How do you check the work, documents and final account at renovation handover?

Agree the inspection and the meaning of the record

Prepare the accepted scope, drawings, product selections and approved changes before the visit. Check with the responsible professional which technical inspections require their presence. A walkthrough that only checks paint colour cannot establish electrical conformity or concealed waterproofing.

Civil Code article 1665 concerns the client’s inspection, acceptance and payment. It also addresses consequences of failing to inspect after an invitation and of taking delivery without reservations. Arrange the inspection promptly and communicate its result in a traceable form. Make the document accurately distinguish accepted work, observed defects, uncompleted tasks and outstanding technical checks; do not sign a statement that everything is complete if that is not what was inspected.

Check use as well as appearance

• Compare the installed products and room arrangement with the accepted specification.
• Open doors, drawers, screens and service panels; check clashes and access.
• Have the contractor demonstrate the agreed water, drainage, heating and ventilation checks.
• Obtain electrical and gas-system checks from the competent installers.
• Inspect visible finishes, edges, joints and agreed slopes with the appropriate professional.
• Check the carrying route and retained common areas against the before-work record.

Record the location and observed problem rather than a vague “poor finish”. Use a photograph with context and one close view where useful. If an installation leaks or a potentially unsafe condition is identified, restrict the affected use and refer it to the competent person. A cosmetic snag list should not conceal an unresolved functional or safety issue.

Write a defect list that someone can close

Add a target date and contact to each real entry. Separate incomplete scope, apparent defects, missing documents and new owner requests. Work required to deliver the accepted contract should not automatically be recorded as a paid extra. If responsibility or the remedy is disputed, retain the evidence and get the appropriate contractual or professional assessment before changing the account.

Collect the records for the actual intervention

For relevant installation work, DM 37/2008 article 7 requires the declaration of conformity after checks, with its integral documents. Ask for the applicable project or diagram, materials information and the required attachments, not just a signed front sheet. For partial work, the scope and compatibility with retained installations should be clear. Keep manuals, product details, warranties and invoices as additional records.

Ask the tecnico to identify the required building completion filing, any CILA-related cadastral documentation and the applicability of agibilità under article 24. A new agibilità process is not a universal label for every small renovation. Obtain the required receipts and final drawing revisions, with responsibility for any outstanding submission. Contractual handover and completion of a public procedure are distinct records.

Reconcile the final balance with agreed changes

The €2,560 payment brings total paid to €37,560 and leaves €1,100, which is still an unpaid part of the contract rather than a price reduction. Once its agreed release conditions are met, reconcile the remaining payment. If the final invoice summarises earlier advances, subtract them instead of adding the full invoice value to all earlier payments. Match every extra and credit to the approved change record.

Preserve evidence after moving in

In the ordinary appalto framework, Civil Code article 1667 addresses known or recognisable defects at acceptance, notice within 60 days of discovery and the two-year limitation from delivery, with stated exceptions for recognised or concealed defects. Other facts and legal regimes can change the analysis. Notify actual problems promptly and obtain case-specific advice rather than assuming every issue has the same two-year “warranty”.

Keep the handover record, dated photographs, invoices, installation documents and communications accessible after completion. Record follow-up checks and the closure of each item. Reno Pro can keep stages, notes and recorded payments organised; the signed records and professional documents remain the evidence. The project is ready to close when the agreed work, documents and account can be reconciled, with any remaining obligations explicitly recorded.

Sources, date and scope

• Normattiva — Codice civile, art. 1665
• Normattiva — Codice civile, art. 1667
• Gazzetta Ufficiale — DM 37/2008, art. 7 — dichiarazione di conformità
• Normattiva — DPR 380/2001, art. 24
• Normattiva — DPR 380/2001, art. 6 bis
• Normattiva — Codice civile, art. 1659

Checked on 19 October 2026. Examples concern a flat in Milan unless stated otherwise; check the actual work against the rules of your comune and region. Teaching figures are invented to explain the accounting, not market averages or an offer. Appropriate professionals establish tax eligibility, technical suitability and required filings. Where used, the February 2026 Agenzia delle Entrate guide is linked as a copy of the agency-authored document.