Surveyors

Duncan Lewis Litigation Solicitors – Surveyors

Surveyors are a crucial part of the process of buying or developing a property – and when they let a client down, the results can be financially devastating and wreck lives.

It is the duty of a surveyor to advise clients on the state of a property and any potential issues or defects in the structure of a building, including damp, dry or wet rot, subsidence, lack of maintenance, or nearby trees which might have roots extending under or near a property. Failure to spot hazards such as asbestos or Japanese knotweed might also constitute professional negligence in a surveyor.

Surveyors usually offer several types of survey – including

• Basic survey, which is a simple report for a mortgage valuation
• Home Buyer’s Report, which will contain more details about a property’s condition
• Full structural survey, which goes into much more detail about a property.

The type of report involved might have a bearing in any claim for professional negligence against a surveyor.

Surveyors are regulated by RICS (Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors), which has a complaints procedure.

However, if a surveyor has prepared a more detailed report and has failed to bring a homebuyer’s attention to a possible defect or issue which causes financial loss, it is usually possible to bring a claim for damages against them.

Duncan Lewis property litigation solicitors can advise at any stage of a dispute with a surveyor for negligence – including professional negligence relating to commercial and residential property surveys, and surveys of historic or listed buildings.

Duncan Lewis has a highly successful property and housing department able to offer in house advice in claims involving surveyors professional negligence claims such as:

• Errors in drafting a survey
• Failure to highlight defects in a building survey
• Incorrect advice from a surveyor
• Surveyor missed deadlines.

Surveyors’ professional negligence can also sometimes involve failure to disclose a professional or personal connection with an estate agent who recommends the surveyor to the homebuyer – Duncan Lewis can also advise on cases where there might have been a deliberate attempt to deceive the homebuyer into buying a defective property.

For expert legal advice on Surveyors Professional Negligence Claims, call Duncan Lewis Property Litigation Solicitors on 0333 772 0409.