Terms of Engagement

In this document:

“We/Us” means Objective (Scotland) Ltd, 15 - 19 York Place, Edinburgh EH1 3EB, whose registered office is at Quartermile Two, 2 Lister Square, Edinburgh EH3 9GL.

"You" means the person or persons, partnership, firm or company to whom we are to provide the services in accordance with these terms of engagement, the confirmation of instructions and the agreed brief.

“Confirmation of instructions” means a letter, fax, e mail or other written form which we send to you in confirmation of your instructions to us.

“Brief” means a specific instruction or set of instructions which you provide to us in relation to the services to be provided.

1.0 Preliminary

1.1 We will undertake the services described in the confirmation of instructions, in accordance with these terms of engagement and the brief given to us.

1.2 We will discuss any proposed variation of these terms with you and where necessary enter into a separate agreement with you, which may replace these terms.

1.3 Any person to whom the confirmation of instructions is sent is assumed by us to have the necessary authority to act for you.

2.0 Inspections

2.1 Where the brief requires the inspection of properties we will carry out a detailed, non-disruptive, visual inspection of the exposed parts of the building fabric that are readily and safely accessible at the time of our visit, using our standard survey equipment.

2.2 Our report will express our opinion on the condition and standard of construction of the inspected parts of the property and recommend further investigation or repair where necessary.

2.3 We will provide you by e mail, letter or telephone, with a brief summary of principal considerations upon completion of our inspection, highlighting the main issues and further investigations which may be required.

2.4 Our written report will follow according to the agreed timetable, dependent on the extent of any further investigation necessary.

3.0 Inspections and Reports - limitations

3.1 In undertaking inspections, we cannot inspect parts of the property which are built-in, covered up or made otherwise inaccessible in the normal course of construction, alteration or fitting out and, unless stated in the confirmation of instructions or brief, no specialist inspections of the electrical, plumbing, drainage and mechanical services installations will be arranged.  We will therefore be unable to state that such parts or services are free from rot, beetle, corrosion or other defects.

3.2 Our report will exclude any investigation into structural engineering design, compliance with legislation relating to the construction of buildings, any materials listed as deleterious in the Ove Arup publication “Good Practice in the Selection of Construction Materials” or other materials considered as deleterious in construction, except insofar as such matters may come to our knowledge in the normal course of inspecting the materials and state of repair.

3.3 We will not carry out any work in connection with the presence of contamination on the site and cannot advise in this regard.

4.0 Sub Consultants

4.1 Where appropriate and as agreed in the confirmation of instructions or brief, we will appoint sub consultants on your behalf but we cannot accept liability for their advice to you.  Responsibility for the accuracy of information supplied will rest with the specialist concerned and their report will be included separately to our own. 

4.2 You will be responsible for the payment of the sub consultant's fee direct to them which we will confirm to you before the work is carried out.

5.0 Conflict of Interest

5.1 You need to notify us of any conflict of interest which may arise in connection with any services that we undertake for you.

6.0 Health & Safety

6.1 We are committed to compliance with the highest standards of Health & Safety as detailed in the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors publication entitled “Surveying Safely”. All work will be carried out with due regard to the Health & Safety of the surveyors concerned and others within and around the property.

6.2 Specifically, no surveyor will place themselves or others in a hazardous situation and we may therefore require to revert to you for further instructions with regard to providing safe access in undertaking inspections.

7.0 Payment

7.1 Fee accounts will be submitted to you in accordance with the confirmation of instructions. Where the scope or extent of the brief varies at a later stage we will agree a revised fee basis with you

7.2 We expect you to pay accounts within 30 days from the date of invoicing. We will comply with statutory legislation in relation to unpaid fees and in particular any interest due to us.

7.3 You are responsible for payment of all fees. Where you are entitled to recover fees from any third parties such as tenants or adjoining owners, fee accounts will be paid by you and the recovery of these fees is your responsibility.

8.0 Expenses & VAT

8.1 Fees will normally include expenses such as travelling, subsistence, printing, telephone calls and postage and we will advise you of this in the confirmation of instructions. Where these costs are expected to be exceptional and need to charged to you (e.g. air fares or multiple copies of lengthy documents) we will agree the cost of these with you in advance.

8.2 All expenses will be charged to you at cost; we will not add anything further.

8.3 All fees exclude VAT and you will pay VAT at the prevailing rate.

9.0 Leases

9.1 Where appropriate, lease documentation should be provided by you prior to an inspection, to enable us to advise in connection with likely duties and responsibilities.

10.0 Third Parties

10.1 Any report provided will be for your use only and we cannot accept any Third Party liability.

10.2 Any report provided by us for your use cannot be published in any way nor included in any published document, circular or statement without our prior written approval of the form and context in which it appears.

11.0 Jurisdiction

11.1 These Terms of Engagement are governed by the law of Scotland.