Professional Negligence Claims Against Surveyors

We are able to offer a no-obligation initial telephone assessment to give you an understanding of the merits of your potential claim, so please feel free to call us or complete our online enquiry form and we will call you back to discuss your case.

What our clients say about us…

• Surveyor negligence claims

  Surveyors, like other professionals, must ensure that they use reasonable care and skill when undertaking work for a client. Surveyors can be used by individuals and businesses alike. Surveyors are usually instructed to assist clients in a couple of different areas. The first is to undertake a valuation of a property, and the second is to undertake an inspection and survey of a property.

  Professional negligence claims against a surveyor can be pursued where their valuation falls outside an accepted bracket of possible valuations for that property.

  In terms of inspections and surveys, the extent of a surveyor’s duty of care will depend on the type of survey a surveyor is asked to undertake. There are three main types:

  • A Mortgage Valuation Report;
  • A HomeBuyer Report; and
  • A Building Survey.

  Each survey is more costly than the next and more importantly, covers a greater level of detail about the property. As such, if a client simply selects a Mortgage Valuation Report, the duty owed to a client will be extremely limited as it only covers a very basic level of inspection. At the other end of the spectrum, there is a Building Survey. The duty owed by a surveyor undertaking this will be much greater given the need to go into far more detail about the condition of the property.

  In order to prove that a surveyor has breached the duties referred to above, it is usual for a client to obtain a report from another surveyor to comment on whether the work undertaken fell below the standard to be expected. This is something we can discuss and provide assistance in obtaining.

• Examples of surveyor negligence

  The list below is not intended to be exhaustive so if you think you have a claim against a surveyor, and you cannot see an example below, please contact us for a no-obligation initial telephone assessment.

  • Where a surveyor is instructed to undertake a valuation of a property the law states that if the surveyor misvalued the property (outside a reasonable margin) then the surveyor will have breached their duty to the client. The client will then be able, in most circumstances, to recover the difference between the negligent valuation and the actual valuation.
  • Where a surveyor is instructed to undertake, for example, a HomeBuyer Report, and in undertaking that inspection fails to spot and/or report on any defects that were obvious (or should have been obvious) then the surveyor will be negligent. In circumstances where a surveyor fails to observe and report defects to a property, the typical loss that a client can recover is the overpayment they have made for the property. Put another way the difference between the purchase price and the actual value of the property.

How we can help

Professional negligence claims against Surveyors can be brought by both individuals and businesses alike.

Here at Nelsons, we have an experienced team of experts, who can help and guide you through these complicated claims from start to finish. The team is led by Partner, Daniel Brumpton, who is a leading individual, recognised in independently researched legal directories, such as The Legal 500.

We have acted in numerous claims against surveyors. For example: