What to Do When a Builder Marks Snags Closed That Are Not Fixed
We re-inspect a lot of closed snag lists. There is a pattern in what comes back marked complete, and it is worth knowing before you even open the spreadsheet.
The email arrives with an attachment. Every row says closed. You walk into the second bedroom and the thing is still there. Or worse, it looks like it might be gone, but you genuinely cannot tell. That second version is the more disorienting one. You are not even angry yet. You are just confused, because either they assumed you would not check, or they honestly believe the job is done, and you have no way to know which.
We can tell you how to find out.
Can a Developer Close a Snag Without Actually Fixing It?
Yes, and it happens regularly, usually without any intent to deceive anyone. A snag gets closed in the developer’s tracker the moment a contractor reports it done, not the moment anyone actually verifies it. Closed is a status. Verified is a finding. Until an inde pendent re-inspection confirms the repair, a closure notice is a claim, not proof.
That one sentence is worth remembering for the rest of this process: closed is not verified.
Closed Is Not Verified, and That Distinction Changes Everything
How a Snag Actually Gets Closed in a Developer’s System
A contractor works through a list of item numbers. They complete what they believe the item requires, mark it done in a shared tracker or spreadsheet, and move to the next unit on their schedule. Somewhere upstream, that status rolls up into the report that eventually reaches you as closed.
Why the Person Who Closes It Is Almost Never the Person Who Checks It
The contractor closing the item and the person confirming it was actually fixed correctly are very often two different people, and sometimes there is nobody in that second role at all. The tracker updates. Nobody stood in the room with a moisture meter to confirm the update was true.
Why the Same Contractor Who Caused the Issue Often Fixes It
It is also common for the exact subcontractor responsible for the original defect to be the one sent back to correct it, working from an item number and very little else. They were never told what caused the problem in the first place, only that item fourteen needs closing. That context gap is where most cosmetic fixes come from.
What a Real Fix Looks Like, and What a Cosmetic Fix Looks Like
This is genuinely the most useful thing we can give you, because the whole market tells owners to verify the fixes without ever explaining how to tell a real one from a cosmetic one.
| The Defect | What a Cosmetic Fix Looks Like | What a Real Fix Looks Like | How You Tell |
| Damp patch on a ceiling | Fresh paint, sometimes a slightly different sheen where it meets the surrounding surface | The source was found and corrected, the condensate line cleared or pipe insulation replaced or waterproofing redone, then the ceiling made good | A moisture meter reading behind the new paint. Paint does not dry a wet substrate, and a thermal scan will still show the cold or damp plume underneath |
| Hollow tiles | The tile is grouted, cleaned, and looks perfect from above | The tile was lifted, the substrate prepared properly, and re-bedded with full adhesive coverage | A sounding test. It will still ring hollow. Grout does not bond a tile to the floor beneath it |
| Cracked tile | The tile is simply replaced | The actual cause, substrate movement, a void beneath, or a missing movement joint, was addressed before the tile went back in | The replacement cracks again, usually within a few months. Ask what caused it. If nobody can answer, nobody looked |
| Silicone failure in a wet area | New silicone applied directly over the old, failed line | The old sealant was fully stripped, the joint cleaned and properly dried, new sealant applied to a sound surface | Look closely at the joint edge and depth. Silicone applied over failed silicone tends to fail again quickly, in the same spot |
| Door not latching | The strike plate is simply repositioned | The underlying cause, whether the frame, hinge, or door itself, was corrected | It latches now, but check it again in six weeks once the frame settles further |
| AC not cooling to spec | Filters cleaned, unit reset, told to give it time | Airflow, refrigerant charge, or a duct or FCU issue properly diagnosed and corrected | A temperature differential measurement taken at the grille, at a known ambient temperature |
| Water ingress at a window or balcony | A fresh bead of sealant run around the frame | The actual path was identified, whether threshold detail, fall, sealant line, or drainage, and corrected | It returns with the next rain, or with a proper hose test |
The pattern worth remembering across every row of that table is this. A cosmetic fix addresses the symptom you complained about. A real fix addresses the mechanism that caused it. If nobody involved can tell you what actually caused the defect, nobody has fixed it. They have covered it.
How to Prove a Closure Is False
- Do not reply in anger. Reply with a question instead: ask what the diagnosed cause was and what the rectification method was, for each item marked closed.
- Do not accept the closure at face value. Keep every item open in your own records until it is verified, not until it is simply claimed.
