Form 4, completion certificate and utilities: the three conditions that make an apartment "completed"

"The building is finished" is a marketing phrase. "The apartment has been completed" is a legal status, and it has a definition. The Sale (Apartments) (Assurance of Investments) (Methods of Proving Completion of Construction of an Apartment) Regulations set three cumulative conditions, all of which must be met.

The first condition: local authority approval

The local authority must have issued, in respect of the apartment or of the building it forms part of, one of two documents:

• A completion certificate — under Part IX of the Planning and Building (Building Licensing) Regulations, 2016; or
• An occupancy approval — under regulation 5 of the Planning and Building Regulations, 1981. This is the document known on site as "Form 4".

In everyday conversation "Form 4" and "completion certificate" are used interchangeably. In fact they are two documents from two licensing tracks, and both are recognised by the regulations for proving completion. When asking for evidence, ask for the document by its name, not its nickname.

The second condition: electricity

The seller has connected the apartment to electricity infrastructure, permanent or temporary, and confirmation has been received from the electricity company or the local authority. Note the two words: permanent or temporary. A temporary connection satisfies the condition, but it also signals that something in the licensing process remains open.

The third condition: water

The seller has connected the apartment to water infrastructure, permanent or temporary, and confirmation has been received from the municipal water corporation or the local authority.

Why it matters to a buyer

1. The final payment. Under the statutory payment schedule, 5% of the price is paid on receipt of occupancy approval and handover per the sale contract. See the article on the payment schedule.
2. The delay-compensation clock. The event that stops the clock is defined in the contract, so the definition of completion forms part of that discussion. See the article on late handover.
3. The start of the inspection period. The inspection period begins on handover of possession — not on receipt of the completion certificate. Two different dates, easily confused.

What to ask for, and in what order

1. Ask for a copy of the completion certificate or occupancy approval — the document itself, not a statement about it.
2. Check what it covers: the apartment, or the whole building.
3. Ask for the electricity connection confirmation, and note whether it is permanent or temporary.
4. Ask for the water connection confirmation, from the corporation or the authority.
5. Only once all three documents exist — arrange handover and pay the final instalment.

The professional side: what stands behind an occupancy approval

An occupancy approval is not a technical signature. It gathers every consenting authority's approval — safety, firefighting, civil defence, accessibility, infrastructure — so a project receives it only when it has closed all fronts simultaneously. A professionally managed company builds its programme backwards from that date rather than hoping to reach it.

The standards the company works to and its safety procedures are set out on the standards page; the execution status of each project on the projects page.