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Surveyor missed asbestos in garage

17 replies

Chislechick · 19/08/2014 15:22

We recently purchased a house and instructed the surveyor (acting for us and the bank) to carry out a full structural survey. This surveyor failed to pick up that there was a fairly sizeable strip of asbestos insulation board on the garage ceiling. I am very annoyed as this will cost us a good chunk of money to have it replaced and disposed of in an environmentally responsible way, and this is money we could have negotiated off the purchase price. I wish the survey would have made a mention of this board. It is really obvious to anyone, particularly a professional, who steps into the garage so a the survey should have mentioned it. I am also looking at getting an asbestos management survey for the whole house to make sure we are not missing anything else.
Now, the survey does state that they don't test for substances, however my understanding is that they would at least mention asbestos which is visually noticeable with a recommendation to have it properly tested. I am now suspicious that the surveyor didn't inspect the property properly as we have also uncovered other issues (roof etc.). Anyone been in this situation? What's my recourse? I did make a complain to the bank as they arranged for this survey, but am not entirely sure what the best course of action is. TIA!

OP posts:
Middleagedmotheroftwo · 19/08/2014 15:26

I was under the impression that asbestos is safe as long as it isn't tampered with. Are you sure you need to remove it?

SwedishEdith · 19/08/2014 15:32

If it's really obvious, how come you didn't spot it yourself? I imagine loads of older properties have asbestos which is only a problem when broken up or damaged, I think

snice · 19/08/2014 15:33

are you sure this was a full structural survey and not a building inspection report? How much did it cost/how long was the surveyor there?

Chislechick · 19/08/2014 15:37

True, I will get the asbestos evaluation done in any case. We were planning to have some renovations done in the garage and this is where it could get costly. I just want to understand if a structural survey should have made a mention of it for our consideration. It is obvious but at the time of visiting, not being an expert myself, the panel didn't scream asbestos to me. A surveyor would have noticed and drawn our attention to it for us to follow up, or am i deluded?

OP posts:
Middleagedmotheroftwo · 19/08/2014 15:56

I'm no expert, but you just said you'd had a "structural" survey done. I doubt this would cover asbestos. It would just make sure that the house isn't about to fall down.

sacbina · 19/08/2014 15:56

our full surveyor didn't spot asbestos, and it was in the whole house - walls, ceilings, roof. it was a full structural survey. we sued, it took 5 years. we got the cost of repairs and minimal compensation. you'll find the surveyors insurance company will do everything not to pay out a penny

Redpolkadotpot · 19/08/2014 17:32

We had a 'full building survey' done, was around £550 (took a few hours) and he had spotted the asbestos in the garage roof, door handles and electric socket covers along with a horde of other problems, so I am surprised to hear others experiences.
Maybe we got lucky but I think it should be something they'd spot as the survey isn't exactly cheap....however, whether you can get compensation easily is another thing. May be one of those things to live and learn.

snice · 19/08/2014 19:33

I think a proper structural survey should have spotted it if it is that obvious and doesn't require removing plasterboard or something to see it. That was why I asked if it was a full structural survey as often people use this terminology when it isnt what they've actually paid for.

HauntedNoddyCar · 19/08/2014 20:08

Did he have access to the garage? Just wondering if he was able to get inside or perhaps looked at it from the outside.

In one of my old houses, the garage was a separate structure and might not even have been available to the surveyor.

Artyjools · 19/08/2014 20:40

This happened to us. We had a full structural survey which said that the garage ceiling was plaster board. When we found out it was asbestos (we were having building works done), we contacted the surveyors. They paid for the asbestos to be removed without any quibble at all.
I think a full structural survey should cover all relevant info about the structure of the building. They are providing a service and there is an implied term under the Supply of Goods and Services Act that the service will be supplied with reasonable care and skill. It is perfectly reasonable to expect a surveyor to spot asbestos.

Chislechick · 20/08/2014 12:53

Thanks for your replies everyone. Yes it was a full structural survey and the garage was accessible. I am really annoyed as the panel was visible. Unfortunately, neither my husband nor I are experts so we wouldn't know what we were looking at exactly. On top of this, one of the builders we are using mentioned there probably was another panel which was removed as there are traces of nails and possibly asbestos particles (eek!) Had we been told it was likely to be asbestos, we would have tested for sure before making a decision. I will have a proper evaluation done to make sure there is nothing else and take it from there.

