The Standard Does Not Take Holidays

An offer signed in mid-December carries the same risks as one signed in March, and fewer people are around to notice them. The buyers want to be in before schools open, the seller has agreed to early occupation, and half the people who would normally check the details are on leave.

This is exactly when standards slip, because everyone is tired and all the pressure runs one way, toward handing over keys. Early occupation before transfer is a normal arrangement, but it needs the same care in December as in any other month. The occupational rent has to be agreed in writing, along with who pays the electricity and water until registration, and what happens if the bond falls through after the family has already moved in. The meters should be read on the day the keys change hands, and the condition of the house noted before the furniture arrives, because afterwards nobody will agree on which scratches were already there.

None of this is difficult, and that is the trap. It feels too small to bother with during a holiday rush. But the family moving in over the festive season is often the most stretched client of the year, with children in the car and a lot riding on things going smoothly. If a bond is declined in January, the arrangement made in a hurry in December is the only thing standing between two families and a serious argument.