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HANDOVER CERTIFICATE FOR DRYLINING AND FITOUT CONTRACTORS

Handover certificate template for drylining and fitout contractors

When your package is finished, the date it's accepted as complete matters. It usually starts the defects period and releases the first half of your retention. A handover certificate gets that date agreed and signed.

Ours is in the Drylining Business Operations Kit, with a filled-in example.

Get the Operations Kit for £39.99

What practical completion changes

Once practical completion is certified, three things usually happen. The defects liability period starts, half the retention is released, and the contractor stops being exposed to liquidated damages. The defects period typically runs for six to twelve months. JCT 2024 contracts call it the rectification period.

Under the main contract, the contract administrator certifies practical completion. As a subcontractor, your own subcontract sets your terms. Your handover certificate records that your package is complete and asks the main contractor to agree it in writing.

What to put on a handover certificate

  • Project, site address, your package and the contract reference

  • The work completed: partitions, MF ceilings, suspended grid ceilings, wall lining, or whichever you installed

  • A handover checklist: areas cleared, waste removed, and any records the main contractor needs from you

  • Any outstanding items agreed at handover, with completion dates

  • The start and end dates of the defects period, and the retention amounts due at each stage

  • Signatures from both sides, with a box to confirm practical completion is agreed

Snag your own work first

Walk your areas before you ask for sign-off. Partitions out of plumb, joints showing through, screw pops and gaps at the head track are cheaper to fix before the main contractor finds them. The Operations Kit includes a defects and snagging notice for logging them.

What's in the Operations Kit

  • Combined RAMS, short form and full form

  • Subcontractor agreement

  • Defects and snagging notice

  • Material order form and material order log

  • Weekly job planner

  • Contractor comms swipe file

Each comes with a filled-in demo, and there's an instruction sheet. They're Word files (.docx), with the material order log also in Excel, and they open in Microsoft Word or Google Docs.

£39.99, instant download.

The handover certificate sits alongside:

Get the Operations Kit for £39.99

Common questions

Is this the same as a practical completion certificate?

No. On a JCT main contract, the contract administrator issues that. Yours records that your package is complete and gets the main contractor to agree it.

When should I send it?

When your works are finished and you've done your own snag check. Send it with a request to inspect, so the clock starts as soon as possible.

What if they won't agree it's complete?

The certificate has space to list the items they say are outstanding. Agree dates for those, fix them, then ask for sign-off again.

This page is general information, not legal advice. Practical completion, retention and the defects period depend on the terms of your contract.

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