan runs, have the missing vents been answered?
No. A fan is an extract in one room. It does not cut trickle vents into the new windows, and the survey did not measure the fan. The developer's decoration list has not answered the missing background path either. One working extract does not invent vents the frames do not have.
Can fresh paint around the frames be the snag that covers this?
No. Paint is decoration. The ventilation path that is absent is the trickle vent itself. A neat frame without a vent is still a frame without that path. The snagging list's silence does not fill the hole. Decoration can be perfect and the background air path can still be missing.