Handover day in a Dhaka apartment building has a particular atmosphere. The lift works, the lobby smells of fresh paint, and a representative walks the buyer through rooms that were, until recently, drawings and promises. There is a natural urge to sign quickly, collect the keys and start planning the move. Resist it, gently but firmly. The signature on a handover certificate is the moment the flat passes from the developer's responsibility to the buyer's daily life, and anything not written down before that signature becomes much harder to argue about afterwards.
This guide explains what to inspect, what to write down, and what to collect. It is general guidance only, not legal advice for any particular purchase. Agreements differ, and a buyer's own lawyer should review the handover documents where the defects found make that worthwhile.
What a handover certificate actually does
A handover certificate, sometimes called a possession letter or handover letter, records that the developer has delivered the flat and the buyer has accepted it, on a stated date, in a stated condition. That date matters for several reasons. It can start the clock on defect-repair periods in the agreement. It can affect when service charges begin. It can matter for the registration and mutation steps that follow. And it fixes, in writing, what both sides agreed the flat's condition was on that day.
That is why an unconditional signature is a mistake when defects are visible. If the paint is unfinished in one room, a door does not close, or a bathroom fitting leaks, the certificate should say so, or a separate snag list signed by both sides should be attached to it. Ask for the defects to be recorded. A developer who expects a clean handover should have no difficulty recording a short list and a date for fixing it.
Read the certificate before signing, not after. Check the flat number, the floor, the building name and the date, and whether it mentions the parking space, utility connections and common facilities promised. If something promised is missing, a lift not yet running or a common area still unfinished, that gap belongs in writing too, even if the developer assures the buyer it will be finished next week. Written commitments are what survive handover day.
Walk the flat the way water, light and daily life will
Snagging is an unglamorous word for a careful job: going through the flat room by room, testing everything, and writing down what is wrong. Give it time. Bring a phone charger to test every socket and a small bottle of water to test taps and drains, and schedule the inspection in daylight, when wall finishes show honestly.
Work through each room in the same order, so nothing is skipped. Walls and ceilings first: cracks, uneven plaster, paint runs and damp patches, especially in bathrooms and on the top floor. Doors and windows next: open and close every one, check locks, latches and hinges, and check that windows seal when closed. Then floors, for cracked or hollow-sounding tiles and uneven joints, and fittings, taps, showers, flushes and basins run one by one, watching for leaks underneath as well as above. Test every electrical point individually, and finish with the balcony: railing, drainage outlet, and whether rainwater has anywhere to go except into the flat.
The defect list is the document that protects you
Every defect found should go on a written list, with the room, the item and the problem described plainly enough that a stranger could find it. Photograph each defect with the room visible in the frame, and keep the photographs with dates. Hand one copy to the developer's representative and keep a signed copy. If the developer offers to fix everything verbally but will not sign the list, the buyer has learned something important about how the next few weeks will go.
Agree a repair date in writing, and what happens if that date passes. The agreement itself may already set a defect-repair period. REHAB's published standard-form deed of agreement, for example, provides for maintenance services for a maximum of one year after handover and repairing services for two years for defect liability of construction work. That is a standard form, not a promise about any individual agreement, so a buyer should check what their own agreement actually says. Where it is silent or unclear, a lawyer's reading before signing is money well spent.
Do not accept a certificate that describes defects as already repaired when they have not been. If repairs are promised, the certificate should record them as pending, with a date. Defects recorded and documents collected go together, both before the buyer is fully moved in and the developer's attention has moved to the next project.
Documents to collect on the day
- A signed copy of the handover certificate, with any snag list attached and signed by both sides
- The signed snag list itself, with a written repair date for each item
- Keys for the flat, the mailbox and any storage or parking area, recorded as handed over
- The flat's utility and meter details, including meter numbers where applicable
- The building's service-charge schedule and the date from which the buyer is charged
- The owners' association or building management contact and any rules the buyer is asked to follow
- Copies of the approved plan pages relating to the flat, if not already held, and the registration and mutation steps still to be completed
If defects are not fixed, or the certificate is disputed
Start in writing. A short letter or email listing the outstanding defects, the dates they were recorded, the repair dates promised and the current position creates a record that a phone call does not. Keep copies of every reply. If the developer stops responding, or disputes defects signed for on handover day, the signed snag list and photographs become the buyer's strongest evidence.
With a slow inspection, a written defect list and a certificate read before it is signed, handover day usually does feel like a beginning. The small problems found on the day stay small, because they were written down while everyone was still in the room.
