NOTE Nº 0110 · REV B

Snagging Lists & Retention: Getting the Job Finished

Learn how to create a thorough snagging list, enforce retention payments, and get builders to complete defects before final sign-off on your renovation.

By The Renovation Notes Team · 8 min read · Published 5 July 2025 · updated within the last month · Sources checked 30 September 2026

A classic English-style brick house surrounded by a lush, verdant garden.

In short

A snagging list documents all defects and incomplete items before you make final payment; retaining 5% of the contract value (typically £1,000–£5,000 on a £20,000–£100,000 project) gives you the leverage to ensure every item gets fixed.

The final weeks of a renovation are often the most frustrating. The big work is done, the builders are winding down, and suddenly small defects, a door that won’t latch, grout that’s cracked, a radiator that’s never been balanced, become glaringly obvious. A snagging list, combined with a sensible retention arrangement, is the professional way to get every last item resolved without resorting to arguments or legal letters.

What Is a Snagging List?

A snagging list (sometimes called a defects list) is a written record of every item that is incomplete, below standard, or not matching the agreed specification at the point of practical completion. It is not a criticism of the builder’s work, it is a normal, expected part of any construction contract, from a small bathroom refit to a full house extension.

Snagging items typically fall into three categories:

Incomplete items, work that was agreed but simply not done (a missing tile, unpainted skirting, an unfinished threshold strip)
Defects, work that has been done but is not to the required standard (cracked render, an uneven floor, visible filler marks under paint)
Specification mismatches, materials or finishes that differ from what was agreed (wrong tile grout colour, incorrect door furniture)

When to Carry Out a Snagging Inspection

The right time to snag is at practical completion, when the project is substantially finished and you could reasonably move back in or use the space, but before you make the final payment. Do not wait until you have already paid the builder in full, as your leverage disappears the moment the last cheque is cashed.

For larger projects, consider hiring an independent snagging inspector. Costs typically run:

Project scale	Independent snagging inspection
Single room refurbishment	£150–£300
Full bathroom or kitchen	£200–£400
Extension or loft conversion	£400–£800
Full house renovation	£600–£1,200

A professional inspector will often spot issues you would miss, inadequate ventilation, incorrectly fitted insulation, or drainage that doesn’t meet Part H of the Building Regulations, which sets the rules for foul and rainwater drainage, building over sewers and access for clearing blockages.¹

How to Write a Good Snagging List

Walk through the property methodically, room by room. Take photographs of every defect and number them. A good snagging entry contains:

Location, room, wall, specific fixture
Description of the defect, factual, not emotive (“paint finish shows roller marks in raking light” not “the painting is terrible”)
Reference to the agreed spec, where relevant, note the contract document, drawing number, or product specification it should meet
A photograph, timestamped and clearly showing the issue

Send the list to the builder in writing (email is fine) and request a response within 7 days confirming which items they accept and a timetable for remediation.

Retention: The Professional’s Lever

Retention is a sum held back from the builder’s final payment until defects are resolved. It is never a statutory right, on a domestic job or a commercial one: it comes from the contract, which is why the JCT and NEC standard forms spell it out. On a domestic renovation it matters more than most people realise, because the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 (the Construction Act) expressly disapplies its payment and adjudication provisions to a contract with a residential occupier, meaning a homeowner cannot use statutory adjudication unless the contract adopts it voluntarily.² Your leverage is whatever your contract gives you.

Standard retention rates:

Contract value	Typical retention %	Amount withheld
£5,000–£20,000	5%	£250–£1,000
£20,000–£50,000	5%	£1,000–£2,500
£50,000–£150,000	3–5%	£1,500–£7,500
£150,000+	2.5–3%	£3,750–£4,500+

The retention is typically held for a defects liability period, commonly 6 to 12 months after practical completion, though your contract sets the actual period. This gives time for latent defects to appear (a roof leak in the first heavy rain, a crack that opens as a structure settles). At the end of the defects period, a final inspection is carried out and the retention released if no further issues arise.

If retention was not written into the original contract, you still have some protection: the Consumer Rights Act 2015 treats every contract to supply a service as including a term that the trader must perform it with reasonable care and skill.³ Where that term is breached, the first statutory remedy is repeat performance, which the trader must provide within a reasonable time, without significant inconvenience to you and bearing the cost of labour and materials.⁴ Only where repeat performance is impossible, or is not delivered within a reasonable time, does the right to a price reduction arise, and any refund is due within 14 days of the trader accepting it.⁵ Withholding money is a practical lever rather than a statutory right, so a written contract clause is always stronger.

