A professional snagging company should hold recognised construction or surveying credentials, produce a written report grouped by room and trade, and be independent of the developer building your home.
What a professional snagging company actually does
A snagging company inspects a property, usually a new build, and lists the defects and unfinished work that fall short of what was promised or of normal building standards. This covers things like poor paint finishes, sticking doors, gaps in seals, damaged sanitaryware and incomplete pointing. The output is a written report, normally organised by room and by trade, that you can hand to the developer or builder.
It is not a structural survey and it does not replace a full building survey on an older property. It is focused on finish and workmanship against the standard a new home should meet.
Why independence matters
The person doing the inspection should have no commercial relationship with the developer or site team. Ask directly whether the company has ever been contracted by, or received referral fees from, the builder whose property they are inspecting. A snagging inspector who works both sides has an obvious conflict.
Under the New Homes Quality Code Version 2 (March 2026), a buyer has the right to a pre-completion inspection and may appoint a professional from a recognised body such as CABE, CIOB, ICWCI, RICS or RPSA, provided that person carries professional indemnity insurance. You are also allowed to carry out the inspection yourself using the NHQB checklist if you prefer not to pay for one.
Questions to ask before you book
- 1Which recognised body are you a member of, and can you show current membership?
- 2Do you carry professional indemnity insurance, and can I see proof?
- 3How many items does a typical report contain, and how are they grouped?
- 4Will the report include photographs of each defect, and how are they annotated?
- 5How long does the inspection take for a property this size, and how long until I get the report?
- 6Do you have any current or past commercial relationship with this developer?
- 7What happens if I find something after the visit that was missed?
A company that answers all of this without hesitation is worth taking further. Vague answers on qualifications or independence are a reason to keep looking.
What it costs and what you get for it
A professional snagging survey typically costs £300 to £600 depending on the size of the property. For that you should expect a full walk-through, a written report with photos, and defects grouped so you can send different sections to different trades or straight to the developer’s aftercare team.
Timing matters. Under the New Homes Quality Code, where issues breach warranty technical standards the developer is expected to address them ideally before legal completion or within 30 days. Booking your inspection early enough to raise items before completion gives you the best chance of getting them dealt with under that process, rather than chasing them afterwards.
Doing it yourself instead
If you decide to inspect the property yourself rather than pay a professional, a structured way of recording items matters more than anything else. Walking room by room, photographing each defect, circling the fault on the photo and noting what is wrong as you go produces a report that reads the same way a professional one would.
This is where an app like SayScope can help. You photograph the defect, circle it, and speak the note instead of typing it, and the report comes out grouped by room and by trade. Visits are free and unlimited, and each account gets one free report a week covering up to 10 jobs, which is usually enough for a single flat or small snag list. A bigger visit or a second report the same week needs a plan, from £19 for a one-off report to £34.99 a month or £299 a year if you are doing this regularly.