The first records to review are the formal agreement and any existing record of the pre-completion property inspection. The Estate Agents Authority states that the formal agreement incorporates the basic terms agreed between the parties and that the seller normally allows the buyer to inspect the property before completion to verify vacant possession. Together, these records can help identify what was agreed and what condition was checked, but they do not predetermine how a later disagreement would be resolved.
How to check the formal agreement
The seller should compare the formal agreement with the provisional agreement, focusing on the basic terms that the formal document actually incorporates. The wording matters: the cited Estate Agents Authority material does not identify a complete set of terms or provide a universal handover-evidence checklist.
This comparison can help the seller isolate any handover-related wording in the document that both parties formally adopted. It can also prevent an assumption based only on recollection or an earlier exchange.
What to preserve from the inspection
If a pre-completion inspection occurred, the seller should retain any relevant records already created, including:
- Notes made during or after the inspection
- Messages concerning the property’s condition
- Photographs showing the condition observed
- Any inspection or handover checklist
- Records identifying which parts of the property were checked
The cited Estate Agents Authority material explains the usual inspection for verifying vacant possession, but it does not assign a guaranteed evidential value to any particular type of record. These materials may nevertheless help show what was inspected or observed.
What the seller must still confirm
The seller should confirm the exact wording of the formal agreement, whether an inspection occurred, and what the available records show. The seller should also establish whether the records are complete and consistent with the rest of the transaction file.
The cited material does not determine whether a particular document would be accepted as evidence, what weight it would receive, or whether a disagreement amounts to a breach. A seller facing an actual handover dispute should therefore review the complete document set and obtain independent legal advice rather than assume that the agreement or inspection records guarantee a particular outcome.