Snagging List Template: Example and Format (UK)

A snagging list template is a ready-made table for recording every snag in a new home in the same way: a number, the room, the exact location, what is wrong, a photo reference and a status. Using one format from start to finish makes your list easier for the house builder to act on, and easier for you to follow up until each item is fixed.

This page is about the list itself: the columns, a worked example, how to word each entry and how to send it. For what to look at room by room, use our new-build snagging checklist. For when and how to inspect, see what a snagging inspection is and what to check.

What is a snagging list?

A snagging list (or snag list) is a written record of the defects, damage and unfinished work found in a new-build home, so the house builder can put them right. Checkatrade describes snagging as inspecting completed building work to find minor defects or omissions, such as things that are damaged or broken, not properly fitted, or unfinished.

A checklist tells you what to look at. The snagging list records what you actually found. In the US, the same kind of list is usually called a punch list.

What columns should a snagging list template have?

Most published templates share the same core columns. Checkatrade suggests an item number, the location, a category, the date the snag was noted, the remedial work needed, the person responsible and a status. The NHQB Pre-Completion Inspection Checklist asks for “photographs and explanatory notes of all matters identified” and “details about any remedial works required”.

The template below brings these together into ten columns a homebuyer can fill in on the day.

Optional columns

Add these only if they help you:

• Priority: flag the few items that matter most, such as anything affecting safety, security or water. A flag on a handful of items says more than marking half the list as urgent.
• Trade: for example plasterer, electrician or plumber. The RPSA’s New-Build Inspection and Reporting Standards expect a professional report to indicate “the trade normally considered responsible”, but as a buyer you can usually leave that to the house builder.
• House builder reference: the case or job number the house builder gives each item, so replies can be matched to rows.
• Plot or unit: useful for apartments (building, floor and unit) or if you are snagging more than one property.

The header: details above the table

Before the first row, note:

• The property address and plot or unit number
• The house builder’s name and your contact details
• The date and time of the inspection, and who carried it out
• Conditions and limitations, such as the weather, poor light or rooms you could not reach
• How you name the rooms, for example “Bedroom 1 = front bedroom over the porch”

The NHQB checklist asks for a description of the property that explains where each room is, and for any limitations to the inspection, so this header is worth filling in properly.

Snagging list template (copy and paste)

Copy this blank table into a document or spreadsheet. Add as many rows as you need, and keep the numbers in one sequence.

Snagging list example: a worked new-build list

Here is how a filled-in list might look for part of a two-bedroom new-build house. The rows are illustrative examples, not from a real inspection. The Date found and Re-checked columns are left out here to save space.

Property: Plot 14, example development · Inspected: 16/10/2026, 10:00, dry and bright · By: homeowner · Not inspected: loft (no fixed ladder) · Left and right: as you face the item

Each row is one issue. The location comes before the fault, sizes are approximate, and every row points to its photos. Anyone with the list should be able to walk to snag 06 without asking you where it is.

If something is unsafe or leaking, like snag 05, report it straight away as well as putting it on the list.

How to word a snag entry

The house builder’s team should be able to find, fix and check each item from your words alone. Six simple rules:

1. One issue per row. If a door catches and its handle is loose, that is two snags. Separate rows can be fixed and checked separately.
2. Location first, then the fault. Give the room, then the wall or element, then the position. Say which way you mean left and right. Novello Surveyors’ example snagging list, for instance, explains that its references to left and right are “as facing the element referred to”.
3. Describe, don’t judge. Use factual words such as chipped, cracked, loose, missing, stained or not working. New-Builds suggests writing “3mm gap between skirting board and wall in master bedroom, left side” rather than “terrible finish, skirting falling off”.
4. Give a rough size or extent. “About 10 mm”, “full length of the bath” or “three tiles” is enough. Make clear that measurements are approximate.
5. Say what fixed looks like. “Adjust so the door closes without catching” is easier to check than “door issue”.
6. Use the same names throughout. The RPSA reporting standards ask for names given to parts of the property to be “used consistently throughout the report”. Decide early whether it is “Bedroom 2” or “back bedroom”, and stick to it.

For a full report with a cover page and summary, see how to write a snagging report.

Numbering, photos and status

Numbering

Number snags in one sequence across the whole list, not per room, so “snag 14” means the same thing in every email. New-Builds recommends numbering “every defect sequentially across the entire report (not per room)”. If an item turns out not to be a snag, say so in the Notes column instead of deleting the row and renumbering. Snags you find after moving in can carry on the same sequence.

Photos

Take one wide photo to show where the snag is and one close-up to show the problem. The RPSA standards say images should be “clear and provide both context and scale” and, where necessary, annotated with circles and arrows. On paper or in a spreadsheet, write the photo numbers in the Photo ref column so each picture can be matched to its row.

Status

Keep it simple. A snag stays Open until you have checked the repair yourself. Then mark it Fixed and put the date in Re-checked. Don’t mark an item as fixed on someone else’s word alone.

Paper, spreadsheet or app?

• Paper: quick to start, but photos and handwriting have to be matched up later.
• Spreadsheet (Excel or Google Sheets): easy to sort and filter by room or status. Freeze the header row, add a drop-down list for Status, and type the snag numbers as fixed values so they do not change when you sort. Photos still sit outside the sheet, so the Photo ref column matters.
• Snagging app: keeps each photo with its entry, so nothing needs matching up afterwards.

Keeping your snagging list in Snagr

Snagr by getsnagr.com uses the same structure, with photos stored on each snag instead of referenced from a column. You can:

• Record each issue with a note or photo and its location
• Create a snag with a photo or video
• Annotate images to point out the exact problem
• Update each snag’s status yourself as repairs are done
• Keep a separate snag list for each property
• Export reports as PDF and Excel (on a paid plan)
• Share reports by link or email (on a paid plan)
• Keep snagging without signal, as the app works offline

Snagr is available on iPhone and iPad from the App Store and on Android from Google Play. Free to download. Some features need a paid plan. See the new-build snagging app page, or download Snagr.

How to send your snagging list

Check the list once from start to finish. Every row should have a number, a location, a description and at least one photo.

Send the whole list in writing through your house builder’s customer care or after-sales process, as a PDF or spreadsheet, and keep a dated copy. Put the most important items, such as anything affecting safety, security or water, at the top of your covering message.

Ask for written confirmation that the list has been received, and quote snag numbers in every follow-up.

Re-check each repair and update the Status and Re-checked columns.

Our guide on how to report snags to your builder covers who to send the list to, with a covering email you can adapt.

If you are doing an NHQB pre-completion inspection

If your house builder is registered with the New Homes Quality Board (NHQB) and you are carrying out a pre-completion inspection, the New Homes Quality Code says the inspection must be “carried out and recorded in line with the Pre-Completion Inspection Checklist”. The checklist can be reproduced in an electronic or digital format, but the checks on the original template must still be carried out. Your own snagging list helps you record snags and follow up on them; it does not replace the official checklist.

Using the same format in Dubai and the UAE

The same columns work for a snag list at a UAE property handover. Two small changes help:

• Header: add the building or villa name, the unit number, the community and your handover date.
• Submission: Fedari, a Dubai inspection firm, notes that most Dubai developers have a defined channel for defect reporting, such as a customer-care portal, a handover app or an after-sales email address. Use that channel, and ask for written confirmation of receipt with a reference number.

What the developer accepts, and how long repairs take, depends on your contract and the developer’s process, so check your own documents rather than relying on general figures.

Frequently asked questions