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Contract for Home Condition Survey
Parties to agreement:
Homebuyer
Address of property to be inspected
Home Inspector(HI)
Andrew Martin(SAVA005272)
Date of signing
Fee
.
The above fee has been agreed in advance by all parties to the Contract and is to be paid no later than 1 week after the inspection has been completed. Any late payment will result in a penalty charge of no less than 25% of the original fee.
The HCS(Home Condition Survey) will require an on-site presence of between 3 and 4 hours and the Report will be completed within 10 working days of the inspection.
Date of Inspection
Table of Contents
Standard conditions of engagement
Rights of the HI to withdraw from the contract
Rights of the client to withdraw from the contract
Data protection
Complaints and redress
Compliance with Auditing and Monitoring Requirements
I agree and accept in full all the Terms and Conditions contained within this Contract and that I have the appropriate authority to commission the above inspection for the property above.
Signature of Homebuyer
Signature of Home Inspector
..
1. Standard Conditions of Engagement
This Home Condition Survey is produced by a surveyor who is a member of the SAVA
Home Inspector Certification Scheme. The surveyor must provide an objective
opinion about the condition of the property which you, as the buyer, will be able to
rely on and use. To become a member of The SAVA Home Inspector Certification Scheme and be able to produce Home Condition Surveys, the surveyor has to:
Pass an assessment of skills, in line with National Occupational Standards;
and obtain the Diploma in Home Inspection.
Have insurance that provides cover if a surveyor is negligent.
The surveyor must follow the inspection standards and code of conduct set by SAVA.
To ensure compliance all members are continuously monitored and before
membership is granted a Criminal Records Bureau check is undertaken. SAVA can
revoke membership if a surveyor fails to maintain the expected professional or
ethical standards.
The Home Condition Survey is in a standard format and is based on these terms,
which set out what you should expect of both the surveyor and the Home Condition
Survey. Neither you nor the surveyor can amend these terms for the survey to be
covered by the SAVA scheme. However, the surveyor may provide you with other
services. Any other services the surveyor may provide are not covered by these
terms nor by the Certification Scheme and so must be covered by a separate
contract. All surveyors who are members of the SAVA Home Inspectors Certification Scheme
have a complaints procedure which can be escalated to SAVA. If you have any
complaint about this report, you can complain by following the complaints procedure.
This is explained in more detail at the end of this document.
What this report tells you
This report tells you:
About the construction and condition of the home on the date it was inspected,
Whether more enquiries or investigations are needed,
Reinstatement Cost for insurance purposes derived from data supplied by the
Building Cost Information Service (BCIS) except where the property is very
large or historic, or if it incorporates special features, or is of unusual
construction not covered by the Building Cost Information Service in which
circumstance a specialist would be needed to assess the reinstatement cost.
The reports main aim is to tell you about any defects that need urgent attention or
are serious. It also tells you about things that need further investigations to prevent
damage to the structure of the building.
The report applies condition ratings to the major parts of the main building (it
does not give condition ratings to outbuildings).
The property is broken down into separate elements, and each element has been given a condition rating 1, 2 or 3 or NI see more on definitions below.
What this report does not tell you:
This report does not tell you the value of your home or cover things that will be
considered when a valuation is provided, such as the area the home is in or the
availability of public transport or facilities.
It does not tell you about any minor defects that would not normally effect your
decision to buy.
The report does not give advice on the cost of any repair work or the types of
repair which should be used.
The report is not an asbestos inspection under the Control of Asbestos at
Work Regulations 2002.
If you need advice on subjects that are not covered by the Home Condition Survey,
you must arrange for it to be provided separately.
What is inspected?
The surveyor undertakes a visual inspection of the inside and outside of the main
building and all permanent outbuildings, and the parts of the gas, electricity, water
and drainage services that can be seen.
Condition rating definition
The surveyor gives each part of the structure of the main building a condition rating,
to make the report easy to follow. The condition ratings are as follows.
Condition Rating 1
No repair is currently needed. Normal maintenance must be carried out.
Condition Rating 2
Repairs or replacements are needed but the surveyor does not consider these
to be serious or urgent.
Condition Rating 3
These are defects which are either serious and/or require urgent repair or
replacement or where the surveyor feels that further investigation is required
(for instance where he/she has reason to believe repair work is needed but
an invasive investigation is required to confirm this). A serious defect is one
which could lead to rapid deterioration in the property or one which is likely
to cost more than 2.5% of the reinstatement cost to put right. You may
wish to obtain quotes for additional work where a condition rating 3
is given, prior to exchange of contract.
NI
Not inspected (see How the Inspection is carried out below)
How the Inspection is carried out
The inspection is visual and non invasive. This means that the surveyor does not
take up carpets, floor coverings or floorboards, move heavy furniture or remove
contents of cupboards. Also, the surveyor does not remove secure panels or undo
electrical fittings.
The surveyor will say at the start of sections D, E and F of the report if it was not
possible to inspect any parts of the home that are normally reported on. If the
surveyor is concerned about these parts, the report will tell you about any further
investigations that are needed. The surveyor does not provide estimates on the cost
of any work to correct defects or comment on how repairs should be carried out.
2.Rights of The Home Inspector to withdraw from the Contract
The following assumptions are made in advance of the Inspection taking place,if any of them prove to be incorrect for whatever reason the HI has the right to cancel the inspection and charge an appropriate fee to cover expenses and costs incurred.
The property is in a safe condition and poses no threat to Health and Safety beyond the normal domestic risks that could reasonably be expected in a property of similar type.
Access to property will be complete and will not be denied in any way deleterious to the successful completion of the inspection.
All services will be connected,incuding a light emitter in each room.
No part of the property can be constituted as a building site
Where building works are in progress,then they are being supervised by someone competent in construction Health and Safety Regulations.
3.Rights of the client to withdraw from the contract
The client has the right at any time to cancel the inspection,giving written notice of their intention to do so.Should this happen the HI has the right to charge a cancellation fee sufficient to cover time and expenses.
4.Data protection
As little personal information as possible will be requested and will normally be kept to the buyers name and phone number.
No personal data of the buyer will be used for any other purposes other than those affecting the inspection.
5.Compaints and redress
I aim to offer customers the highest levels of customer care and professional integrity,but there may be occasions when you feel you have cause for complaint.If so,I will always try to resolve the problem quickly and to your satisfaction.If you are unhappy with my response,you can take your complaint further through the complaints procedure.
Please contact me in any of the following ways:
Telephone:07500 929345/01273 889532
Letter:12,Tangmere Rd,Brighton,BN1 8TJ
Email:home-inspector@live.co.uk
I would aim to respond to your initial contact within 48hrs and if necessary revisit the site within 10 working days to examine any area of concern.It would be my intention to resolve all outstanding matters within 20 working days of the original contact.
If you feel that these or any other issues have not been addressed satisfactorily by the HI within an acceptable timeframe, then you can send your complaint to the SAVA Certification Scheme.This scheme will check your complaint and then pass it to an Independent Adjudication Service,who will investigate it.
I support fully and am a member of the Home Inspector Registration Scheme
Following the complaints procedure does not affect your legal rights
Home Inspector Certification Scheme(SAVA) contact details:
Tel:01908 442288
Address:Davy Avenue,Knowhill,Milton Keynes,MK5 8NA
Website:www.sava-cs.org.uk
Email:info@sava-cs.org.uk
6.Compliance with Auditing and Monitoring Requirements of The Regulatory Bodies
The terms of this contract imply that all works will be carried out in accordance with the monitoring and auditing requirements of the SAVA Certification Scheme of which the Home Inspector is a member and bound by its professional code of conduct.