- Book an independent re-inspection against the original item numbers, not as a fresh, unrelated survey.
- Produce a before-and-after photo pair for each item, tied clearly back to the original reference number.
- Take instrument readings at both points. A moisture reading before and a moisture reading after is very hard to argue with.
- Get a re-inspection report that lists each item as either verified or not verified, backed by evidence.
- Set a firm date for the second attempt, and get it in writing.
- If the same item is falsely closed a second time, you now have a pattern rather than an isolated incident, and that belongs on a regulatory file.
What Happens If They Close It Falsely a Second Time
A single false closure is common, and in our experience it is usually genuinely innocent, driven by exactly the context gap described earlier. A second false closure on the same item, after you have already provided documented evidence the first time, is a different conversation entirely.
At that point you are no longer describing an incident, you are describing a pattern, and a pattern carries far more weight if you decide to take it further. For the full escalation path, including exactly what a DLD or RERA complaint can and cannot achieve, our guide onwhat to do when a developer ignores your snag list covers that in detail, so we will not repeat it here. If the developer’s own technical team pushes back on your re-inspection findings as well, our guide onwhat to do when a developer disputes your inspector’s findings walks through that specific situation.
The Most Important Timing Detail in This Whole Situation
If you have not yet signed the handover certificate, do not sign it against a set of closures you have not personally verified. Your leverage is at its absolute highest in the gap between the developer telling you something is fixed and you signing to say you agree with them. That gap is the single most valuable window you will ever have on this property, and once it closes, it does not reopen.
What We Find When We Re-Inspect a Closed Snag List
We re-inspected a bathroom waterproofing item recently that had come back marked closed. Fresh sealant, clean tiling, nothing visibly wrong at all. Our moisture meter told a different story, though, showing the substrate behind that wall was still wet.
Here is the uncomfortable part, and it is worth sitting with. The repair had genuinely been done. It had just been done to the wrong thing. Someone had resealed a joint that was never actually the source of the problem, because nobody had diagnosed where the water was really coming from before they picked up the sealant gun.
We want to be fair about this, because it matters for how you approach your own situation. That is not usually fraud. It is a subcontractor working from an item number with no context about the underlying cause. The lesson we keep coming back to is simple: an item number is not a diagnosis, and a closure is not a cure.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a developer close a snag without actually fixing it? Yes, and it is common and usually unintentional. A closure reflects that a contractor reported the work done, not that anyone independently confirmed it was fixed correctly.
How do I know if the developer actually fixed the snags? Through an independent re-inspection against your original item numbers, ideally with instrument readings such as moisture meters, thermal scans, or sounding tests, rather than a visual check alone.
What is de-snagging, and how is it different from snagging? De-snagging is the follow-up inspection that verifies previously reported defects have actually been corrected. Snagging is the original inspection that identifies the defects in the first place.
What should I do if a snag is marked complete but is still there? Do not accept the closure. Ask for the diagnosed cause and rectification method, then book a re-inspection specifically against that item to document the situation properly.
How do I prove a repair was not done properly? With a before-and-after photo pair tied to the original item number, alongside instrument readings such as moisture levels or sounding tests taken at both points in time.
Can I refuse to sign off on a snag closure? Yes. You are entitled to withhold sign-off until you have personally verified, or had someone verify on your behalf, that the item has genuinely been corrected.
What if the same snag comes back after being closed? A repeat issue on the same item, especially after a documented re-inspection, becomes a pattern rather than a one-off, which strengthens your position considerably if you need to escalate.
Does fresh paint over a damp patch count as a repair? No. Paint does not dry a wet substrate or address whatever is causing the moisture. It only hides the symptom, and the underlying source typically remains until it is properly diagnosed and corrected.
Do Not Accept a Closure You Have Not Verified
If your snag list has come back marked closed and something still feels wrong, the fastest way to find out for certain is a proper re-inspection against your original item numbers, with the right instruments in hand.
Our re-inspection process is built exactly for this, and our guide on whether you can re-inspect after the developer fixes your snags explains how that verification visit is scoped. If the closed items involve moisture, leaks, or damp, our water leakage inspection service uses the same instrument based approach described above. If you are dealing with a renovation or fit-out contractor rather than a developer, our contractor work inspection service covers the same verification need. Every re-inspection is carried out by InterNACHI-certified, RERA-approved engineers and comes with a detailed report within 24 hours. You can read more about our team on the About Us page, or book a verification re-inspection before you accept any closure as final.
