Other Property Services

A proposed layout can look straightforward on a plan while raising important structural questions. Our residential structural engineering services cover projects such as extensions, loft and garage conversions, wall removal and alterations involving beams or chimney breasts.

The starting point is the existing building and what you want to change. The agreed service may include an inspection, structural drawings, design advice and engineering calculations. Confirm which documents your architect, contractor or building control team needs so the instruction can be coordinated with the wider project.

Read our local engineering guidance for North London, South East London, South West London and West London. If the plans are still developing, send the information you have and describe the intended work. We can discuss what is needed to prepare a useful proposal.

A Schedule of Condition records the visible state of a building at a particular date. Written descriptions and photographs provide a reference against which later changes can be considered.

It can be useful before taking a lease or before nearby building work begins. Agree the areas to be recorded and arrange access early, while the relevant surfaces remain visible. A condition record serves a different purpose from a report investigating why a defect has occurred.

For a lease, discuss with your solicitor how the schedule should be referenced in the documents. Its existence alone does not automatically determine a tenant’s repairing responsibilities.

Questions about disrepair can arise before, during or at the end of a tenancy. A dilapidation survey assesses condition, while a Schedule of Dilapidation identifies alleged breaches and the associated works or costs.

For landlords, our advice can include preparing a schedule and discussing the evidence with the tenant’s surveyor. For tenants, it can include reviewing a claim, considering its scope and cost, and preparing a response. The relevant lease, alterations and intended future use of the premises all need consideration.

Provide the lease, licences for alterations, any earlier condition record and the correspondence received. Mention dates or deadlines at the outset. A measured assessment of the documents and building helps establish which points need investigation or discussion.

When a disagreement turns on a property’s condition, value or the quality of work, an Expert Witness Report can bring a professional assessment of the evidence to the discussion. Harding’s services include matters concerning building surveys, valuations, landlord and tenant disputes, housing disrepair, construction claims and professional negligence.

The instruction should identify the issues, the information available and the purpose of the report. Tell us whether solicitors are involved and whether a particular reporting format or timetable has been requested. An expert’s opinion must remain independent; it cannot be promised to favour the person instructing them. Any further attendance or involvement should be agreed separately.

Specialist services are priced around the work required. A focused inspection of a single accessible defect differs from a structural design instruction, an extensive condition record or a report involving detailed document review. Property size, location, access, complexity and the required deliverables can all affect a quotation.

Send the address, a description of your concern and any relevant drawings or reports. Include the purpose of the advice and any deadline connected with a purchase, lease or proposed works. We can then discuss a scope and fee rather than relying on a generic price list.

If you need a broader assessment of a property before purchase, compare our survey options first. For a question about value rather than condition, see our valuation services.