What If the Builder Refuses to Return?

This is unfortunately common, particularly on smaller jobs. Your options in escalating order:

Written notice, send a formal letter (recorded delivery) listing the defects and stating you will engage another contractor to rectify them and deduct the cost from any outstanding payment.
Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), if your builder is a member of a trade body (FMB, TrustMark, NICEIC etc.) most have a dispute resolution service.
Small Claims Court, claims with a value of up to £10,000 are generally dealt with on the County Court small claims track, and usually take less than six months.⁶ The issue fee runs from £35 for a claim up to £300 to £455 for a claim between £5,000.01 and £10,000; above that it is 5 % of the claim.⁷ You do not need a solicitor.
TrustMark or scheme redress, if your builder is TrustMark registered, you can escalate through TrustMark’s complaints process. TrustMark is the Government Endorsed Quality Scheme covering work a consumer chooses to have carried out in or around their home.⁸

Keep all correspondence. Photographs, emails, and a contemporaneous diary of events are your evidence.

Defects Liability Period vs. Manufacturer’s Guarantees

Do not confuse the defects liability period in your building contract with product warranties. A boiler may carry a 10-year manufacturer’s warranty; the builder’s workmanship guarantee on its installation may only be 12 months. If the boiler fails due to incorrect installation discovered in year three, you may need to pursue the builder under general contract law rather than the defects liability period. That route is not open indefinitely: an action founded on simple contract cannot be brought more than six years after the cause of action accrued.⁹

For large items, kitchens, bathrooms, structural work, ask the contractor to confirm in writing whether any manufacturer guarantees are transferable to you as the homeowner.

Tips for a Smooth Snagging Process

Agree a snagging process in the contract upfront, before work starts, include a clause stating that 5% will be retained pending satisfactory completion of a snagging inspection.
Never pay the full sum before snagging, once the money is gone, goodwill is often the only thing bringing a builder back.
Be reasonable, distinguish between genuine defects and features of the material (natural variation in timber, minor colour variation in handmade tiles). Unreasonable lists damage the relationship.
Set a deadline, give the builder a specific date by which snagging items must be addressed (21 days is common). This creates a clear record if the matter escalates.
Final sign-off in writing, when all items are resolved to your satisfaction, confirm in writing that you are releasing the retention. This protects both parties.

A snagging list is not confrontational, it is the professional standard. Any reputable builder will expect it and welcome the clarity it provides. The ones who push back hard on the very idea of snagging are often the ones worth watching most closely.

The rules in this note are those that apply in England. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own building standards and permitted development rights.

References (9)

Figures in this note were checked against the sources below on 30 September 2026. Superscript numbers in the text point to them. Every source the site cites, by topic.

