Designing Buildings - User contributions [en]

Chartered surveyor

2024-04-22T10:09:03Z

Pwootton:

‘Surveyor’ is a very broad term that covers a wide range of disciplines and activities, such as land surveys, property surveys, construction and engineering surveys, quantity surveying and so on.

‘[https://dlssolicitors.com/define/estate-agent/ Chartered surveyor]’ is the legally protected title that is given to surveyors who have passed an assessment of professional competence. The representative body is the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), and only fully-qualified members are allowed to use the designated title of ‘chartered surveyor’. This is denoted by ‘MRICS’ following their name.

Members of the RICS must keep up-to-date with current practice and comply with a code of professional and ethical standards that requires them to:

* Act with integrity.
* Always provide a high standard of service.
* Act in a way that promotes trust in the profession.
* Treat others with respect.
* Take responsibility.

Chartered surveyors are also subject to an RICS Complaints Handling Procedure, which is available on request to any client. In addition, services provided by chartered surveyors should be backed by professional indemnity insurance (PII) lasting up to six years from the date of any professional work being undertaken.

[https://roger-hannah.co.uk/ Chartered surveyors] may work in a range of different property and building fields, often providing clients with specialist advice on property-related issues. These services commonly include providing property valuations, assessing buildings for defects, assessing damage or dilapidations for insurers, mortgage valuations, quantity surveying, land surveying, estate management, environmental advice, and so on. However, individual chartered surveyors rarely have expertise in all of these different areas, which is why partnerships or other organisations are formed to be able to provide a wider range of services.

= Related articles on Designing Buildings =

* Building People.
* Chartered institute.
* Commercial manager.
* Continuing professional development.
* Cost consultant.
* EWS1 forms are not required for buildings without cladding.
* Measurement.
* Professional indemnity insurance.
* Professional practice.
* Quantity surveyor.
* Quantity of surveyor’s fees.
* Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.
* Surveyor.
* [[What_is_a_Chartered_Practice%3F|What is a Chartered Practice?]]

[[Category:DCN_Person]] [[Category:Organisations]] [[Category:Roles_/_services]]

Caveat emptor in property sales

2024-04-22T10:06:00Z

Pwootton:

The phrase ‘[https://dlssolicitors.com/define/caveat-emptor/ caveat emptor]’ (or ‘buyer beware’) refers to the general principle that the seller of an item will generally know more about it than the purchaser and so the purchaser must take care to check the item before agreeing a price and purchasing it.

Whilst legislation such as the Sale of Goods Act and the Unfair Contract Terms Act provide some protection to consumers, allowing them to return goods that are not of an acceptable standard, it does not apply to the sale of property (although it may apply to new goods in a property).

The purchaser of property must take care to satisfy themselves that there are no unacceptable defects in the quality, fitness, or title of that property, as they may have no remedy against the seller if it turns out that there are defects. As a result, buyers will tend to investigate the title to a property they are considering purchasing, commission surveys and carry out searches to satisfy themselves that the property is acceptable.

Whilst the seller of property cannot make untrue statements or representations, they are under no obligation to disclose material facts to the purchaser. The only exception to this is if the seller is aware of latent defects in title or issues relating to the property which the purchaser could not reasonably discover by inspection, then the seller must disclose those defects to the purchaser. Failure to do so can entitle the buyer to claim damages or to rescind the contract.

As it can be difficult to determine whether a defect is ‘obvious’ and so does not need to be disclosed, sellers may adopt a cautionary approach; however, this can affect the price or the progress of the sale.

It is also important that the seller does not make statements or sign contracts that confirm they are not aware of any defects.

This combination of failure to disclose and misrepresentation can produce complicated situations. For example, a seller may not be obliged to disclose the extent of the title of a property, as this should be reasonably discoverable by the purchaser. However, if the property details falsely indicate the extent of the title, then this may amount to misrepresentation.

The situation is complicated further by the existence of guarantees (which should be transferable but are only as good as the company that gave them), collateral warranties and third-party rights, which may give additional rights to the purchaser.

= Related articles on Designing Buildings =

* Collateral warranty.
* Construction contract.
* Defects.
* Guarantees.
* Latent defects.
* Reservation agreement.
* Rights of third parties.
* Technical due diligence.
* Vendor survey.

