Snag List Ireland: What It Is, What It Costs, and What Inspectors Look For

You've reached the point that felt impossibly far away when you started the process. The developer says your home is ready, and key handover is imminent. Before you accept those keys, you need a snag list. Skipping it — or rushing it — is one of the more expensive mistakes a new-build buyer can make.

What a Snag List Is

A snag list is a professionally compiled record of construction defects, unfinished work, and deviations from the agreed specification in a newly built property. It is carried out before the final drawdown of your mortgage funds and before you take legal possession of the home.

The purpose is straightforward: developers are legally required to complete the home to the standard described in your contract. The snag list creates a documented, binding list of items they must address before — or promptly after — handover. Without it, you have no formal record of what was defective when you received the property, which weakens any subsequent claim against the developer.

When the Snag Happens

The snagging inspection should happen after the developer has notified you that the property is ready for handover, but before you draw down the final mortgage payment and before you physically move in. Most developers allow buyers reasonable access to the property for a professional inspection at this stage.

Do not let time pressure from the developer rush you into accepting the keys before a thorough snag has been completed. Once you take possession, your ability to compel the developer to remedy defects becomes significantly more difficult to enforce.

What a Professional Inspector Checks

A professional snagger will work systematically through the entire property, typically spending three to six hours on a standard three-bedroom home. The inspection covers:

External: Render quality and cracks, window and door frames (fitting, sealing, operation), guttering alignment and connections, fascias, soffits, the roof from accessible vantage points, driveway and garden boundary finishes, outdoor taps and external outlets.

Internal structure: Internal walls for plumb and levelness, door frames and door operation (sticking, gaps, alignment), skirting boards and architraves (gaps, mitre joins, nail holes), flooring levelness and finish, ceiling levelness and any sagging.

Services: All electrical sockets and light switches tested for function, circuit breaker labels and consumer unit documentation, plumbing under sinks and at all connection points, radiator operation and heat distribution, boiler function and commissioning documentation, ventilation systems including bathroom extract fans.

Finish quality: Paint coverage and cutting-in around edges, tile grout and alignment in bathrooms and kitchen, kitchen unit alignment, drawer operation, worktop joins, silicone sealing around baths and showers, en-suite fixings.

Documentation check: Inspector confirms that BER certificate, HomeBond or Premier Guarantee warranty documents, boiler service record, and all planning compliance documentation are available.

A thorough professional snag typically identifies 50 to 150 individual items on a new-build property. Most are minor — scuffed paint, a stiff door, poor tile grout — but some inspectors find more significant issues like unlevel flooring, water ingress around windows, or incomplete electrical installations.

How Much Does a Snag List Cost in Ireland?

Professional snagging services in Ireland typically cost between €300 and €600 depending on property size, location, and the firm you use. Dublin-based inspectors at the higher end charge €500 to €600 for a standard house. A thorough inspection on an apartment typically runs €300 to €450.

Given that a single significant defect — a poorly fitted window, a leaking pipe connection, incomplete insulation — can cost thousands to fix once you're in, the snag fee is one of the better returns on investment in the entire purchase process.

What Happens After the Snag

Your inspector will produce a written report (usually within 24 to 48 hours) listing all identified defects with photographs. You submit this to the developer before accepting keys.

Developers are required to address items on the snag list within a reasonable timeframe. In practice, minor cosmetic items are often addressed before handover. More significant structural or service items may require return visits from tradespeople, which can delay the final handover by weeks.

Get the developer to sign off on the completed snag list remediation in writing before the final mortgage drawdown. Verbal assurances from sales representatives do not constitute legal commitments.

After you move in, some items only become apparent over time — settlement cracks, issues with heating distribution in cold weather, problems that only appear during rain. Most new builds come with a HomeBond or Premier Guarantee structural warranty covering major structural defects for ten years. Cosmetic and minor defects are typically subject to a shorter period — check your warranty documentation carefully.

Structural Surveys: What You Need for Second-Hand Properties

The snag list is for new builds. For second-hand properties, you need a structural survey — a fundamentally different type of inspection.

A structural survey examines the fabric of an existing building: the roof, foundations, walls, chimneys, drainage, damp, timber condition (dry rot, woodworm), the condition of the heating and electrical systems, and — critically in some areas of Ireland — the presence of pyrite or defective concrete blocks.

Structural survey costs in Ireland range from €300 to €700 plus VAT, depending on property size, age, and location. For older properties (pre-1990), a more detailed survey from a senior chartered surveyor is worth the additional cost. Properties built between 2000 and 2013 in Dublin, Meath, Kildare, or Wicklow should specifically include a check for pyrite — and the surveyor should advise whether a Pyrite Green Certificate exists or whether further core testing is warranted.

In western counties (Donegal, Mayo, Clare, Sligo), properties from the same construction era should be checked for defective concrete blocks (mica/pyrrhotite). Full engineering and lab testing for suspected mica-affected properties can run to €5,000 in testing costs alone.

A bank valuation is mandatory for mortgage purposes, but it is not a structural survey. The bank's valuer confirms the property is worth what you're paying — they are not assessing its structural condition on your behalf.

The Ireland First-Time Home Buyer Guide includes a full due diligence checklist covering snag lists, structural surveys, and what to look for by property type and region.

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