Print this page

4 Vital Commercial Surveys and why you need them

Written by Posted On Wednesday, 12 April 2017 05:16
4 Vital Commercial Surveys and why you need them

Four vital commercial surveys and why you need them

Many people believe that surveyors only work on residential properties, but it’s actually the case that owners of industrial and commercial premises can benefit hugely from a range of different assessments and audits. Here are four essential commercial surveys – what they are for and why your business can’t do without them. For the best results, you should use professional commercial surveyors like Bradley Mason LLP with specific experience in your industry.

Access Audits

In 2010, the Equality Act was brought in to replace the Disability Discrimination Acts of 1995 and 2005. The Equality Act covers a broader range of issues from education and transport to workplace issues in order to protect people from discrimination on any grounds. One such issue is whether a disabled person is able to gain access to a building, and it is considered to be discrimination is suitable provisions are not put in place to make it possible for disabled people to access the premises.

An access audit is carried out on your property to ensure that your building meets the access needs of staff, visitors and anyone else who might have reason to be on your site. This in-depth report looks at all aspects of the building to understand whether there are any physical issues that would stop disabled people from gaining full access. Once the audit has been completed you will be given professional guidance on what needs to be carried out in order to deal with any problems at the property.

Remember that the Equality Acts applies in different ways depending on your business premises and requirements, so in each individual case it’s important to understand your own responsibilities. So having an access audit carried out on your site ensures that you stay within the law and make it as easy as possible for disabled people.

Asbestos Surveys

Many commercial property owners do not understand the risks associated with exposure to asbestos. Asbestos was banned from use in construction in the UK in 1999 because it is known to be very hazardous to human health when the material is disturbed and fibres are breathed into the lungs. Unfortunately it remains present in many buildings built before 1999. Mesothelioma, a form of cancer that is almost always a result of exposure to asbestos, claims the lives of around 2,500 people every year.

Even if you understand the risk, you might not realise that business owners are required to have a plan in place to minimise the risk of asbestos exposure for themselves, their staff and any visitors to their site. This means that you need to draw up an asbestos management plan and the first step in doing this is to have a commercial asbestos survey carried out.

Commercial asbestos surveyors will assess your site to understand whether there is any asbestos present, and whether this asbestos poses a risk to staff in its current condition. The report will advise you of steps to take in order to implement an effective asbestos management plan.

Dilapidations Assessment

When you lease a commercial property, you are liable to certain obligations under the terms of the lease. It is usually the case that you are expected to leave the property in the same condition it was in when it was initially leased. If you have been a tenant in the property for a significant amount of time this could mean carrying out extensive restorative and repair works in order to fulfil the terms of the agreement. This process is known as dilapidations.

A dilapidations assessment is survey that looks at what would need to be done to the property in order to correctly restore it. It will explain the works that the tenant would need to carry out along with an estimate of the appropriate costs for having this completed.

It’s also quite common that towards end of a lease, the landlord will issue a schedule of dilapidations, which is effectively their assessment of what needs to be carried out in order to restore the property to the correct condition. If you disagree with this schedule of dilapidations – for example, if you don’t believe you are fully liable for the work or you disagree with the method that the landlord has suggested to carry out the work – a dilapidations assessment can be used to prepare a response so that you can come to an agreement.

Reinstatement Cost Assessment

When you own commercial property you will need to have insurance in place to protect you from the possibility of disasters occurring. If you were to experience a fire or flood at the property that meant that parts of the building had to be rebuilt or had extensive work carried out, you would call on your insurance to cover these costs.

However, if your property is incorrectly valued, it could mean that the level you are insured for doesn’t cover the actual cost of repairing the building. This would then result in your having to cover the additional costs.

A reinstatement cost assessment is designed to give you an up-to-date assessment of the value of your property for insurance purposes. If your property is found to be either over- or under-insured you could make the appropriate changes with your insurance company.

Rate this item
(0 votes)
Olivia Blake

Latest from Olivia Blake

Joomla! Debug Console

Session

Profile Information

Memory Usage

Database Queries