The furniture handover report: what to write in it

In short. Under Italian law a work is deemed accepted if the client takes delivery without reservations, even where no inspection took place (article 1665 of the Civil Code); and once accepted, the warranty no longer covers defects that were recognisable then (article 1667). The handover report interrupts that mechanism. It is not a document for arguing: it records what was delivered, in what condition, and what is still outstanding.

Why does a signature weigh more than a warranty clause?

The report arrives at the worst moment: last day, other trades still on site, whoever happens to be passing signs it. It gets signed to release the invoice. The law, though, gives that signature a weight nobody attributes to it that day: the client is entitled to inspect the work before receiving it, and if it does not inspect despite being invited to, or does not communicate the result within a short period, the work is deemed accepted; and if it takes delivery without reservations the work is deemed accepted even where no inspection has taken place (article 1665).

From acceptance onwards the contractor's warranty is not owed for discrepancies and defects known to the client or recognisable, provided they were not concealed in bad faith (article 1667, first paragraph). Hidden defects stay covered; visible ones do not. The report is the only place where that line gets drawn, and it gets drawn standing up, with a pen.

Whether your order is a sale with installation or a works contract — and therefore which time limits apply — is the subject of the guide on supply and works contracts. The report is worth having either way: it is the only evidence of the condition of the pieces on the day of delivery, and without it a dispute over a defect becomes a dispute between two memories.

One report or two?

Two, and the most useful thing here. The delivery note the carrier asks you to sign on arrival covers the consignment: quantities, packaging, damage visible from outside. Not the installed work, which does not yet exist. The real report is signed once installation is finished, in the space where the pieces will stand, with the mechanisms tried. If both signatures end up on the same sheet when the lorry arrives, you accept something nobody has seen.

With phased deliveries — floor by floor, block of rooms by block — one report per batch works better, always with the same structure. A single report at the end of the job reopens pieces that arrived three months earlier, when nobody remembers what condition they were in.

What belongs in the report, line by line?

Between businesses no form is prescribed: the format is free, so only the content matters. Twelve lines cover nearly everything.

• date, time and exact place: address, floor, room or space number;
• the contract references: order, confirmation, job number, batch;
• what is delivered, by item and quantity — code, description, number of pieces, not «room 204 furniture»;
• the condition of the site: floors protected or not, other trades present, cleaning still to come. The line that explains a scratch a month later;
• which checks were made: visual, sampled on a stated number of pieces, functional on mechanisms;
• the reservations, one by one, numbered;
• the documents handed over, by title and number: test reports, fire approvals, declarations of conformity. A missing certificate is a discrepancy, not an oversight;
• what remains to be done, with a date beside it: missing pieces, work suspended for site reasons;
• who holds the pieces not yet installed, and where they are stored;
• the use and care instructions, if handed over, and to whom;
• name, role and legible signature of whoever delivers and whoever receives;
• how many photographs are attached, and where they are filed.

Which documents must arrive with the furniture is in the guide on documents; how to write the clause that makes them enforceable, in the guide on specifications.

What makes a reservation useful, and what makes it worthless?

A reservation works if someone reading it in six months can understand it on its own. «Furniture to be checked» is not a reservation: it is an unreserved signature in different words. A useful reservation says four things: which piece, with code and location; what is wrong, in observable terms — «seam open for four centimetres on the right arm», not «finish not compliant»; what is being asked for, between replacement, repair on site and a credit note; and by when.

Two mistakes recur. The first is the generic bureaucratic reservation copied from public-works templates: between private businesses it does not have the function it has there, and preserves nothing. The second is the verbal reservation, mentioned to the fitter: on the day it matters, worth nothing.

And when not everything can be inspected — in a hotel about to open it almost never can — the honest thing is to write that down: which rooms were checked and which were not, by when the rest will be inspected, and that a supplementary report will follow. Far stronger than a full signature given sight unseen.

Do photographs count as a reservation?

On their own, no: they document, they do not declare. A photograph with no line saying what it shows, on which piece and on what date will be argued about. The method is elementary: every reservation numbered, every photograph carrying its reservation's number, the list attached to the report, and the folder emailed to both parties the same day. That message is dated, and counts for more than any internal archive.

And if nobody signs?

