A handover pack is not a filing exercise. It is a contractual obligation, a legal record, and the last commercial lever you hold on a project.
Practical Completion is the commercial high-water mark on a fit-out project. First-half retention releases. The defects liability period clock starts. The employer takes responsibility for the space. But PC is not just a date on a programme. Under JCT contracts, Practical Completion is only certifiable when the works are complete in all material respects and the contractor has discharged its handover obligations. A missing handover pack is not an admin oversight. It is a contractual failure that gives the contract administrator grounds to withhold the PC certificate.
The handover pack should be built progressively through the project, not assembled in a two-week panic before the planned PC date. Every trade package that completes commissioning should be adding its O&M section, commissioning records, and warranties to the handover pack as the works proceed. The as-built drawings should be updated as construction deviates from the issued-for-construction set. The health and safety file should be populated from the start of the project. Done this way, the handover pack is a byproduct of good project management. Done at the end, it is a crisis.
Not the contract drawings. Not the tender issue. The drawings that reflect what was actually built - every deviation from the design, every service route change, every structural modification. Under JCT D&B contracts, the as-built drawings form part of the Contractor's Design Documents. Under JCT Standard, the contractor must provide all information needed to compile them. Either way, you cannot close out a project without a complete, revision-controlled as-built set.
Common failure: providing the last issued-for-construction drawings as the as-built set. If any work deviated from those drawings - and it always does, at minimum for services - the as-built set is wrong.
Every installed system that requires maintenance needs an O&M manual. At minimum on a Cat B fit-out this covers: HVAC distribution and controls, electrical distribution boards and metering, lighting controls and emergency lighting, access control and security systems, fire detection and alarm systems, AV and data infrastructure (where installed), and mechanical ventilation and extract. Each O&M section should include manufacturer data sheets, commissioning records, maintenance schedules, spare parts lists, and specialist subcontractor contact details.
Every system that was commissioned needs a commissioning record. HVAC balancing report with measured air volumes. Electrical installation certificates (EIC) for every distribution board and final circuit. Emergency lighting duration test certificates. Fire alarm cause-and-effect test certificate. Access control system test record.
Why it matters: a missing commissioning certificate is a defect under JCT. The employer can withhold retention until it is provided, or commission an independent test at your cost.
Collateral warranties, manufacturer guarantees, and subcontractor warranties must be properly collated at handover. Every specialist subcontractor should have provided a warranty as a contract condition. Manufacturer guarantees for installed products should be transferred to the employer at handover in the employer's name. The warranty schedule should list every warranty by system, the warranty period, the warrantor name, and the document reference.
Under CDM 2015 Regulation 12, the Principal Designer is responsible for compiling and handing over the Health and Safety File. If you are acting as both Principal Contractor and Principal Designer on a D&B contract, this falls to you. The H&S File must contain information about the structure and services that anyone working on the building in future will need to do so safely: design drawings, structural calculations, materials information, hazardous materials locations, and maintenance access requirements.
FitOut Insider's Handover Pack Builder gives you a structured handover pack framework from the start of the project, not the last two weeks. Set up the pack at project start with your trade packages. As each package completes commissioning, the subcontractor uploads their O&M section, commissioning records, and warranties directly into the pack. You can see at any point which sections are complete, which are outstanding, and what the chaser list is.
The defects liability period is typically twelve months from Practical Completion under JCT. During that period, the employer has the right to notify defects and require the contractor to return and rectify them. At the end of the DLP, once all notified defects are resolved, the Making Good Defects certificate is issued and the second half of retention is released. That second-half retention sits with the employer throughout the DLP, earning nothing and available to offset against any defect rectification costs if you fail to act on notices.
Managing DLP defects without a formal register is a commercial risk. Defect notices arrive by email. Some get actioned. Some are forwarded to subcontractors and forgotten. At the end of the DLP, when you want your retention back, you cannot demonstrate that every notified defect was resolved. The employer's position is that defects remain outstanding. The retention sits. FitOut Insider's DLP Defects Tracker gives you a formal record of every defect from notification to resolution, with photo evidence and sign-off at each stage.
Second-half retention is typically 1.5-2.5% of contract value. On a £1.5m project that is up to £37,500 sitting with the employer until you can prove all defects are closed. A complete DLP register is the fastest route to getting it back.
Build your handover pack from project start. Track every defect through the DLP. Get the evidence you need to release retention on time.
Try Handover Pack Builder →Written by a Senior PM with 18 years of UK fit-out experience. Content is for guidance only and does not constitute professional advice. Always verify against your specific contract and applicable legislation.