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Whats Included in a Dilapidation Report?
Brad Scott • March 14, 2024
A dilapidation report is a professional service, giving a report on the condition of a structure at a given point in time. It records any existing tilting, subsidence, cracking, deviation, heaving or water ingress to a structure. This could also include public assets.
Note there is no Australian Standard for the format of dilapidation reports or property condition reports. Therefore, it is fundamental that the inspector conducting the inspection has extensive court experience in relation to what is and what is not required within a dilapidation report. Many inspectors’ reports will not be accepted as evidence.
What should a dilapidation report include?
Following are some of what is required within the format of a detailed report:
- The dilapidation inspections of any cracks within a structure must be described beneath and/or above any photo of cracks taken. Example of this would be the direction with which a crack travel’s (horizontal, vertical, stepped) and/or (south/north/west/east), it’s exact location and approximate length and width.
- Crack width should be measured with a digital calliper. The exact location of where crack width was measured must be described so the width of crack can be precisely measured at a later date if required.
- An approximate measurement in mm of any heaving, tilting or subsidence to a structure must be described beneath and/or above any photos.
- All photos must be time and date stamped.
- The inspector is not describing how the current crack, tilting, subsidence or heaving occurred within a structure. Or what will occur in the future. The inspector is simply identifying the current condition at the date and time of inspection.
The main purpose of a dilapidation report/survey which is sometimes referred to as a condition report is to provide an accurate and current photographic recording of the condition of whatever is being inspected. Such a report must be formatted to prove beyond reasonable doubt the condition at time of inspection. The problem is that no Australian Standard exists specifically for the format of a dilapidation report/survey. This is a serious problem throughout Australia as most dilapidation reports/surveys are formatted by individuals or companies that have nil court experience as a building expert witness and/or have never had their reports tested as evidence within a state Civil and Administrative Tribunal or Australian courts. To engage an inspector or inspection company that has not had their reports court tested and/or are not practising Building Expert Witnesses is exposing yourself, your company and/or client to possible litigation/claim from a third party. Our research confirms that approximately 70% of our competitors reports would be removed as evidence. Best Building Inspections understands the seriousness of our responsibility in protecting our clients against possible claims. We have developed an app that allows us to build a dilapidation report/survey each and every time to the highest standards available within our industry. Many of our reports have been successfully used as evidence. Our reports have been successfully used in claims ranging from several thousand dollars and up to $7.5 million to date. It is also common due to the detail and accuracy of our reports that potential claims are abandon by a claimant before reaching state Civil and Administrative Tribunal or Australian courts. This saves our clients many thousands of dollars and time within the legal system. Feel free to reach out to Brad Scott (Managing Director) Best Building Inspections via email or mobile to discuss any aspect of our services regarding dilapidation reports, dilapidation surveys and condition reports or make a booking via phone or our website. Email: brad@bestinspections.com.au Mobile: 0417 711 116 Best Building Inspections service Sydney, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Melbourne and Australia’s entire Eastern seaboard for Dilapidation Reports, Dilapidation Surveys and Condition Reports.
I often observe the development approvals issued by many differing municipal councils and the specific conditions referring to dilapidation reports/surveys. Many of these councils use the words “Suitably Qualified Inspector” when referring to the type of inspector that should be engaged to conduct a dilapidation report/survey. In NSW for instance there is no such thing as a suitably qualified inspector as Fair-Trading NSW do not issue licenses for building inspectors conducting any type of visual inspection. Therefore, how do you choose the best inspector or inspection company available to conduct your dilapidation report/survey. Following are some tips on what to look out for when choosing an inspector or inspection company. 1/ Many inspection companies distribute their bookings for such inspections out to subcontractors. There are many great inspectors that are subcontractors, but the problem is many of these subcontractors are paid poorly for their services and therefore these subcontractors are forced to conduct multiple inspections per day to earn an average daily wage. This means the subcontractors often rush an inspection missing cracks, tilting, subsidence, heaving, structural issues and overall condition within the structure or public asset they are inspecting. This leaves the client exposed to possible litigation/claim. When choosing a building inspection company, it is virtually impossible to determine what they pay their subcontractors for each inspection conducted as this is their intellectual property and they are unlikely to want to share this information with a potential client. A typical 3-bedroom single level home will take approximately 1 to 1 hour 30 minutes for an inspector to conduct a dilapidation report/survey; however, this will vary subject to condition and size of dwelling. The more cracks, tilting, heaving or subsidence to report, the longer an inspection will take. Best Building Inspections do not rush these inspections. We inspect each and every building, public asset as though we are the owners. 2/ Ask the inspector or inspection company to provide a copy of their professional indemnity insurance policy. It must be current, provide $2 million dollar coverage at a minimum and refer to Dilapidation Reports as a report that the company is insured to conduct. Do not use the building inspector or building inspection company if they refuse to issue you with a copy of this insurance. 85% of companies/inspectors do not carry such insurance as it is costly and insurance companies will not take the risk insuring inspectors, they believe are unsuitably qualified. 3/ Ask the inspector and/or company are they practising building expert witnesses. It is preferred to use a building expert witness as they have a greater understanding of what should be inspected, how a particular crack, etc should be photographed and reported upon and the importance of the report format. 4/ With cost of living these days we are all sensitive to the cost of a service or product. The cost of the report is not a reflection of the report quality, the expertise of an inspector, the report format or the guarantee the inspector will take time and care to capture every aspect and condition of what they are inspecting. I have witnessed reports of varying costs that are not worth the paper they are written upon. At the date this blog was published you can expect to pay between $450 and $1200 for a dilapidation report/survey on a typical 3 bedroom home. 5/ Ask the inspector what they would typically report upon in the structure or public asset you are wanting inspected. At Best Building Inspections we will go into great detail explaining what areas of a structure are inspected and how this is detailed into a typical report. Simply call us. 6/ Ask the inspector or inspection company can you be present during the inspection. Many companies do not want you present as they do not want you seeing how fast they conduct the inspection. We encourage our clients to be present. Feel free to reach out to Brad Scott (Managing Director) Best Building Inspections via email or mobile to discuss any aspect of our services regarding dilapidation reports, dilapidation surveys and condition reports or make a booking via phone or our website. Email: brad@bestinspections.com.au Mobile: 0417 711 116 Best Building Inspections service Sydney, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Melbourne and Australia’s entire Eastern seaboard for Dilapidation Reports, Dilapidation Surveys and Condition Reports.