Technical Due Diligence Surveys: The Process Explained

What is the process for undertaking a Technical Due Diligence Survey Report?

TDD Surveys: Confirm appointment and arrange the inspection 

Firstly, as with any instruction a commercial building surveyor should obtain appointment to undertake the technical due diligence survey including the scope, timescale and fee level. It is important at this stage to also understand the requirement for engaging other consultants. Fees should be obtained and reported for the various other consultants who may be required to input into the instruction including mechanical and electrical consultants, cladding consultants, environment consultants etc. 

Following confirmation of appointment it is important to arrange access for the inspection through the relevant parties. Often instructions can be confidential and the existing occupiers are likely to be unaware of the potential sale/purchase. It is likely that a MEWP will be needed to undertake a roof inspection. You will also need to arrange a date that all attending consultants can survey the commercial building.  

TDD Surveys: Desktop assessment, review of documentation 

A commercial building surveyor should request as much information as possible prior to the technical due diligence survey. Often a client’s solicitor will upload information of to a data-point, although sometimes this information will need to be requested. Typically, a commercial building surveyor should obtain copies of lease documents, titles, EPC, plans, warranties/guarantees, asbestos survey, statutory compliance certification. 

Ideally, this information should be reviewed prior to the inspection to enable the commercial property surveyor to obtain a good understanding of the building and identify any items of concern as early as possible. If information is limited then this will also enable the surveyor to assess the level of information which they would look to obtain at the time of the site inspection, as often a large amount of information is held on site in O&M Manuals. 

Other information such as the site layout, size, location of outbuildings, extent of external areas can be reviewed and ascertained by simple online searches. 

TDD Surveys: Undertake the Technical Due Diligence Survey 

On the day of the Technical Due Diligence Survey it is suggested to arrive on site as early as possible/agreed, as this will enable you to co-ordinate all parties when they arrive, undertake site inductions (if required) and to brief the occupant on access requirements/MEWP locations. 

The key for any building surveyor who is leading a technical due diligence survey is to co-ordinate the various consultants without this impeding significantly on they time they have to undertake their own inspection. 

A common method is to undertake a general internal and external walk around with the whole of the consultant team to enable everyone to underside the size and complexity of the commercial building. At this time you will often be able to identify rooms/areas where access may be restricted/controlled, which are often plant rooms, server rooms, areas of high health and safety risk. It may be that these controlled areas are surveyed first by all attending which then enables all the consultants to operate on their own for the remainder of the day. 

A building surveyor should use a methodical process for undertaking their survey as they would do for any other instruction. It is important to review of O&M information held on site prior to departure and if possible this should be requested on arrival. If the best circumstances an occupier may provide a meeting room for the day and set out all relevant documents to enable consultants to review in their own time.

Prior to departure the lead property surveyor should ensure that they have obtained a brief summary of findings from the consultant team. More often than not a client will require a verbal summary of findings on the day of the inspection and then a follow-up executive summary or summary email within 24 hours. 

TDD Surveys: Compiling the Technical Due Diligence Report 

Once all the information has been gathered from the site inspection and the desktop assessment the report needs to be formed in a coherent and concise manner. 

As suggested above, the client will often require an executive summary which will highlight significant issues and associated costs. 

Most technical due diligence reports are completed using a standard template, and it is industry standard to use a traffic light system to enable the reader to understand which items are of greater concern. 

The technical due diligence report will generally include a description of the building, a summary of the condition, recommendations for remedial works, summary of legal issues and non-compliance with statutory regulations. The report will also include budget cost information. 

TDD Surveys: Further investigations 

The technical due diligence report will often include recommendations for further investigations such as CCTV surveys of underground drainage, intrusive inspection of cladding, and inspections by other specialist consultants. The commercial building surveyor will be expected to obtain quotations, co-ordinate further investigation and update the technical due diligence survey report accordingly.

We hope you found this building surveying blog helpful, at Commercial Building Surveyors, we offer Technical Due Diligence surveys in the following parts of the UK: Technical Due Diligence Bristol, Technical Due Diligence Manchester, Technical Due Diligence London, Technical Due Diligence Cardiff

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