The cited Estate Agents Authority (EAA) guidance does not prescribe a fixed handover checklist. A useful working rule is to retain records that connect the property particulars in the formal agreement with the pre-completion inspection for vacant possession. This is a practical filing approach, not a statement that any particular photo, note or condition report is compulsory.
How to check which records belong
The EAA states that the formal agreement sets out the property’s particulars, and that the seller normally lets the buyer inspect the property before completion to verify delivery of vacant possession. The cited material does not identify a required photo set, prescribed note or mandatory condition report.
The following are therefore useful categories to consider, rather than an EAA-mandated list:
| Record | A useful reason to retain it | What the reader should check |
|---|---|---|
| Photos | Images may show the property or its visible condition during the pre-completion inspection, including an observation relevant to vacant possession. | Confirm that the image relates to the correct property and inspection. The cited EAA material does not provide a required photo count, format or naming rule. |
| Notes | Notes may record what was inspected, what was observed, or what remained to be followed up. | Check whether the notes were requested, exchanged or relied upon, and whether they match the formal agreement. The cited material does not prescribe note contents. |
| Condition reports | A report may document the property’s condition at the relevant inspection or handover point. | Confirm whether the report was specifically requested or treated as part of the transaction record. The cited material does not make a report compulsory or prescribe a standard. |
A practical matching check is to ask whether the record makes clear which property it concerns and which inspection or handover point it relates to. A photograph or report that cannot be matched to the transaction may be ambiguous as handover evidence. That is a file-quality consideration, not an additional EAA requirement.
What the reader must still confirm
The reader still needs to check:
- The property particulars stated in the formal agreement.
- What the pre-completion inspection covered and what was recorded about vacant possession.
- Whether a particular photo, note or condition report was requested, supplied or relied upon.
- Whether the formal agreement or related correspondence calls for any specific handover record.
- Which version of a record is relevant and whether it matches the property and inspection.
The supported conclusion is limited: preserve records that are relevant to the agreement and the vacant-possession inspection, but do not assume that a particular photograph, note or condition report is required. The cited EAA statements do not make any single record conclusive proof of vacant possession or of the property’s overall condition.