1technicalvery strongMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.RN-SM6TRWThe statutory source for soakaway design and the discharge hierarchy every garden drainage note should state. Requirement H3(3) lists the order of priority for rainwater discharge: (a) an adequate soakaway or other adequate infiltration system, or where not reasonably practicable (b) a watercourse, or where not reasonably practicable (c) a sewer. Paragraph 3.25 bars infiltration devices within 5 metres of a building or road, in ground where the water table reaches the bottom of the device at any time of year, too close to other drainage fields or soakaways, or where contamination could pollute groundwater. Paragraph 3.26: soakaways serving less than 100 square metres are generally square or circular pits filled with rubble or lined with dry-jointed masonry or perforated ring units. Paragraph 3.27: design to a return period of once in ten years, and for small soakaways serving 25 square metres or less a design rainfall of 10mm in 5 minutes may be assumed as the worst case. Paragraph 3.28 requires percolation tests to derive the infiltration rate, and paragraph 3.30 sends larger soakaways to BS EN 752-4 or BRE Digest 365 Soakaway design. Paragraphs 2.10 to 2.12 cover pervious paving over a granular storage reservoir and warn against its use where sediment or oil spillage would block the pores. For foul drainage, paragraph 2.33 sets a minimum 75mm internal diameter, or 100mm for a WC, and Table 6 gives minimum gradients of 1 in 40 for 75mm and 100mm at peak flows under 1 litre per second.
2technicalvery strongThe National Archives (legislation.gov.uk), legislation.RN-5Q1UW1Section 106(1)(a) disapplies Part II of the Act, which contains the statutory adjudication and payment provisions, to a construction contract with a residential occupier. Section 106(2) defines that as a construction contract principally relating to operations on a dwelling which one of the parties occupies or intends to occupy as his residence, with 'dwelling' meaning a dwelling-house or a flat; a dwelling-house does not include a building containing a flat, and a flat means separate self-contained residential premises divided horizontally from another part of the building. Section 106(3) and 106(4) let the Secretary of State amend the definition only by order approved by a resolution of each House. This is the provision that explains why a homeowner has no automatic statutory right to adjudicate against a builder, and why adjudication is only available if the contract itself provides for it.
3technicalvery strongThe National Archives (legislation.gov.uk), legislation.RN-F06Z1FSection 49(1), in Part 1 Chapter 4 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015, states that every contract to supply a service is to be treated as including a term that the trader must perform the service with reasonable care and skill. Section 49(2) directs the reader to section 54 for the consumer's rights when that implied term is breached. This is the single provision that makes poor workmanship by a builder a breach of contract without the homeowner having to prove anything was written down, and it cannot be excluded to the extent it would stop the section 54 to 56 remedies applying.
4technicalvery strongThe National Archives (legislation.gov.uk), legislation.RN-H89TBVSection 55(1) defines repeat performance as requiring the trader to perform the service again to the extent necessary to complete it in conformity with the contract. Section 55(2) requires the trader to provide it within a reasonable time and without significant inconvenience to the consumer, and to bear any necessary costs incurred in doing so, expressly including the cost of any labour or materials. Section 55(3) removes the right where completing performance in conformity with the contract is impossible. Section 55(4) says what counts as a reasonable time or significant inconvenience is judged by the nature of the service and the purpose for which it was to be performed. This is the legal answer to a builder who offers to come back but wants paying again for the return visit.
5technicalvery strongThe National Archives (legislation.gov.uk), legislation.RN-CPGOMASection 56(1) gives the consumer the right to require the trader to reduce the price by an appropriate amount, including a refund of anything already paid above the reduced amount, and section 56(2) allows the reduction to be the full price where appropriate. Section 56(3) restricts the choice: a consumer who also has the right to repeat performance may only take a price reduction where repeat performance is impossible under section 55(3), or where the consumer required repeat performance and the trader failed to do it within a reasonable time and without significant inconvenience. Section 56(4) requires any refund without undue delay and in any event within 14 days beginning with the day the trader agrees the consumer is entitled to it, section 56(5) requires the same means of payment unless the consumer expressly agrees otherwise, and section 56(6) forbids any fee for making the refund.
6technicalvery strongHM Courts & Tribunals Service, guidance.RN-1RJVELHM Courts and Tribunals Service leaflet EX306 on the small claims track. Explains what happens once a claim is allocated to small claims: the hearing, what the judge does, what costs can and cannot be recovered, and what follows judgment. This is the route a homeowner actually uses against a builder for a modest sum, and the leaflet is the official description of it.
7technicalvery strongHM Courts and Tribunals Service (GOV.UK), guidance.RN-A531DSThe issue fee table for a money claim in the county court, based on the amount claimed plus any interest: 35 pounds up to 300 pounds, 50 pounds for 300.01 to 500 pounds, 70 pounds for 500.01 to 1,000 pounds, 80 pounds for 1,000.01 to 1,500 pounds, 115 pounds for 1,500.01 to 3,000 pounds, 205 pounds for 3,000.01 to 5,000 pounds, 455 pounds for 5,000.01 to 10,000 pounds, 5% of the claim for 10,000.01 to 200,000 pounds, and 10,000 pounds above 200,000 pounds. If the amount claimed is left blank on a paper claim the fee is 10,000 pounds, so an unquantified claim must be estimated. Help with fees is available on low income or certain benefits using form EX160, alongside form N1 for the claim, returned to the Civil National Business Centre in Northampton. Further fees follow later, for example a hearing fee.
8technicalstrongTrustMark.RN-ZGS3SNTrustMark is the government endorsed quality scheme for work in and around the home, endorsed by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and the Department for Business and Trade. It vets registered businesses against required standards and holds ISO 9001, ISO 27001 and Cyber Essentials accreditation. Registration is the marker to check for grant-funded energy efficiency work, so a note about a subsidised loft insulation installer should point readers here rather than to a lead generation directory.
9technicalvery strongThe National Archives (legislation.gov.uk), legislation.RN-L5C0B9Section 5 of the Limitation Act 1980: an action founded on simple contract cannot be brought more than six years after the cause of action accrued. This is the six-year limit on suing a builder over a contract that was not executed as a deed, and it runs from the breach, not from when the defect was discovered. The single most important date in a dispute about defective work.