Commercial Surveyor Services

Bradley-Mason LLP is a Chartered Building Surveying practice who offer the full range of Surveying, Building Consultancy and Project Management Services throughout the UK.

Our senior level team provide expert advice, with a focus on a quick turnaround service to maximise value and to fully understand our client’s businesses and property requirements. Ranging from investment funds and private Landlord’s to High Street retailers and commercial Tenant’s, we offer advice on the whole life cycle of their property interest from acquisition to disposal. Our aim is to predict your needs and ensure your expectations are exceeded. We question your requirements to ensure that our services are tailored to your current and future needs.

How does a Schedule of Condition protect both landlord and tenant?

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Whether you are a landlord with property to let or a business about to enter into a lease agreement, a Schedule of Condition (SoC) is an important document designed to protect your interests. The document is typically prepared for legal and contractual reasons, both for residential and commercial properties.

A Schedule of Condition is generally included with a lease. It is drawn up prior to a new tenancy commencing, with the purpose of equipping both landlord and tenant with a record of the property’s state of repair before occupancy starts. Both parties have the opportunity to consult on the SoC to agree its findings and overall contents.

At Bradley-Mason, our expert team has many years’ experience of all aspects of commercial building surveying and building consultancy. We are routinely involved in preparing Schedules of Condition for inclusion within a lease or a party wall award, advising investors, landlords and tenants.

What does a Schedule of Condition contain?

A Schedule of Condition typically consists of a combination of written statements and photographic evidence to illustrate the surveyor’s findings. This is known as a full Schedule of Condition and offers ample scope for the surveyor to accurately describe the property’s state of repair.

The information is usually set out in a well-structured and easy-to-follow format:

  • Summary introduction specifying the purpose and scope of the Schedule
  • Brief description of the property being inspected, and details of its location
  • Any restrictions on the inspection
  • Date and weather conditions at the time of inspection
  • The purposes for which the Schedule may be relied upon
  • Relevant drawings of the property, identifying rooms
  • Written schedule of observations, detailing the condition of the property room by room
  • Accompanying photo and/or video evidence to showcase the surveyor’s findings
  • Mentions of the types of tests carried during the inspection
  • Definitions of the terms included within

The most important purpose of a full Schedule comprising both detailed photographs and text is to provide a fair, first-hand insight into the property’s condition. Whether the Schedule is prepared on behalf of a landlord or tenant, contractor or employer, the document is used to identify changes in the condition of the property that could be difficult to visualise without the assistance of detailed photographs and written descriptions.

What is a Schedule of Condition used for?

When a commercial or residential property is to be let, it is good practice for the lease to include a Schedule of Condition in order to document the general condition of the property at the outset of the lease term.

As a factual and impartial record of the state of the property at the beginning of the lease term, the Schedule acts as a benchmark against which the property’s condition can be assessed at a later date, serving as valuable evidence in case of landlord-tenant disputes.

A properly prepared Schedule of Condition can fulfil important functions to assist both landlords and tenants:

  • It can help protect both parties’ interests by outlining and enabling landlord and tenant to agree the condition of the property, including any repair work that might be needed, at the outset.
  • The Schedule, including any liability for repairs, are commonly referred to within the lease or tenancy agreement, which sets out the expectations of the tenant to maintain the property’s condition.
  • It can be used to establish and agree the tenant’s repairing obligations, including any obligations for reinstatement works, under the lease. That way, potential disputes and claims for damages during or after the lease term can be avoided.
  • On commercial leases, a SoC can act as an invaluable tool to help the tenant limit their liabilities and repairing obligations under the terms of the lease, particularly towards the end of the lease term when they may be facing dilapidations claims from the landlord.
  • At the end of the tenancy, and often also at specified intervals throughout the tenancy period, the landlord (or his representatives) has the right to inspect the property, using the SoC to determine whether any damage has been incurred since the Schedule was drawn up.

In the event of damages or repair to the property, both the tenant’s repairing obligations contained within the lease agreement and the Schedule of Condition can be referred to. As the Schedule of Condition acts as written and photographic evidence of the state of the property at the start of the lease term, it protects both landlord and tenant when it comes to determining who is responsible for repairs at the property.

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For more information about how a Schedule of Condition can help protect your interests as a landlord or tenant, or to discuss your specific requirements, please get in touch with our experienced team.

