The forms of handover
| Form | Basis | Feature |
|---|---|---|
| Express handover | general | declaration by the client, no form required |
| Formal handover | § 12 para. 4 | on either party's request, with a joint record |
| Partial handover | § 12 para. 2 | for self-contained parts of the works |
| Deemed handover after completion | § 12 para. 5 no. 1 | 12 working days after written notice |
| Deemed handover after use | § 12 para. 5 no. 2 | 6 working days after use begins |
Where the contractor requests handover after completion, the client must carry it out within 12 working days. A different period may be agreed.
Handover may be refused on account of material defects until they are remedied. Immaterial defects do not justify refusal.
Formal handover
It must take place where either party requests it. Each party may engage an expert at their own cost, and the findings are recorded jointly in writing.
The record must contain any reservations as to known defects and as to contractual penalties, together with any objections by the contractor. Each party receives a copy.
Formal handover may take place in the contractor's absence where the appointment was agreed or they were summoned with sufficient notice. Their non-attendance therefore does not prevent handover.
Where formal handover is agreed, deemed handover under the VOB/B is excluded. That is the default in construction contracts and carries an uncomfortable consequence for the contractor: they cannot rely on the expiry of a period where the client delays handover.
Partial handover
On request, self-contained parts of the works must be handed over separately. Either party may make that request.
Self-containment is understood functionally rather than spatially. A heating installation may be a self-contained part; a single storey of a taller building generally is not.
For cost work partial handover matters because it brings forward the consequences for the part concerned. That applies in particular to the start of limitation periods.
Deemed handover
The VOB/B recognises two cases in which handover occurs regardless of the client's intention. Both presuppose that no handover was requested.
| Case | Period | When it starts |
|---|---|---|
| After notice of completion | 12 working days | written notice of completion |
| After use begins | 6 working days | the client takes the works or part of them into use, unless otherwise agreed |
One important exception: using parts of a structure to continue the works does not count as handover. Scaffolding, site access or a completed structural element used by following trades does not start the period.
In practice the VOB/B fictions rarely operate, because many contracts exclude them and that exclusion is in principle effective. Where the VOB/B route is blocked, the contractor may set a period under the statutory construction contract law; practice takes the 12 working days as a guide to what is reasonable.
Receipt governs the evidence. The period begins with demonstrable receipt of the completion notice and not with its dispatch, so the means of transmission should be one that evidences receipt.
The four consequences
| Effect | Significance |
|---|---|
| Burden of proof reverses | before, the contractor proves absence of defects; after, the client proves the defect |
| Limitation begins | for defect claims |
| Payment falls due | together with the verifiable final account |
| Risk passes | to the client |
The first row matters most in practice. It fundamentally shifts the parties' positions in any later dispute over defects, and it does so on a single day.
The limitation period departs from the statute
One point is regularly confused in practice and is economically substantial. It concerns the length of the limitation period for defect claims.
| Regime | Limitation period for defect claims on structures |
|---|---|
| VOB/B | 4 years |
| Statutory law of works contracts | 5 years |
Incorporating the VOB/B shortens the period by a year. For the client that is a disadvantage and for the contractor an advantage, and both should know it before contract.
The period starts at handover, including a deemed one. Where handover is deemed, it starts on expiry of the 12 or 6 working days.
For the designer the link with aftercare matters: inspecting the property before the limitation periods expire is a basic service, and which period applies depends on the regime governing each construction contract. On a project with several trades, different periods may therefore run alongside one another. The system is covered in the article on work phases 8 and 9.
Reservations are time-barred
This is the most expensive mistake a client can make at handover. It cannot be corrected after the handover appointment.
Reservations as to known defects and as to contractual penalties must be declared by handover at the latest. At a formal handover they belong in the record; where handover is deemed, they must be asserted by the relevant date at the latest.
For contractual penalties the consequence is particularly sharp: where the reservation is not declared in time, the claim falls away entirely, regardless of whether the penalty is undisputed in amount. The courts apply this formal requirement consistently against the client.
A simple checklist follows for preparing a handover: before the appointment, establish whether penalties have accrued and which defects are known. Both belong in the record, even where agreement is still outstanding.
What to record at handover
Four entries govern the later evidential position. They belong in the record and not in a later memorandum.
- The date, because it fixes when periods start.
- The defects identified, with location and description. Blanket entries without allocation are worth little in a dispute.
- The reservations, for defects and for penalties.
- The contractor's objections, because they form part of the joint findings.
The second is the commonest defect in handover records. A defect not described so that it can be found again is hard to enforce in a dispute.
Related articles
This article reflects the position of the rules and case law at the date of checking and serves professional orientation. It does not constitute legal advice and does not replace assessment of the individual case.