Provisional reception checklist: the 47 points to check before signing the minutes

A serious provisional reception checklist contains at least 47 control points for a standard home, and easily 80 to 200 points for a house of 150 m² or more. The goal is not to tick boxes for intellectual comfort, but to identify all defects to record in the minutes as enforceable reservations, on pain of losing the associated rights. This guide sets out the room-by-room method, the four main families to inspect, the necessary tools, and how to formalise the minutes.

The method: room by room, top down

An efficient home reception check list is organised room by room, starting at the roof and going down: loft → upper floor → ground floor → basement → exterior. This logic avoids omissions and lets you link defects together (e.g. roof leak → mark on the upper-floor ceiling → mould on insulation).

For each room, follow a fixed order: (1) ceiling, (2) walls (the four orientations), (3) floor, (4) joinery (doors, windows, shutters), (5) electricity (sockets, switches, light points), (6) plumbing (supply, drainage, DHW), (7) ventilation (vents, flow rates), (8) specific fittings (radiator, basin, taps).

Minimum tools for a serious provisional reception inspection:

• Laser meter (4 to 8 metres) to check dimensions and flatness.
• Spirit level (60 cm minimum) for plumb and horizontality.
• Multimeter or socket tester for electricity (live/neutral/earth).
• Powerful torch to inspect lofts, ducts, corners.
• Smartphone for dated photos (activate the date in the settings).
• Notebook or tablet for raw notes.
• Floor plan to annotate defects.
• Hygrometer (optional but useful at delivery just after screed drying).

Allow 3 to 4 hours for a 150 m² house, 2 to 3 hours for a standard apartment. These durations are incompressible if you want to check everything.

The 4 families to inspect and their critical points

The reception control points fall into four structured families:

1. Shell and structure (8 to 12 points)

• Wall plumbness (tolerance < 5 mm/m)
• Slab and screed flatness (2 m ruler, tolerance < 3 mm)
• Presence of cracks (width, length, progression)
• Roof, sub-roof, rainwater downpipe waterproofing
• Compliant expansion joints
• Absence of infiltration, damp marks

2. Technical second fix (15 to 25 points)

• Electrical panel compliant with RGIE (mandatory certificate)
• All sockets tested (live, neutral, earth)
• Cold and hot water pressure (3 to 5 bar)
• Sanitary drainage and waterproofing
• Ventilation: vent flow rates, adjustment label
• Boiler or heat pump: commissioning, EPC certificate, maintenance log
• Radiators: balancing, bleeding
• Gas supply if applicable, compliance certificate

3. Finishes (15 to 30 points)

• Paint: touch-ups, marks, overruns
• Tiling: joint alignment, flatness, sound (search for loose tiles)
• Parquet: play, creaks, assembly defects
• Internal joinery: door clearance (3 to 4 mm), locks, closures
• External joinery: weather-tightness, operation, glazing
• Hardware: handles, hinges, gaskets

4. Exterior and surroundings (5 to 15 points)

• Facade: alignment, joints, marks, dirt
• Roof: tiles, gutters, downpipes
• Terrace: slope, waterproofing, railings
• Driveway, fences, surroundings
• Utility connections
• Visible house number

For each point, three statuses: compliant, to correct (reservation), major defect (refusal of reception conceivable depending on severity).

Formalise in the minutes with numbered photos

Each defect noted must be:

1. Precisely recorded: location (room, wall, height), nature (measurement if possible), suspected cause.
2. Photographed from several angles, ideally with a scale reference (unfolded ruler, banknote, coin).
3. Numbered in a consistent order (per room or per family).
4. Recorded as a reservation in the minutes with a lifting deadline (generally 30 to 90 days depending on nature).

Without entry in the signed minutes, your reservation has no legal value under the warranty of perfect completion. The contractor can refuse to intervene and case law considers that the buyer accepted the works as is. See provisional reception minutes: template and clauses for detailed drafting.

Case study: 47 points → 62 reservations in the minutes

2024 file: new off-plan apartment 92 m² in Ixelles. Reception visit prepared with the firm’s checklist (180 points in practice for this type of property).

Result: 62 reservations recorded in the minutes, including:

• 5 major (terrace waterproofing, acoustic insulation defect between dwellings, structural crack in lounge, ungrounded kitchen socket, insufficient bathroom ventilation)
• 18 intermediate (loose tiling, joint alignment, poorly adjusted joinery)
• 39 minor (paint, finishes, door play)

Without expert assistance, the buyer would reasonably have detected 15 to 20 reservations with the naked eye. The 42 additional reservations detected by the expert represent an avoided loss estimated between €8,000 and €14,000 in the long term. All major reservations were lifted before final reception thanks to the activated contractual penalties.

Pitfalls to avoid

• Rushing reception (1 h for 100 m²): impossible to check everything seriously.
• Trusting the builder for the checks: they are judge and party.
• Signing minutes without photo annexes: weakened evidentiary value.
• Accepting vague wording like “paint to redo” without location.
• Forgetting certificates: EPC, RGIE compliance, gas compliance, boiler maintenance log, as-built plans.
• Skipping pre-reception: 3 to 4 weeks before delivery, this is the ideal time to flag defects still easily correctable.

Do you need an expert?

You can carry out a provisional reception inspection alone if you are methodical, technically comfortable and capable of legally formalising reservations. An expert detects on average 3 to 5 times more defects than a lone buyer, and formulates the reservations within the legal framework of the Breyne Law and the Civil Code — which secures their enforceability.

The Mon Etat Des Lieux firm intervenes with its own 200+ point checklist, its measurement tools, and on-site drafting of the minutes. See our Breyne Law assistance and our new home provisional reception file. Request a free quote to have an expert intervene at your upcoming reception.