What type of Commercial Building Survey do I need?

What type of Commercial Building Survey do I need?

Commercial Building Surveyors undertake a wide range of surveying services. The type of building survey which a client requires will depend on what the required outcome is. The following blog summarises the type of surveying report/services and when the report/service is typically required. 

Technical Due Diligence Surveys
A technical due diligence survey is often undertaken as part of a purchasers due diligence process when they are looking to acquire a commercial property, sometimes referred to as a pre-acquisition survey. The survey provides details on the condition of the property, any statutory and legal matters. In addition the report can advise on environmental and mechanical and electrical issues. The report will provide a comprehensive and holistic overview of the property to enable the prospective purchaser to identify the risk associated with acquiring the property.

Leasehold Acquisition Surveys
This is very similar to a pre-acquisition survey, although is undertaken on behalf of a prospective tenant before they take a lease on a commercial building.  

Vendor Surveys
Again, this is similar to the above although is undertaken on behalf of the commercial buildings vendor. The survey report typically contains the same information as the technical due diligence survey and can be passed to prospective purchasers to make them aware of any issues at the enquiry stage which will likely lead to less issues later along the process.

Defects Diagnosis
Defects diagnosis reports are undertaken to identify the cause and provide recommendations for remediating building defects. The defects diagnosis report will typically focus on a specific issue with the property whether this be water ingress, building movement or timber defects. The process often involves further tests and investigates to ascertain the exact cause of the defect. Sometime a trial and monitor approach will need to be taken to remediating the defects, especially where issues are widespread and/or complex.

Planned Preventative Maintenance Surveys
A planned preventative maintenance survey is undertaken to identify and schedule reactive, planned and cyclical maintenance which is required over a given period (typically 5 or 10 years). The report identifies the relevant works and includes budget costs which enables property, facilities and asset managers to set adequate levels of service charge and to identify what works need to be done to the property to keep it in a good standard of repair.

Schedules of Dilapidation
A schedule of dilapidation or dilapidation survey is normally produced towards the end of a tenant’s lease term to identify and calculate the tenant’s liabilities in reference to their requirement to put the property into repair, to redecorate and to reinstate any alterations. Following the drafting of the report there are various ways in which the dilapidation process can progress which may be for the tenant or landlord to undertake works, or for a financial settlement to be agreed.

Interim schedule of dilapidation are produced during the lease term and are drafted to deal with significant health and safety and property maintenance items 

Schedule of Condition
A Schedule of condition is produced to accurately record the condition of a property at a given time. They are typically produced prior to commencement of a lease to limit a tenant’s lease obligations in regards to repair, reinstatement and decoration, although can be used to record the condition of a property or part of a property prior to works being undertaken. Schedules of condition can be drafted as a full detailed report, or in a simpler photographic schedule of condition which contains less descriptive language.

Tenant Alterations/Licence for Alterations
Commercial building surveyors are well placed to undertake reviews of tenant alterations as part of the Licence for Alterations process. Being aware of technical requirements in terms of design, statutory requirements and health and safety issues enables a commercial building surveyor to assess whether a tenant’s proposals are compliant and/or put a landlord’s asset at risk.

Party Wall Awards
A Party Wall Award is a specific process which needs to occur when a Commercial Building Owner is undertaking works to a party wall, completing adjacent excavation and/or building on or adjusting a boundary fence. A commercial building surveyor is typically familiar with the process involved and owing to their technical knowledge is well placed to assist a client in detailed with a Party Wall Award.

Reinstatement Cost Assessments/Fire Insurance Valuations
A reinstatement cost assessment is produced to provide the landlord with an estimate of the cost to reconstruct a property should the building be damaged as a result of an insured risk. The commercial building surveyor will use as-built information, and or site survey notes, along with industry cost data to advise on the likely rebuild cost. This can then be used by the landlord’s insurers to set appropriate insurance levels.

Measured Surveys
Measured building surveys are undertaken to accurately record the existing size, shape, dimensions etc. of a property. Typically this will be undertaken to provide the landlord with a record of their property, to assist with the production of design drawings, and to assist with ensuring that a new or converted building meets specific requirements in terms of sizing and dimensions.

We hope you found this building surveying blog helpful, at Commercial Building Surveyors, we offer Commercial Building Surveys in the following parts of the UK: Commercial Building Surveyor Bristol, Commercial Surveyor Manchester, Commercial Surveyor London, Commercial Surveyor Cardiff.