OP posts:
Unexpected · 20/08/2014 13:00

Why would the bank have arranged this survey? They would normally only deal with their own valuation and you would organise your own survey (building inspection or full structural) yourselves? How much did this survey cost?

H2OWoe · 20/08/2014 13:02

We had a similar problem:

Property one - full survey, very expensive, the surveyor missed two very obvious things. OTOH he insisted there was damp on one wall (there was none). I complained bitterly to the owner of the company who refunded our full survey fee with the agreement that we did not pursue them in the future.

Property two - full survey, very expensive, different company. Surveyor missed very obvious structural problems with the garage and insisted that the downstairs loo was missing a DPC (it's not missing at all).

The second time I didn't bother complaining, just vowed not to bother with this type of surveyor inspection ever again.

When we buy our next house I will instead get a different inspections done by a team of experts (eg roofing company, electrician, plumber, structural engineer) which is, yes, far more hassle to arrange but still cheaper and far more enlightening than a useless, misleading thick document that really doesn't inform nor protect you. Grrr.

jessplussomeonenew · 20/08/2014 13:12

Just to say it's definitely worth having it tested to be sure - we had a garage roof that everyone who looked at it was sure was composed of asbestos cement sheets. However, we sent a small sample off to be tested (£25) and it turned out not to be, which saved us a lot of money and hassle. Might be an option worth considering.

lottiegarbanzo · 20/08/2014 13:48

Yes, similar experience with a surveyor not drawing our attention to some things he should have seen enough of to raise concerns about, concerning the overall roof structure and quality of work. So actually more indirect than your case, where he could have seen the asbestos itself.

We pursued the surveyor's complaints procedure initially, then were able to work with a reputable litigation solicitor on a no win no fee basis. At that stage it was him vs the surveyor's insurer. We settled before going to court for about £10k, which was the cost of the remedial work required, plus all our expenses were covered.

He'd refunded his fee early on, as a goodwill gesture - no admission of responsibility, accepted on a no renunciation of any claim basis, you need to be careful about that. But that fee is really not the issue. The question is what would the value of your house have been, had the asbestos been known about (depends on market conditions, inconvenience etc as well as cost of remedial work).

Surveyors are regulated and insured, so must have a complaints procedure and are in a position to pay up if found against.

First check your contract with the surveyor and the survey report. Should he have looked in the garage and did he? Did he do what his contract said he would? Was the asbestos visible to a trained eye (not covered).

You can start by raising any issues and following his complaints procedure himself.

Then there is RICS guidance on how surveys should be carried out and written. Ours was generally sparse and hadn't used a lot of the standard sub-headings, so just hadn't said anything about a lot of things, like bits of roof, where he should have at least have mentioned their existence. You probably need to talk to another surveyor to get an opinion on this. You can pay them for a brief visit and an initial opinion. If you go further you'll need to pay them a few hundred for a written report.

I spent a lot of time finding out who to phone and talking to them - specialist solicitors for an initial opinion, most will give you 20 mins on the phone free, to find out if you have a case - then surveyors. I must have talked to all the buildings surveyors in town (structural surveys are now called buildings surveys, it's a different professional qualification from being a general chartered surveyor, you must use someone of at least equivalent qualification to your original surveyor).

I found there was an established, reputable network of about five buildings surveyors in a largish town. They all knew each other and could recommend who would be best for my needs. But, many will not do work against another surveyor, even though ours was not in their 'group' (which was telling in itself), they just don't want the angst. One or two would though.

So, lots to do, many stages to go through, money to depend - once you're at a stage when a solicitor thinks you have a case. From what you've said, you could well have a case but you need a professional surveyor's opinion on that.

beachyhead · 20/08/2014 13:54

Our full structural did not cover outbuildings, garage or cesspit, so I'd check what his 'boundaries' are.

ExcuseMeButtingIn · 20/08/2014 14:09

It might not be as expensive as you think to remove. We have an asbestos garages (walls and roof) and we are having it dismantled, emptied and removed by the council next week. They are charging us £400

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