[[Category:DCN_Definition]] [[Category:DCN_Guidance]] [[Category:DCN_Legislation]] [[Category:Other_legislation]] [[Category:Property_law]]

Due diligence

2024-04-22T10:05:10Z

Pwootton:

= Introduction =

In its broadest sense, the term '[https://dlssolicitors.com/define/due-diligence/ due diligence]' simply refers to taking reasonable steps or exercising reasonable care in relation to a particular course of action.

In relation to the construction industry, it can have a number of more specific meanings.

= Business assessment =

Due diligence can refer to the steps taken to thoroughly investigate a business or person prior to signing a contract with them.

= Technical investigations =

Technical due diligence refers to the process of investigating a site to assess its suitability for a particular project and the risks involved before proceeding with that project.

For more information, see Technical due diligence.

= Contractor's obligation =

Due diligence may be referred to in a construction contract, placing an obligation on the contractor to complete the works with care and the ‘requisite effort’. A similar term may refer to ‘ordinary care’, that is, the care that a reasonable person would take to avoid harm to other persons or property.

In the case of Sabic UK Petrochemicals Limited v Punj Lloyd Limited, the Technology and Construction Court (TCC) had to examine whether a contractor was in breach of this obligation with regard to the delivery of a petrochemical plant.

The contractor maintained that due diligence required them to maintain an appropriate rate of progress with regard to the contract requirements and the completion date that was realistic at the time their rate of progress was being assessed. They claimed that due diligence did not extend to them being obliged to achieve the impossible, and they were not required to accelerate the works to claw back delays.

The TCC disagreed with the contractor and ruled that just because compliance with one or more of the absolute contractual obligations has become unachievable does not mean or imply that these obligations are objectively incapable of achievement. It would be necessary for the contractor to prove the impossibility of complying with the absolute contractual obligation.

They also held that the contractual terms did not suggest that the due diligence obligation should be ‘emptied of content’ as a result of the completion date becoming unachievable. Circumstances may arise, the court found, where the exercising of due diligence may require taking measures not originally contemplated, such as acceleration measures in the case of a delay, if that is what is required.

As a result, it was held that the contractual requirement to proceed with ‘due diligence’ imposed strict obligations on the contractor that must be adhered to.

= Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki =

* Caveat emptor.
* Completion date.
* Construction contracts.
* Due diligence when selecting contractors or subcontractors.
* Easements.
* Encumbrances.
* Pre-construction information.
* Single-stage tender.
* Technical due diligence.
* Tender report.

[[Category:DCN_Case_Law]] [[Category:DCN_Definition]] [[Category:DCN_Guidance]] [[Category:Case_law]] [[Category:Property_law]]

Easements

2024-04-22T10:04:24Z

Pwootton:

An [https://dlssolicitors.com/define/easement/ easement] is a right that a person has over land owned by someone else. Easements are normally attached to the land rather than to a person and can be considered to last in perpetuity.

Examples of easements include:

* Rights of way.
* Right to light.
* The right for underground services to pass beneath the land of a neighbouring property.
* Right of support.
* The right to draw water.

An easement can be created by:

* Express grant, for example, may be set out in a conveyance deed or a transfer deed.
* Necessity, for example, if there is only one means of access between a site and a public highway.
* By prescription, i.e., the act is repeated for a period of at least twenty years,.

Easements can be extinguished in several ways:

* Agreement between the parties in the form of a deed.
* By implied release, for example, it has not been used for a long period of time.
* The character of the dominant land has changed.
* By limitation of time, if a limitation was agreed.
* By a change in law.

Easements differ from wayleaves, which are temporary agreements typically used by utility companies to allow them to install and maintain equipment on privately owned land in return for payment to the landowner and occupier.

= Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki =

* Access to Neighbouring Land Act, 1992.
* Building survey.
* Burdens.
* Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000.
* Deed of easement.
* Dominant estate.
* Due diligence.
* Encumbrances.
* Land register.
* Property rights.
* Restrictive covenants.
* Right to light.
* Right of support.
* Rights of way.
* Rights over land.
* Right to a view.
* Right to access land.
* Servient estate.
* Tree rights.
* Trespass.
* Wayleave.

