Building Compliance: Chartered Surveyors Help Property Owners Reduce Risk

If you’re looking for information about building compliance, you are likely trying to achieve one of three things. To reduce legal risk, ensure a building is safe, or meet the requirements of a sale, lease, or financial agreement.

Chartered surveyors play a central role in this process. Through inspections, reports, and ongoing advice, we help property owners and managers understand whether a building meets current regulations and what action may be required if it does not.

Common Building Compliance Services

Several surveying services are commonly used to assess or manage compliance.

Building Regulations advice and inspections help ensure construction work meets national standards for safety, structure, accessibility, and energy performance. Surveyors review proposals and carry out site visits to confirm that works comply with the relevant parts of the Building Regulations.

For commercial property managers, Planned Preventative Maintenance (PPM) is often an essential tool. Surveyors prepare long-term maintenance schedules, typically covering five to twenty years, which set out the works needed to keep a building’s fabric and services safe, compliant, and operational.

Schedules of Dilapidations are another key compliance service in the commercial sector. At the end of a lease, these schedules identify where a tenant may have failed to meet repair or statutory compliance obligations, often forming the basis for financial settlements between landlord and tenant.

For investors or buyers, Technical Due Diligence (TDD) provides a detailed pre-acquisition assessment of a property. This process identifies structural issues, hidden defects, and potential compliance risks before a purchase is completed.

In multi-tenant buildings, surveyors may also advise on a Licence to Alter, reviewing a tenant’s proposed changes to ensure they do not compromise the building’s structure, services, or regulatory compliance.

Different Needs for Different Property Owners

The relevance of these services often depends on the type of property owner.

Homeowners most commonly require compliance advice during pre-purchase surveys, such as an RICS Level 3 survey, or when carrying out extensions that may require a Party Wall Award.

Commercial property managers tend to rely more heavily on ongoing compliance services. PPM schedules and dilapidations advice are often essential for managing leased assets, while fire and access audits may be required to satisfy statutory obligations.

Specialist Compliance Surveys

Alongside general building surveys, chartered surveyors also coordinate or carry out targeted compliance checks where required.

For example, asbestos surveys are mandatory in non-domestic buildings constructed before 2000, ensuring any asbestos-containing materials are properly identified and managed.

Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) are required when selling or letting property, providing a rating that reflects the building’s energy efficiency.

Surveyors may also undertake Reinstatement Cost Assessments, which establish the correct rebuild value for insurance purposes. This ensures the building is insured appropriately and meets lender and insurance requirements.

Make Informed Property Decisions

Building compliance can appear complex, particularly where regulations, leases, and safety requirements overlap. TCL are deeply experienced chartered surveyors, RICS regulated and qualified to provide clear technical guidance. We’ve build or reputation on helping property owners understand their responsibilities and manage their buildings with confidence. Call the team today.