New Flat Handover Checklist for Chennai: What to Check Before Interiors Start

New apartments on OMR, in Porur, Perungudi and across Chennai's growing suburbs are usually handed over as a builder-finished shell. Most defects are easy for the builder to fix before your interiors go in, and expensive for you to fix after. Spend an afternoon on this checklist first.

What to bring

• A copy of the approved floor plan and electrical layout
• A spirit level or a straight aluminium rod
• A small tennis ball or marble (for floor slope)
• A phone charger or small lamp to test sockets
• A bucket of water
• A torch

Walls and ceilings

• Damp patches, bubbling paint or white salt bloom — especially on external walls, bathroom-adjacent walls and below windows.
• Cracks — hairline plaster cracks are common; wider or diagonal cracks near beams need the builder's engineer to look.
• Straightness — hold a rod against walls where wardrobes and the kitchen will go. Wavy walls mean filler panels and gaps later.
• Ceiling height — measure it. It decides whether a false ceiling and wardrobe loft will fit.

Floors

• Hollow tiles — tap each tile lightly; a hollow sound means poor bedding that cracks later.
• Level — roll a ball in each room; if it runs away, note it. Slope matters under a kitchen and wardrobes.
• Chipped or mismatched tiles and uneven grout lines.
• Bathroom and balcony slope towards the drain.

Plumbing

• Run every tap for a few minutes. Check water pressure and that hot and cold are correct.
• Look under every sink and around every WC for drips.
• Water test the bathrooms and balconies: block the drain, fill a few centimetres of water, leave it for several hours, then check the ceiling of the flat below if you can, or ask the builder to do it. This is the most important test in Chennai, where seepage shows up in the northeast monsoon.
• Check the kitchen sink, washing machine and RO inlet and outlet positions against where your kitchen design needs them.

Electrical

• Test every socket and switch.
• Check the DB (distribution board) is labelled and that there are enough circuits for ACs, geyser, induction hob, oven and chimney.
• Confirm AC points, geyser points and the chimney point are where you want them.
• Check earthing if you can — ask the builder's electrician.

Moving points is cheap now and expensive after the false ceiling and carpentry are done.

Doors and windows

• Doors close without rubbing; locks work.
• Windows slide easily and close tight; rubber seals are in place.
• Check for gaps where the window frame meets the wall — a common source of rainwater seepage.
• Mosquito mesh provisions, if promised.

Paperwork

• Get defects listed in writing with photos and a date for rectification.
• Ask for warranties on waterproofing, plumbing fittings and any appliances.
• Get the society's interior work rules — timings, lift booking, NOC and deposit — before your designer schedules work.

Then plan interiors around what you found

Tell your designer about any wall that is out of true, any damp and any slope. It affects kitchen and wardrobe sizing and material choice. For new-build shells, most of the budget can go into carpentry and finishes rather than civil work. See our timeline guide and home interior cost guide, or our OMR and Sholinganallur page. If you are overseas, see our guide for NRIs.

Prices in this guide are indicative ranges for Chennai in 2026, including materials and labour. Your exact figure depends on site measurements and the specification you choose — we put it in a written line-item quote after a free site visit.