= External references =

* [http://www.restrictivecovenants.co.uk/rightsofway.shtml Land registry: Practice Guide 62 – Easements]
* [http://www.restrictivecovenants.co.uk/rightsofway.shtml Restrictive Coventants: Rights of way.]
* [http://www.boundary-problems.co.uk/boundary-problems/easements.html Boundary problems: Easements.]
* [https://dlssolicitors.com/define/easement/ Easement | DLS Solicitors]

[[Category:DCN_Definition]] [[Category:DCN_Guidance]] [[Category:Other_legislation]] [[Category:Property_law]] [[Category:Property_development]]

Adverse possession

2024-04-22T10:01:59Z

Pwootton:

[https://dlssolicitors.com/define/adverse-possession/ Adverse possession] is the occupation of land that belongs to someone else without permission.

Under certain circumstances, adverse possession can allow the person in possession to acquire the right to be registered as the owner of the land. The reason for this is that when unregistered land is purchased, it can be difficult to establish whether the person who is selling it has legal title to it and so has the right to sell it; furthermore, it can be difficult to determine whether the person who sold it to them had the right to sell it, and so on and so forth.

The ‘twelve-year rule’ means that if a person has been in possession of unregistered land for 12 years, then they can acquire legal title to the land. This means that subsequent purchasers can have certainty about their title. The obligation on owners is to check their land at least every 12 years.

This 'rule' can provide certainty of title and clarity, for example, where a boundary has existed in the wrong location for a long period of time. However, it can also be taken advantage of by'squatters', giving them the opportunity to acquire apparently vacant property.

Before the Land Registration Act 2002 came into force, squatters could acquire the right to be registered as the owner of registered land if they had been in adverse possession of the land for 12 years.

However, the justification for this for registered land was questionable, and so changes introduced by the Land Registration Act made it easier for the proprietor of registered land to prevent a successful application for adverse possession.

The new procedure is outlined below:

* After 10 years, the squatter can apply to be registered as the proprietor of the land.
* The registered proprietor is notified of the application.
* If the application is not opposed, the squatter is registered as a proprietor.
* If the application is opposed, it is rejected. There are exceptions to this, for example, if the squatter is an adjacent landowner and mistakenly believes they are the owner of the land that they are in adverse possession of. See Land Registry [http://www.landregistry.gov.uk/professional/guides/practice-guide-4#sthash.eAASjoVG.dpuf Practice Guide 4 – Adverse possession of registered land] for more information.

If the application is rejected but the squatter remains in adverse possession for two more years, they may then be able to reapply and will be registered as the owner whether or not anyone opposes the application. This gives the registered owner 2 years to begin proceedings to have the squatter removed from the land.

NB: Since September 1st, 2012, squatting on residential premises has been a criminal offence punishable by a prison sentence of up to six months or a fine of up to £5,000. This is as a result of Section 144 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 coming into force. Commercial premises owners will not be able to rely upon this new legislation if faced with squatters on their premises. They will therefore have to continue to rely upon existing civil procedures to evict squatters unless they commit a criminal offence.

-----
In the case of Heaney v. Kirkby, an elderly woman established ownership of a grass verge outside her home, which she had tended as part of her garden for many years.

After purchasing her home in 1999, the woman set about beautifying the verge and installing two car parking spaces. She imported 12 tonnes of topsoil, seeded the verge with grass, and put in place a coping stone bearing the name of her home. In 2012, however, her neighbour succeeded in obtaining the paper title to the verge, which had never previously been registered with any owner. He purported to forbid her to make any further use of it, whether for parking or otherwise.

She successfully argued before the First-Tier and Upper Tribunals that she had, as of right, been in unchallenged possession of the verge for years and that its registered title should therefore be transferred to her. In rejecting her neighbour’s challenge to that result, the Court of Appeal found that she had been in adverse possession of the verge for the required 12-year period and was entitled to call it her own.

= Find out more =

=== Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki ===

* Commonhold.
* How to evict a tenant.
* Land acquisition.
* Land registry.
* Leasehold.
* Squatters.
* Trespass.

=== External references ===

* Land registry, [http://www.landregistry.gov.uk/professional/guides/practice-guide-4#sthash.eAASjoVG.dpuf Practice Guide 4 – Adverse possession of registered land].
* Rex Cowell Solicitors, Heaney v Kirkby

[[Category:DCN_Case_Law]] [[Category:DCN_Definition]] [[Category:DCN_Guidance]] [[Category:DCN_Policy]] [[Category:Property_law]]