The Service

We shall provide the survey, which shall be delivered in accordance with Appendix A of the current edition of the Home Survey Standard RICS Professional Statement and shall be equivalent to a survey level 1, 2 or 3, as instructed by the client. (https://www.rics.org/globalassets/rics-website/media/qualify/home-survey-standard-nov-2020.pdf)

The Surveyor

The survey will be provided by an AssocRICS, MRICS or FRICS member of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors who is deemed to have the skills, knowledge, and experience to carry out the survey. If a valuation is offered and provided, then the Surveyor will be a member of the RICS Valuer Registration Scheme.

The Inspection

The purpose of the inspection and the verbal and written reports is to comment on the overall condition of the property or to comment on specific defects noted by others.

The report is not a guarantee that the property is free from defects other than those mentioned in the report. Nor is it a guarantee that the property will not develop defects or deteriorate in the future. Therefore, no liability can be accepted for any further deterioration from its condition or future defects developing, post the report date. However, the inspection will be undertaken by a Chartered Building Surveyor exercising reasonable professional diligence.

The report may include an insurance reinstatement valuation, if requested at an additional fee, based on the Association of British Insurers/RICS Building Cost Information Service Guide to House Rebuilding Costs.

The report is based on a visual inspection of the accessible parts of the building, garage, and any outbuildings. The inspection does not include the opening up of the structure, removal of fixed floor/wall/ceiling coverings, moving of contents or possessions etc. A written report supersedes any verbal report, and it is the written report that should be relied upon before committing to any expenditure on the property.

It is your responsibility to notify us of any garages or outbuildings etc. that are linked with the property but are not in direct proximity to it. We cannot accept responsibility for not inspecting remote areas or aspects we were not aware of.

The report will focus on the condition of the main elements of the building. The condition of fittings and finishes will be subject to general comment only.

There will inevitably be limitations to the scope of the inspection as the Surveyor can only perform an inspection of visible and accessible parts of the building. Ladder access can be achieved to a height of 3 metres and roof spaces and floor voids will be inspected where safe, subject to these limitations.

Further Investigation is recommended where the Surveyor suspects the presence of a Serious Defect or Essential Repair but is unable at initial survey stage to confirm this or the extent of the defect. This could include, but is not limited to, defective drains, damp and timber decay or inadequate alterations to the structure.

Budget Costs may be included in a Level 3 survey if agreed in advance but are based on information available to the Surveyor from similar repairs in the past. They are indicative only and we recommend that competitive quotations are obtained prior to committing to expenditure on the property. We could, if instructed, assist with this.

We can only inspect those parts of the property that can be accessed safely. If further inspections are considered necessary, these will be mentioned in the report and will be undertaken as Further Investigations (if instructed) once safe access can be arranged.

The Report

We will provide a property specific report for the service in accordance with the current edition of the Home Survey Standard RICS Professional Statement. The nature and content of the reports will vary between the differing service levels.

The report will normally be issued on the fourth working day after the inspection has taken place. The report can be issued sooner than this by separate agreement between us for an additional fee.

Exclusions

We are not qualified to report on the condition of services or their associated systems, these include but are not limited to, electrical, gas, heating, and water systems. Nor are we qualified to report on the condition of sports and leisure facilities. However, we will draw attention to any obvious defects or matters that give us cause for concern. We do recommend that specialist inspection, testing and servicing are undertaken by suitably qualified contractors, prior to committing to any expenditure on the property.

The report will not comment specifically on the presence of asbestos or other hazardous materials as this falls outside the scope of a building survey as we do not act as Asbestos Inspectors. However, the suspected presence of such materials will be reported if seen to enable further investigations and testing to be undertaken by a specialist, if appropriate.

The inspection does not include the opening up of the structure, removal of floor coverings or floor boards, moving of contents or possessions etc.

Loft inspections are carried out from the loft hatch if there is no or non-suitable loft boarding.

Charges and Terms of Payments

You agree to pay our fees and any other charges as set out at the start of this letter, or as further agreed between us and you in writing. Any money paid to us prior to the release of the report is not classed as client money and falls outside the scope of the RICS Client Money Protection Scheme. Payment of the invoice for fees is due prior to release of the report and is payable once the survey is completed or in line with the cancellation policy if applicable.

Cancellation Policy

Our cancellation policy is in line with the Consumer Contract Regulations 2013. We are happy to offer a 14-day cancellation period but if the survey has taken place or if the cancellation is within 48 hours (Monday- Friday) of the booked survey date, then we reserve the right to charge our full fee.

With respect to cancellations within 48 hours (Monday- Friday) of the booked survey date, if we are able to rebook the slot with a survey of the same value then no fee will be charged. For a survey of a lower value then the difference will be charged and if no survey is able to be booked then the full charge will be due.

Complaints Procedure

If there is any aspect of our service that you are not happy with then in the first instance, please contact us in writing to allow us to endeavour to rectify the situation.  The formal complaints procedure is available on our website or can be provided by us at your request.

Data Retention and Protection and Audit

Files are retained in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulations and are audited in line with the requirements of ISO9001.

Errors and Omissions

KSP – Chartered Surveyors Ltd. Accepts no liability for any loss (whether direct or indirect for loss of business, revenue, profits, wasted expenditure, or for any other indirect or consequential loss whatsoever) due to errors and omissions caused by an inability to inspect relevant areas.