Defects

The schedule that releases the last of the retention

By the time the rectification period ends the team has moved on and the job is closed in everyone’s mind. A percentage of the contract sum is still sitting with the employer, and nothing prompts anybody.

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Not a snagging list

Snagging at practical completion and the schedule of defects at the end of the rectification period are different documents with different consequences. The second one is contractual: the certificate of making good depends on it, and the balance of the retention depends on that certificate.

QScope keeps notified and made good as separate dates on every item, because those two dates are what show the period was operated properly if anyone examines it later.

  • Date notified, date to be made good by, date actually made good
  • Location and trade against every item
  • Outstanding, in progress, made good, disputed and accepted as is
  • Items past their rectification date flagged
Defects
Schedule
On the schedule
23
Outstanding
4
Overdue
2
014 · Block B stair · JoineryMade good 8 Aug
015 · Plant room · M&EOutstanding
016 · Roof terrace · WaterproofingOverdue
Making goodBlocked
Four items remain outstanding, so making good cannot be certified. Certifying it now would release the final retention for work nobody has done.

The block is the feature

The certificate of making good releases the balance of the retention. Issuing it while items are outstanding hands back the last of the security for work that has not been carried out, and that money is not coming back.

QScope warns at the certificate, not in a manual. The schedule and the certificate are two views of the same fact, and they cannot drift apart.

  • Warning on the certificate while items remain outstanding
  • Schedule prints as a formal document for issue to the contractor
  • CSV export for circulation to the trades
  • Rectification end date calculated from the practical completion certificate
Completion
Certificate of making good
Rectification period ended7 Sep 2027
Items on the schedule23
Made good19
Retention to release£12,500
The remaining retention is released on this certificate. QScope will not let it be issued while the schedule still shows outstanding items.

The certificate that started the clock

The rectification period runs from practical completion, and the schedule has to be issued before that period ends. Get the completion date wrong and the whole window is counted from the wrong day.

QScope takes the date from the practical completion certificate and calculates the rectification end from it, so the schedule is issued inside the period the contract allows rather than a year late.

  • Rectification end calculated from the completion certificate
  • Schedule due date driven by the same date, not entered twice
  • Half the retention already released at practical completion
  • Making good certificate closes the period out
Completion
Rectification clock
Practical completion7 Sep 2026
Rectification period12 months
Schedule issued22 Aug 2027
Rectification ends7 Sep 2027
The schedule is issued inside the rectification period, not after it. Issuing it late is a weaker position, not a stronger one.

The money the schedule is protecting

The schedule of defects exists because a percentage of the contract sum is still held, and the certificate of making good is what releases it. Clear the schedule and the retention module hands the balance back to the contractor.

Until then the figure sits on the dashboard and on the retention notice, the same number in both places, waiting on work that has not been finished.

  • Balance of the retention held against the making good certificate
  • Figure on the dashboard matches the retention notice
  • Release date shown next to the amount
  • Carried into the final account as a release, not a mystery
Retention
Held to end of rectification
Rate now
2.5%
Held
£12,500
Release
7 Sep 27
Retention released at practical completion£12,500.00
Balance held to rectification end£12,500.00
Released on making good£12,500.00
The balance is released on the certificate of making good, which QScope blocks while the schedule shows outstanding items.

Photographs that settle the disputed item

A defect argued two years after handover turns on evidence, and the evidence is the dated photograph nobody filed. A note in a schedule is an assertion. A photograph tied to the item and the date it was taken is proof.

QScope keeps the photographs, the correspondence and the notices against the same project as the schedule, so the file is assembled as you go rather than reconstructed the week before an adjudication.

  • Photographs tied to the item and the date they were taken
  • Correspondence and defect notices filed against the job
  • The audit trail records who filed what and when
  • Everything exportable, so the record survives leaving QScope
Project record
Evidence for the schedule
DocumentStatus
Defect 015, plant room, photographs6 files
Defect notice, issued 4 AugFiled
Making good correspondenceFiled
Site photographs, week 1418 files
Questions

What surveyors ask before they start

When is the schedule issued?

At the end of the rectification period, within the period the contract allows. Issuing it a year late is not a stronger position, it is a weaker one.

Does a defect schedule affect the contractor’s liability for latent defects?

No. The certificate of making good states that the notified defects have been made good. Liability for defects that were not apparent continues for the limitation period.

Can I circulate the schedule to the trades?

Yes. Export to CSV, or print the schedule as a formal document with the trade against each item.

What if a defect is disputed?

Record it as disputed rather than leaving it outstanding. It still blocks the certificate, which is correct, and the status makes clear that the block is a disagreement rather than a delay.

Related

The rest of the commercial picture

Try it on your next valuation

Not your whole portfolio. One live job, one certificate. If it does not save you time the first time you use it, walk away and take your data with you.