New-Build Handover Inspection Auckland
Know exactly what you're accepting.
New does not mean faultless. Volume and speed mean snags, and a Code Compliance Certificate does not list them. A Datum handover inspection goes through the home to NZS 4306 and past it, tests for moisture, flies the roof, and hands you an itemised, photographed defect list the same day, so you can give it to your builder before you accept the keys.
The time to find defects is before you sign off.
A new home is not a faultless one. Finishing gets rushed, details get missed, and work that is not quite right disappears behind the linings. The final walk through with the builder is not where these things come to light.
Found before you accept handover and make the final payment, defects are the builder's to put right. Found after, getting them back can be slow, and some never get fixed at all.
Every part of the build, checked.
A full inspection to NZS 4306, the New Zealand standard for residential property inspection, applied to a brand new home. This is what we go through.
Roof and gutters
Coverings, flashings, valleys, gutters and downpipes, checked close up and by drone where access needs it, for correct, complete installation and the right falls. Plus the roof space and any sign of a leak already starting.
Exterior cladding
Weatherboards, brick, plaster and monolithic cladding, with junctions, seals and clearances checked against good weathertightness practice and finished to the standard you are paying for.
Moisture
Readings across wet rooms, window reveals and cladding junctions. A new-build can lock in construction moisture, so we check it is drying out, not sitting where it should not. Included.
Structure and foundations
Visible framing, bracing and the slab or piles, with floors checked for level and any early cracking or movement that has no business being in a new home.
Subfloor and roof space
Piles, bearers, joists, ventilation, building wrap and insulation, checked for complete, tidy work, not the gaps and offcuts that get left behind once the linings go up.
Interior finish
The finish you are paying for. Walls, ceilings, floors, paint, plaster, doors and windows, checked for operation, sealing, gaps, damage and the snags that slip past a final walk through.
Electrical
A visual check that the switchboard, outlets, switches and fittings are installed, working and protected, with RCDs in place, and anything incomplete flagged for the electrician.
Plumbing
Visible pipework, water pressure, hot water and fixtures, checked for leaks, correct installation and the finishing that should already be done.
Drainage and site
How water moves around the finished property, plus paths, decks, steps and the falls that should carry water away from the house, not back toward it.
What the price includes, and what it does not.
Plenty of reports quietly leave out the checks that take time, then point you somewhere else. Here is exactly where the line sits.
What you get
- A full inspection of everything above, to NZS 4306 and beyond
- An itemised, photographed defect list in plain English
- Same day delivery, by 6pm, ready for your builder
- A call to walk you through it, if you want one
- Moisture testing and a drone roof check, included
Where we draw the line
- We do not open walls or lift floors, so anything fully concealed sits outside scope
- Full electrical, plumbing and gas testing needs the relevant registered tradesperson
- This is an independent quality and defects inspection, not the council's Code Compliance Certificate, which is a separate process between your builder and the council
- We report the defects. Getting them fixed is between you and your builder, under your contract and the warranties that apply
A defect list your builder can act on.
Every defect is graded, photographed and located, so the builder knows exactly what needs doing and where. Booked before 10am, it is in your inbox by 6pm, in time to raise before you sign off.
From $449, shown before you book.
What you get
- Full inspection to NZS 4306 and beyond
- Moisture and drone roof checks included
- Graded, photographed defect list in plain English
- Delivered the same day, by 6pm
What moves the price is the size and location of the property. The full figure, with any optional extras such as a thermal imaging survey, is shown before you book. Nothing is added at the end.
Book an inspectionIndependent of the people who built it.
Building inspection is not a regulated trade in New Zealand, so an independent check matters most exactly when the people telling you the home is finished are the ones who built it. Every Datum inspection works to NZS 4306, is fully photographed, and is based on evidence.
Why that matters, and who does the work →
Same day, end to end.
No wait while your settlement or handover date runs down. Book in the morning, hand the builder your list that evening.
Book
Lock in a time before 10am. Send us the address and your handover or settlement date, and we do the rest.
Inspect
We are on site with moisture meters and a drone, working to NZS 4306 and past it, photographing as we go.
Report
A full, photographed defect list lands in your inbox the same day, ready to hand to your builder.
Other inspections and services.
A new-build handover inspection is one part of what we do. Here is the rest of the range across Auckland.
Know exactly what you are buying before you sign.
Get ahead of the buyer's inspection before you list.
Check a rental against the Healthy Homes Standards.
Find water in the walls before it spreads.
See the heat, damp and gaps a camera reveals.
A close look at the roof without setting foot on it.
Screening for methamphetamine contamination.
New, in Auckland, still needs checking.
Auckland's building boom means a lot of homes going up fast across new subdivisions, and volume and speed are exactly when finishing and detailing slip. Even with a Code Compliance Certificate, defects get handed over. We check the home you are about to accept against the standard it should meet.
New-build handover inspections, answered.
An independent inspection of a newly built home before you accept handover, so you get an itemised, photographed list of defects and unfinished work to give your builder while they are still on the hook to fix it.
Before you accept handover and make the final payment, ideally at practical completion. That is when your builder has the most reason to put things right. Booked before 10am, the report is with you by 6pm the same day, so it fits a tight settlement.
Yes. A Code Compliance Certificate means the council is satisfied the work meets the consent. It is not a check of finish quality, and it does not list the snags and defects that routinely get handed over. The two are different things.
Incomplete and rushed finishing, paint and plaster faults, doors and windows that do not seal, weathertightness detailing, missing or thin insulation, drainage that runs the wrong way, and fixtures that do not work. We grade each one so you know what matters.
That depends on your build contract and its defects period, and on the warranties that apply to residential building work. We give you the evidence. What is agreed and fixed is between you and your builder, but a clear, photographed list is far harder to wave away.
Roof and gutters, cladding and weathertightness, structure, the subfloor and roof space, insulation, the interior finish, visible electrical and plumbing, and drainage and the site. All to NZS 4306 and beyond, fully photographed. Moisture testing and a drone roof check are included.
You are welcome to join us at the end for a walk through of what we found, but it is not required. Everything is captured in the report either way.
From $449. The full price, including any optional extras, is shown before you book, and varies with the size and location of the property across Auckland. Nothing is added at the end.
Before you sign off. Before the keys change hands.
Tell us the property and your handover date. Book before 10am and the defect list is with you the same day, anywhere in Auckland.
Book an inspection