If the developer is fitting the flooring you bought with your new home, arrange the main inspection when it is down and accessible wherever the timetable allows. That is when you can see damage to the finished surface and check how it meets doors and thresholds. If you are fitting your own flooring after completion, a visit before the fitter starts can document the exposed floor and distinguish any existing concerns from issues found after installation.
Confirm What the Developer Is Supplying
Check your specification and any separately agreed extras. Write down who is fitting the flooring in each room and on what date. Ask about thresholds, stair coverings and finishes in cupboards, which are easy to leave out when discussing “flooring throughout”.
There is a practical difference between a room being handed over with an agreed bare floor and a room where paid-for flooring is still outstanding. Ask the developer to record outstanding items and give you a proposed fitting date. For new homes in England covered by Version 2 of the New Homes Quality Code, sections 2.10 and 2.11 set out the requirements for a complete home and the schedule of incomplete work. Which flooring was agreed and what work remains are details to check with your conveyancer if there is a question about completion.
Make Two Lists If Fitting and Inspection Fall on Different Days
Before fitting, look at accessible, uncovered areas. Photograph obvious surface damage, visible cracks, loose material and abrupt changes in level. Record locations against a fixed feature such as a doorway. Ask your fitter what they require before installing the selected product. Suitability for a particular floor may depend on the substrate, moisture, the heating system and the manufacturer's instructions. A routine visual inspection does not include specialist testing unless separately agreed.
After fitting, check the items you could not see beforehand. Walk the accessible floor and note any movement or unexpected noise you can reproduce. Check the floor at doorways and around edges, look for visible damage, and operate each door normally to see whether it rubs. Record observations by room before large items of furniture arrive.
Example: The developer is supplying vinyl in the kitchen, and your fitter is laying carpet upstairs the day after you get the keys. An inspection after the kitchen vinyl goes down and before the carpet arrives can check the kitchen finish and document the exposed upstairs floors. Tell the inspector which upstairs areas will later be concealed and plan a short check of carpet joins and door operation when your fitter finishes.
Get an Access Plan Before Booking
If you want a pre-completion inspection, give the developer the proposed date and ask which rooms will be ready and safe to enter. For a qualifying private sale under the New Homes Quality Code, confirm the version that applies to your reservation. Version 2 applies to eligible homes reserved from 2 March 2026 and sets out the inspection procedure and the template to use.
If a room cannot be inspected, list it as unavailable and agree when you can next see it. Include the flooring dates and the person responsible for fitting when asking Ashbridge about a pre-completion inspection or post-completion snagging survey.