SW17 Surveyors Terms and Conditions

 

SW17 Surveyors – GDPR Consent Statement: SW17 Surveyors require your consent to hold data about you as our client. By the law of contract, we are required to hold your data for six years as this is the length of time that our professional indemnity insurance requires us know who may make a claim against us as a service provider. Your signature of the Survey Instruction Form and our Terms and Condition, is deemed to be consent to save and keep the information you have provided for six years. SW17 Surveyors only hold such information which is required to identify you as our client in order to enter a contract, in order to send you an invoice for payment for the services which we deliver and to deliver any completed work to you. We also take photographs at the subject property which our clients require us to inspect, in order to support our findings and support our recommendations. None of this information gather about you as our clients or the property is shared with any other parties, except where we have entered into a contractual or sub-contractual relationship, such as we will declare to you as the client. You will, be permitted access to the information held about you and the property of you have contracted us to inspect, subject to submission of the appropriate application which must be in compliance with GDPR Policy.

  1. The Aim – In line with the above policy, the surveyor who provides the Defects Analysis Survey Service aims to:
  2. Identify and/ or confirm that your property has a specific defect(s);
  3. Offer you recommendations as to any further actions needed to rectify the defect(s);
  4. Offer you solutions for remedial works.
  5. The service – the surveyor will provide the standard Defects Analysis Survey Service (which includes a second visit to the property), unless you and the surveyor agree in writing before the inspection that the surveyor will also provide extra services. Any extra service will require separate terms of engagement to be entered into with the surveyor.

Examples of extra services include:

  1. Preparation of a Schedule of Works for any repair works required to remediate the defects ;
  2. Tender/ Pricing of any works required with a minimum of three contractors;
  3. Contract Administration of any works required.
  4. The surveyor – the service is to be provided by an AssocRICS, MRICS or FRICS member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, who has the skills, knowledge and experience to survey, value and report on the property.
  5. Before the inspection – Clients are asked to fill out our Survey Instruction Form (seen above on page one), to make clear any concerns that you have about the property. The Surveyor will rely upon information provided by the client or client’s legal or other professional advisers relating to the tenure, tenancies or other relevant matters.
  6. Terms of payment – Before the survey, the Client will pay to SW17 Surveyors Ltd the full agreed fee, which will cover the cost of carrying out the survey, and the writing up of the report. In addition, the Client will pay the amount of any Value Added Tax on the fee, at the appropriate prevailing rate. The survey will not be undertaken until full payment has been made by the client to SW17 Surveyors Ltd.
  1. The Inspection – Furniture movements will be kept to a minimum, so as not to disturb the resident unduly (if present at the property at the time of inspection). The inspection is limited to the subject property and those accessible external areas which are relevant to this Defects Analysis. However, the surveyor may  require access to the adjoining property, if necessary and previously agreed.
  2. The surveyor does not force or open up the fabric without owner consent, or if there is a risk of causing personal injury or damage. This includes taking up fitted carpets, fitted floor coverings or floorboards, moving heavy furniture, removing the contents of cupboards, roof spaces, etc., removing secured panels and/or hatches or undoing electrical fittings. The underfloor areas are inspected where there is safe access.
  3. If necessary, the surveyor carries out parts of the inspection when standing at ground level from adjoining public property where accessible. This means the extent of the inspection will depend on a range of individual circumstances at the time of inspection, and the surveyor judges each case on an individual basis. The surveyor uses equipment such as a damp-meter, binoculars and a torch, and uses a ladder for flat roofs and for hatches no more than 3m above level ground (outside) or floor surfaces (inside) if it is safe to do so.
  4. The Report – We will use reasonable skill, care and diligence expected of a reasonably competent surveyor in carrying out the survey and preparing the report. The surveyor produces a report of the inspection for you to use, but cannot accept any liability if it is used by anyone else. If you decide not to act on the advice in the report, you do this at your own risk. The report is aimed at providing you with a detailed understanding of the condition of the property to allow you to make an informed decision on serious or urgent repairs, and on maintenance of a wide range of issues reported. Purely cosmetic and minor maintenance defects that have no effect on performance might not be reported. The report is not a warranty.
  5. Any verbal comments given to the client prior to the receipt of the full written report are given in good faith but, in order to avoid any possible misinterpretations or misunderstanding, the Client should not act upon these verbal comments until the full written report has been received or studied.
  6. The report will be ready approximately one working day after the date of survey (with the date of survey, being Day 0). If, there is a delay in getting this to you, you will be contacted, with a new date of delivery.
  7. The report will include pictures of the defects to illustrate the surveyor’s findings.
  8. Cancelling this contract – The contract between SW17 Surveyors and yourself as client may be cancelled in the following circumstances: –
    1. You are entitled to cancel this contract by giving notice to the surveyor’s office at any time before the day of the inspection. If you cancel this contract, the surveyor will refund any money you have paid for the service, except for any reasonable expenses.
  1. The surveyor may cancel the contract and reports this to you as soon as possible if, after arriving at the property, the surveyor decides that they lack the specialist knowledge of the method of construction used to build the property or that the survey chosen is inappropriate for the property concerned. The surveyor will attempt to contact you immediately this decision is made on the contact numbers which you have provided. If the surveyor cancels this contract, they will refund all monies to you and a written explanation to you of the specific issues which prevented the survey from proceeding.
  1. Liability – the report is provided for your use, and the surveyor cannot accept responsibility if it is used, or relied upon, by anyone else.
  2. Complaints – In the event of the client being dissatisfied with any aspect of the service provided, a copy of SW17 Surveyors Limited complaints procedure is available on request.