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 survey information including the contact details 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. 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. Our Aim – In line with the above policy, the surveyor who provides the RICS Building Survey Service aims to:
    1. Help you make a reasoned and informed decision when purchasing the property, or when planning for repairs, maintenance or upgrading the property;
    2. Provide advice on condition;
    3. Describe the identifiable risk of potential or hidden defects;
    4. Provide an estimate of costs for identified repairs
    5. Make recommendations as to any further actions or advice which need to be obtained before committing to purchase
  2. The service – the surveyor provides the standard RICS Building Survey Service, 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. plan drawing
  2. schedules of works;
  3. re-inspection;
  4. detailed specific issue reports; and
  5. market valuation, reinstatement cost and negotiation
  6. 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.
  7. Before the inspection – Clients are asked to fill out our Instruction Sheet (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. The client should tell the surveyor if there is already an agreed or proposed price for the property.
  8. 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.
  9. The Inspection – The inspection will include the main structure of the property and main outbuildings, recording the construction and defects (both major and minor) that are evident. This inspection will cover as much of the property as physically accessible. Where this is not possible, an explanation is provided in the ‘Limitations to inspection’ box in the relevant section of the report.
  10. 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.
  11. 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 dampmeter, 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.
  12. Joint inspections between the surveyor and the client – Generally, such joint inspections are not acceptable to vendors and estate agents. In our experience, we find that it can slow down the survey also. Nevertheless, we aim to provide a comprehensive service, so If you are purchasing the property and wish to carry out a joint inspection with the surveyor, you must provide us with evidence in writing that this has been approved by the vendor and the estate agent. However, if such an agreement is received, SW17 Surveyors will meet with the client for 10 minutes at the start of the surveys for you to show us any concerns that you have. Following that, we politely request that you would allow us to proceed unencumbered, to undertake a truly independent survey of the property.
  13. Post inspection – the client can contact the surveyor (if they wish), to discuss the surveyor’s initial findings;
  14. 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.
    1. The report will be ready approximately five working days 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 on Day 4, with a new date of delivery.
  15. The report will include maps, pictures and cost estimates for remedial works where these will highlight specific issues raised in the report. It will not include plans, drawings or specifications.
  16. We will include a valuation of the property as an extra service, when request by the client, prior to undertaking the surveyor commencing the survey.
  17. 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. 

     

  2. Liability – the report is provided for use by yourself and your legal team in relation to this property transaction, therefore the surveyor cannot accept responsibility if it is used, or relied upon, by anyone else.
  3. 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.