Void property inspections: a working checklist

Why the first void inspection matters

A void turnaround is a chain: inspection → works order → contractor → post-works check → re-let. Everything downstream inherits the quality of the first walk. Miss the failed extractor fan on day one and you find it at the pre-let check, after the decorator has been paid and gone, and the void carries on costing money while the trade comes back.

So the first inspection has one job: leave the property with a complete, photographed, room-by-room record that becomes the works list without a second visit.

Before the walk

• Keys, alarm codes, meter locations from the tenancy file.
• The lettable standard you are inspecting against; write findings as pass/fail against it, not as opinions.
• Torch, socket tester, damp meter if you carry one.
• A way to record one photo per finding, with room and trade attached. In a property with no power (and many voids have had supplies cut) that means something that works with no light, no Wi-Fi and no signal (how to inspect through dead zones).

Safety and services first

• Gas: capped or live? Record the meter reading and serial. Flag for the gas safety check before re-let.
• Electrics: condition of consumer unit, signs of DIY wiring, test a sample of sockets if the supply is live. Flag for EICR if due.
• Water: stopcock location and operation, signs of leaks under sinks and around the cylinder, legionella flush considerations for long voids.
• Detection: smoke and CO alarms present, in date, fixed, not on the windowsill.
• Security: all external doors and windows lock; note lock changes needed; boarding condition if previously secured.

Room by room

Work each room the same way (floor, walls, ceiling, windows, door, fittings) and record a finding for anything below standard:

• Damp and mould: check external corners, behind furniture marks, window reveals, under-stairs cupboards. Distinguish condensation staining from penetrating or rising damp as far as you can, and photograph the extent.
• Kitchen: units complete and serviceable, worktops sound, appliances (if provided) present and working, plumbing connections dry.
• Bathroom: sanitaryware chip-free and secure, sealant sound, tiles complete, extractor working.
• Decoration: score each room against the standard: full redec, patch and paint, or acceptable. Photograph the worst wall, not the best.
• Floors: coverings serviceable or to be lifted; boards sound beneath.
• Doors and windows: operation, glass, handles, restrictors where required.
• Tenant belongings: anything left behind, photographed, for the disposal process your policy requires.

Outside

• Garden condition and what clearance is needed; sheds and their contents.
• Gutters, downpipes and gullies clear; fences and gates secure.
• Bins present; external lighting working; garage or stores checked.

Turning findings into the works list

The walk is only half the job. To let contractors price and work without a second visit:

• One finding per record, one photo each, located by room: "Bedroom 2, window wall" not "damp upstairs".
• A trade on every line (plumbing, electrics, decoration, clearance) so the works order splits cleanly per contractor.
• Stable numbering, so the post-works check works through the same references: IS-007 raised, IS-007 signed off.
• After photos at the post-works check on the same records, giving you a before-and-after pair per item and a clean file for the re-let.

The same rules apply to any inspection list; the full method is in how to write a snag list contractors act on.

Where Snagwalk fits

Snagwalk is built for exactly this walk: photograph each finding, tag the room and trade, and leave the property with the works list already numbered and photographed, even with no power, no light worth mentioning and no signal. Send each contractor a PDF or CSV of only their items; run the post-works check against the same records with after photos. More on the housing workflow: Snagwalk for property & housing.