Terms
and Conditions.
First Property Services Ltd
Standard Terms of Business
Application
As it is in the interest of both parties that there is a full understanding of the terms of reference and the service to be provided, this document sets out our Standard Terms of Business.
Appointment
The client appoints First Property Services UK Ltd (Registered Office; Edwin Foden Business Centre, Moss Lane, Sandbach. Cheshire. CW11 3AE) to provide the agreed services exercising reasonable skill and care. Any variations to these terms agreed following the initial settlement of the terms are to be recorded in writing and agreed by all the relevant parties.
Performance standards
We conform to an industry code of conduct, a consumer charter and a framework of technical standards supported by Trustmark. All our DEA’s are accredited and compliance is in accordance with the Energy Performance of Building Regulations 2012 in the interests of maintaining high standards of service and for the protection of clients.
Liability and duty of care
First Property Services UK Ltd owes to the client a duty to act with reasonable skill and care in providing the service and complying with the client’s instructions where those instructions do not conflict with these terms or applicable law and professional rules.
We have no liability for the consequences, including delay in or failure to provide the services, of any failure by the client or any agent of the client to promptly provide information or other material reasonably requested, or where that material is inaccurate or incomplete, or to follow our advice or recommendations.
The contents of our report are intended to be confidential to the party to whom it is addressed. Unless provided otherwise by law or regulation, we owe no duty of care and have no liability to any third party for the whole or any part of our valuation.
We confirm that First Property Services UK Ltd holds professional indemnity insurance in respect of the service to be provided.
Conflicts of Interest
First Property Services UK Ltd is part of a group of companies, which include First Property Surveys Ltd, Opal Financials Holdings Ltd and Opal Financials Ltd (please note these companies have shared managing directors). It is therefore possible that a group company is involved in either the sale or purchase of the property that we are inspecting on your behalf. This is to inform you that this will not affect the impartiality of the service carried out for you by us, as all companies act independently of each other and the service provided by us to you is not influenced by the involvement, if any, of another group company or companies.
Data Protection
First Property Services UK Ltd take responsibility under General Data Protection Regulation seriously. Our Privacy Policy details how we collect, use, maintain and disclose personal data.
The client’s obligations
The client agrees to pay the fees for the work carried out in accordance with the rates or structure set out prior to completion of the service.
The client will be responsible for the timed provision of all information and cooperation reasonably, including that from third parties engaged directly by the client, required by us to assist in the performance of the service. We will assume that the information provided is complete and correct.
The client will not make available to any third party or reproduce the whole or any part of the report/certificate, nor make reference to it, in any publication without our prior written approval of the form and context in which such disclosure may be made.
In the event of a termination of our services, our fees will be calculated on a quantum merit basis having regard to the agreed rates or fee structure.
Jurisdiction
English law shall apply in every respect and the agreement with the client that shall be deemed to have been made in England. In the event of any dispute arising in connection with the service we provide, including any third party using the information, the parties will submit to the jurisdiction of the English courts only.
Complaints
In the event that a complaint should arise, we confirm that we have a complaints handling procedure, a copy of which will be provided on request.
Conditions and assumptions
Generally
Inspections and investigations will be carried out to the extent necessary to produce a report that is professionally adequate for its purpose. Where reports have to be made on restricted information, the nature of the restrictions will be set out in the site notes and the report.
We shall make certain assumptions in relation to facts, conditions or situations affecting the subject of, or approach to, our reports that we will not verify as part of the process, but treat them as a ‘supposition taken to be true’. In the event these assumptions prove to be incorrect then our reports will need to be reviewed.
Title and tenancies
We shall rely upon information provided by you or your solicitor relating to title, boundaries and related matters. We will not commission a formal legal search and will assume the information provided to be accurate, up-to-date and complete.
Tenant status
We will make no detailed enquiries about the financial status of tenants. We will assume that appropriate enquiries were made when leases were originally exchanged, or when consent was granted to any assignment or underletting.
Planning and highway enquiries
We shall make informal enquiries of the local planning and highway authorities and also rely on information that is publicly published or available free of charge. Any information obtained will be assumed to be correct. No local searches will be instigated. Except where stated to the contrary, we shall assume that there are no local authority planning or highway proposals that might involve the use of compulsory purchase powers or otherwise directly affect the property.
Floor areas and age
The floor areas in our report will be derived from measurements taken on site or that have been scaled from the drawings supplied and checked by sample measurements on site. Where the age of a building is estimated, this is for guidance only.
Plant and equipment
We will include in our reports those items of plant and equipment normally considered to be part of the service installations to a building and which would normally pass with the property on a sale or letting. We will exclude all items of process plant and machinery and equipment, together with their special foundations and supports, furniture and furnishings, vehicles, stock and loose tools, and tenants’ fixtures and fittings.