It happens in two opposite directions. If it is the client postponing, waiting offers no protection: the work is deemed accepted even where the client, invited to inspect, does not proceed or does not communicate the result within a short period (article 1665). The supplier has an interest in inviting in writing and keeping proof of it; the client, in turning up or at least fixing a date.

If it is the party delivering who will not countersign, the reservations are written anyway, the refusal noted, and the document sent in writing the same day. A reservation sent and not countersigned is far stronger than one never put on paper.

And if the defect appears later? Then it was not recognisable, and the notice periods apply: sixty days from discovery and two years from delivery under a works contract (article 1667), eight days and one year under a sale (article 1495). These are short periods and they lapse silently: the written notice goes out as soon as the defect is found, not once you have decided how to resolve it.

Lines you can copy

Five wordings to adapt:

• heading — «Furniture handover report. Order no. …, job …, batch …. Place, date, time.»;
• inspection — «The inspection was carried out jointly by the parties, visually and functionally, on the pieces listed at point 3. Spaces not inspected are at point 8.»;
• reservation — «Reservation no. 3. Piece code …, room 204: seam open for 4 cm on the right arm. Repair on site requested by ….»;
• closing — «Delivery is accepted subject to reservations 1 to 7. The spaces not inspected will be checked by …, with a supplementary report.»;
• the line almost everyone forgets — «The condition of the site is documented by photographs 1 to 24, attached and sent to both parties today.»

How we work

We work to order, and our contract supplies almost always arrive with installation: the company that made the piece and the company delivering it are the same. That matters on the report, because a reservation does not have to travel the chain between manufacturer, dealer and installer to reach whoever can resolve it — and it is in those handovers that the time limits get used up. Prototyping, production and logistics sit in the same factory, with a single point of contact.

The one recommendation we make to buyers: settle the report before the delivery, not on the day — who signs, on which form, with which attachments. What to fix in writing before production is in the guide on the mock-up room; who coordinates installation and who answers for damage, in the guide on fitting out a live site; when to order so the dates hold, in the guide on lead times. In a hotel project the most valuable thing is still time: compliant, certified furniture delivered on schedule means a fast opening, and a hotel that opens starts invoicing.

Frequently asked questions

Does signing the handover report cost me the warranty?

Not on hidden defects. Under a works contract the work is deemed accepted if the client takes delivery without reservations, even without an inspection (article 1665), and from acceptance onwards the warranty is not owed for discrepancies and defects that were known or recognisable (article 1667). Defects that were not recognisable stay covered within the notice periods. That is why you sign with the reservations written down, not without them.

What is the difference between the carrier's delivery note and the handover report?

The delivery note covers the consignment: quantities, packaging and damage visible from outside at unloading. The report covers the installed work and is signed once installation is finished, with the mechanisms tried. Two moments, two documents: putting them on the same sheet means accepting something nobody has seen yet.

How do you write a reservation so that it holds?

Four elements: which piece, with code and location; what is wrong, in observable rather than evaluative terms; what is being asked for, between replacement, repair on site and a credit note; and by when. Numbered, matched to photographs carrying the same number, and sent in writing the same day.

The client does not turn up for the inspection: what happens?

The work is deemed accepted even where the client, invited to inspect, does not proceed or does not communicate the result within a short period (article 1665). Waiting does not protect the receiving party: better to attend, or to fix a date in writing. The supplier, for its part, should invite in writing and keep proof of the invitation.

I found a defect a month after delivery: am I still in time?

It depends on how the contract is classified. Under a works contract notice must be given within sixty days of discovery, with the action time-barred two years from delivery of the work (article 1667); under a sale, within eight days of discovery, time-barred after one year (article 1495). When in doubt the shorter period applies: an immediate written notice costs nothing.

Talk to us The contract division

This page cites articles 1495, 1665 and 1667 of the Italian Civil Code, which governs most furniture supply contracts for hotels in Italy. Outside Italy the notice periods and the effect of acceptance differ and local advice is needed, although the practical content of the report is the same everywhere. Between private businesses the handover report is not a form prescribed by the Code: the wordings above are practical suggestions, not legal requirements. How your own contract is classified, and which periods apply to it, remains a judgement to be made on the contract and the project documents: this page does not replace legal advice.