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Reinstatement Cost Assessment – what you need to know

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Having adequate insurance cover for your commercial buildings is vital, whether your investment is a single building or you’re managing a larger portfolio. Not enough insurance can leave you financially exposed in the event of a claim, particularly in the event that you have to rebuild the property, which can have potentially disastrous consequences. Too much cover means you’re paying over the odds for your building insurance. But the risk of both overinsurance and underinsurance can be avoided with a Reinstatement Cost Assessment (RCA).

At Bradley-Mason, we conduct professional and impartial assessments according to the latest practice standards from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), using RICS Guidelines for RCA of Buildings and online cost information from the Building Cost Information Service (BCIS) to allow us to produce an RCA with a high degree of accuracy.

What is a Reinstatement Cost Assessment?

RCA is the basis on which Chartered Surveyors conduct appraisals of commercial property, plant, machinery and contents for insurance purposes. Most UK commercial buildings are insured on a reinstatement basis, meaning new for old. Thus, the reinstatement cost of a building means a repair, reconstruction or renewal of the asset to a condition that is equal to but not better than new. It’s a comprehensive assessment that often involves the inspection and reporting on a wide range of properties of varying types, sizes and uses.

How frequently should an RCA be conducted?

Carrying out a Reinstatement Cost Assessment to determine the value of the asset is the only way to ensure that the correct level of insurance cover can be put in place. With that in mind, and in line with RICS recommendations, we would advise that a full RCA be carried out every 3 years, alongside supporting annual desktop evaluations with costs amended based on Tender Price Indices (TPIs). If any significant alterations are made to the property, or additional investment or downsizing in plant, machinery or contents has occurred, a reassessment should be conducted in full to ensure that appropriate insurance cover is in place.

How is a Reinstatement Cost Assessment carried out?

Undertaking an initial RCA for insurance purposes requires a physical inspection of all areas of the property by a qualified surveyor. Schedules of buildings, main plant and machinery/contents will be undertaking during the site visit and building plans, health and safety documentation and other information about the building’s size, age, construction, location and services may also be required. BCIS published data, information supplied by machinery manufacturers and agents, internet research and internal databases are all used in the calculation. The more information we have, the more accurate the RCA will be. Subsequent RCAs may be conducted without the need for a physical visit

What happens in the event of a claim?

Should the worst happen and an insurance claim is made on the policy, the building’s reinstatement cost estimate is called on to inform the likely insurance pay-out. In addition, the insurer will appoint a loss adjuster to assess and manage the claim in detail. A surveyor may also be instructed to assess the extent of the damage and invoices in the reconstruction process, making sure the building is appropriately reinstated. At Bradley-Mason, our project management team has developed a specialist service to rapidly assess building damage as a result of flood, fire or vandal attack, prepare an outline feasibility for the work required to agree with the loss adjuster, and specify, tender and project manage the repair work to minimise the impact on our client’s business.

How can Bradley-Mason help?

If you require independent professional advice on Reinsurance Cost Assessments for your commercial premises anywhere in the UK, the experienced team at Bradley-Mason LLP should be your first port of call. We have many years’ experience in surveying all kinds of commercial property across many sectors, ranging from small office premises to large multiplex cinemas and wide-ranging residential portfolios.

Call us on 01423 611 604 or email us at info@bradley-mason.com to discuss your RCA requirements with our expert team.

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Warm deck or cold deck roof?

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There are two main types of flat roof – cold deck roof and warm deck roofs, do you know the difference?

Cold deck roof:

The insulation in a cold deck roof is installed at ceiling level, therefore the void is at a colder temperature than the room below during colder weather. This poses a risk of condensation forming within the void or on the underside of the roof slab. This can lead to rotting timbers, damp ceiling and ineffective insulation. Consequently, it is important that the void is well ventilated. This was the traditional way of flat roof construction and as insulation has increased over the years, the warm deck roof is now the commonly used method of construction.

Warm deck roof:

The insulation in a warm deck roof is installed immediately below the roof membrane on top of the roof deck, usually with a vapour control layer underneath the insulation. Contrasted with the cold deck roof, this construction has a much lower risk of condensation as the void will be of a comparable temperature to the roof. Ventilation is also not required with this type as the design works by conserving heat. Furthermore, an Inverted roof is a different type of warm deck roof, where the insulation is installed above the membrane and so no vapour control is needed. This then means that the roof void or deck are at a similar temperature to the room below.

 

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