RCRS Group Ltd | Property Surveyors Cardiff | Residential Surveyors Vale of Glamorgan | Commercial Surveys Bridgend

We have the relevant Professional Indemnity Insurance policy that conforms to the requirements of the RICS. Our limit of indemnity is £1,000,000 for each and every claim.

We always aim to keep our policies in line with our risk and we do this as economically as we can to reduce costs to you, the Client.

Based on an inspection as defined below, the Surveyor, who will be a member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (herein referred to as the RICS), will advise the Client by
means of a written report as to his/her opinion of the visible condition and state of repair of
the subject property.

The report will set out our opinion as to the defects that exist, or which may occur in the immediate future. The defects will be those found at the property at the time of inspection or those that may occur within the next one or two years if no action is taken. Our opinion will be based on the information that we are able to obtain following our inspection of all parts of the building that can be seen from the property without causing any damage to the property, its decoration, finishes or contents.

The report will be based on our inspection of the subject property and site and any information provided to us, either written or oral, we will assume to be correct.

We have not exposed the foundations of the property and without doing so, you must accept the risk of unseen defects. However, unless noted within this report, we have not noted any above ground problems which relate to defective foundations or signs thereof.

Examination of the upper levels, including the roof covering, was confined to an inspection from ground level, unless otherwise stated or is evident from photos within the report.

Where the internal walls are dry lined, this significantly reduces our ability to test for dampness and therefore dampness may be present and hidden from view,

The surveyor does not move or lift furniture, floor coverings, loft insulation material, stored goods or other contents. Therefore, some defects may remain hidden from view.
Consequently, the surveyor cannot be held responsible for identifying or reporting on any defects that were concealed, inaccessible, or otherwise hidden from view at the time of inspection. The report is therefore limited to those elements that were reasonably visible and accessible on the day of the survey.

You should obtain the costings for all advised works, repairs, and further investigations prior to commitment to purchase.

The Surveyor will inspect as much of the surface area of the subject property and site as is reasonably practicable but will not inspect those areas which are covered, unexposed or not reasonably accessible unless the Client, Owner or Occupier gives express permission to open up and be responsible for the re-instatement and making good costs.

In the former case, we are therefore unable to confirm that such areas are free from defect.
On the day of inspection, means of access to locked or secure areas must be made available.

Any return to site or re-inspection(s) caused by inaccessibility will be charged at an agreed rate plus disbursements and any additional costs that maybe incurred.

The surveyor will identify any areas which would normally be inspected by which he/she was unable to inspect and indicate where he/she considers that access should be obtained or formed and furthermore, he/she will advise on possible or probable defects based on evidenced from what he/she has been able to see.

The Surveyor will inspect roof space(s) internally if there are available hatches or openings of sufficient physical dimension to pass through.

The Surveyor will have a ladder of sufficient height to gain access to a roof hatch or opening internally not more than 3.0m (10' 0") in height above floor level.

The Surveyor will have a ladder of sufficient height to gain access to the external parts of the subject property, not more than 3.0m (10' 0") in height above external ground level or other safe levels or bases.

Where other areas of the subject property cannot be examined safely above this height, then such areas will be inspected by use of binoculars at ground level and at safe vantage points, if available.

Where high level inspections are required, above and beyond those heights safely accessible by ladder, we may recommend employment of a drone, mechanical hoist, cherry picker, boom or scissor lift to reach such areas.

In such instances, we will advise you of the appropriate costs prior to the inspection. The Client is responsible for ordering and remittance of such systems directly with the third party.

In undertaking all Surveys and Property Inspections, the Surveyor will follow the guidance given in the RICS Practice Standards, UK Guidance Note - 'Surveying Safely' which incorporates all allied Health and Safety legislation including the Work at Height Regulations 2005.

The inspection will include boundaries, grounds and outbuildings. However, these areas are not inspected in such detail as the main building and only brief general comments will be made. Specialist leisure facilities, including swimming pools and tennis courts will not be inspected.

The Surveyor will carry out a visual inspection of the service installation where accessible. Manhole covers will be lifted where accessible and practicable. No tests will be applied. The Surveyor will report if, as a result of the inspection, the Surveyor considers that tests are advisable and if considered necessary, an inspection and report by a specialist should be obtained. Rainwater drainage systems including gullies, will not be tested or checked with water. Built in items such as kitchen appliances and water softeners will not be examined.

As Chartered Surveyors, we are neither qualified nor competent to carry out detailed examinations of the various building services i.e. electrics, heating, air conditioning, ventilation, drainage, plumbing etc and any comments made in this regard will be based on a brief visual inspection only and of necessity will be descriptive only.

We will not arrange any specialist tests and inspections of the services installations unless requested to do so in writing by the Client. We may however recommend that these are carried out if we feel the need for further investigation.

A visual inspection will be made of any manholes or inspection chambers and drainage connections where the cover is intact, accessible and able to be physically lifted and reinstated. In the event that it cannot, we will advise the Client that Builders attendance is required, and the drains have not been inspected.

We will not carry out any investigation into structural engineering design or the presence of materials considered to be deleterious or hazardous in construction except insofar as such matters come to light in the normal course of inspecting materials and state of repair.

Recognised deleterious materials include the following:

• High Alumina Cement (HAC);
• Woodwool slabs used as a permanent formwork to structural concrete;
• Calcium chloride and mixtures in concrete;
• Asbestos or asbestos containing materials (ACM's);
• Aggregates for use in reinforced concrete which do not comply with British Standards Specification 882:1992 and aggregates for use in concrete which do not comply with British Standards Specification 8110:1985, 1997.
• Urea-Formaldehyde foam or materials which may release formaldehyde in quantities which may be hazardous, with reference to the limits set from time to time by the Health and Safety Executive;
• Calcium silicate bricks or tiles;
• Concrete that might be susceptible to alkali-silicate reactions;
• Any product which contains or uses in its manufacture Montreal Listed CFC gases;
• Materials containing fibres of less than 3 microns diameter (materials containing fibres larger than 3 microns diameter will be sealed or otherwise stabilised to ensure that the fibre migration is prevented);
• Mundie blocks and Mundie concrete;
• Brick slips.

The Surveyor will not comment upon the existence of contamination since this can only be established by appropriate specialists. Where, from his or her local knowledge or the inspection, he or she considers that contamination might be a problem, the Surveyor should advise as to the importance of obtaining a report from an appropriate specialist.