Dilapidation Reports for Developers, Builders and Owners

The SPI team is working with several companies and alliances to provide dilapidation inspection services for rail, road and infrastructure projects in Melbourne and Central Victoria.  For each project, a dilapidation report (otherwise known as a property condition survey) is carried out on all residential and commercial buildings, prior to construction.  This also includes council assets, roads and footpaths.

As well as working on these major projects, the SPI team also completes dilapidation reports for smaller operators such as developers, builders and owners.  Our office team has the capability to co-ordinate dilapidation work on a small scale as well as larger major projects.

Some important notes about property condition reports:

• A dilapidation inspection is conducted by an independent third party to prevent any conflict of interest between affected parties.  
• The dilapidation report will cover both the exterior and interior of the property.
• A written and photographic record of the existing conditions of the property will be recorded.
• The SPI team requires consent from the owner before the Inspector can enter the property.
• The Inspector will record any existing cracking and damage so there’s a benchmark against which to gauge any changes that may have occurred as a result of construction work.
• We can also carry out post inspections after the construction has been completed so that variations can be identified. A final inspection will also reveal whether any rectification work is required.

The council may also request a survey that covers areas beyond the building site, including areas such as footpaths, kerb and channel, gutters and roads. For these types of infrastructure assets, we recommend a visual inspection in the form of video via a vehicle-mounted camera.  In addition, specific street assets can be photographed with still photos on foot.  The photographs can be geolocated and accompanied by a marking map, indicating the location of field data during the walking survey.

From our experience in this field, we can recommend investing in a property condition survey for the following reasons:

• The report will help protect the builder before construction against any possible litigation issues.
• It will also help protect the owner of the property before construction or excavation work.
• The report will capture the pre-existing condition of a property before construction work begins on a new building, renovation or refurbishment.
• A dilapidation report will assist in avoiding expensive disputes or legal proceedings.

Protect yourself against possible disputes with a property condition survey.  Please call us today for a free quote on 1300 721 032 or email us at info@spipropertyinspections.com.au and our office team will attend to your query as soon as possible.