Surveyor Negligence: A Short Guide

When you buy or sell a property, it can be an exciting yet stressful time. Many rely on the professional services of those in the property industry to ensure the process runs as smoothly as possible. One of the many professionals buyers and sellers will rely on are property surveyors.

Surveyors play a crucial role in property transactions and construction projects.  Their role is to ensure that structures and land boundaries comply with legal and safety standards. However, when a surveyor fails to uphold these responsibilities, the resulting negligence can have significant financial and legal consequences.

Surveyor negligence may involve inaccurate measurements, faulty assessments, or omissions that lead to property disputes, project delays, or unforeseen costs. These types of errors can form the basis for legal action, resulting in considerable losses.

Clients affected by surveyor negligence may seek legal recourse through a professional negligence claim, which our network of solicitors can help with. Expert Commercial Law has access to a panel of specialist commercial law solicitors who can provide high-quality legal representation to claimants looking to make potential claims for professional negligence.

What is professional negligence?

Professional negligence occurs when a professional, such as a surveyor, fails to perform their duties to the standard expected of them, leading to harm or loss to their client. This type of negligence arises when the professional either does something improperly or fails to do something that should have been done, breaching their duty of care.

To prove professional negligence, three elements must typically be established:

1. Duty of Care: The professional owed a duty of care to the client. This means there is a recognised relationship where the professional is expected to provide services competently.
2. Breach of Duty: The professional failed to meet the standard of care expected in their industry or profession. This breach might involve making mistakes, providing poor advice, or neglecting to take necessary actions.
3. Causation and Loss: The client must prove that the breach of duty directly caused them harm or financial loss. This could include damages such as financial setbacks, property damage, or missed opportunities.

Professional negligence claims are often complex, requiring expert testimony to establish the standard of care and whether the professional’s actions fell below this standard.

Examples of surveyor negligence

Surveyor negligence occurs when a surveyor fails to perform their duties to the expected professional standard, resulting in errors that lead to financial loss or other adverse consequences for their clients. Here are some common examples of surveyor negligence:

Inaccurate Land Measurements: A surveyor may provide incorrect measurements of a property’s boundaries, which can lead to disputes between neighbouring property owners. This can result in legal battles, additional costs to resolve the issue, or loss of property value.

Failure to Identify Easements or Rights of Way: Surveyors are responsible for identifying any legal restrictions on a property, such as easements or rights of way. Failing to do so may prevent a property owner from fully utilising their land or cause unexpected legal conflicts with third parties.

Omission of Structural Defects: In construction or property transactions, a surveyor may fail to identify serious structural defects in a building, such as foundation issues, water damage, or subsidence. This can lead to significant repair costs or safety hazards that were not anticipated by the buyer or developer.

Inadequate Due Diligence on Environmental or Zoning Issues: Neglecting to assess environmental factors (such as flood risks or contamination) or failing to verify zoning laws can result in financial losses for property developers. For example, a property may be subject to restrictions that limit its intended use, or additional expenses may be incurred to address environmental hazards.

Incorrect Valuation: Surveyors are often involved in valuing properties. Providing an inaccurate valuation, either too high or too low, can result in significant financial losses, especially in commercial property transactions where investment decisions are based on the surveyor’s report.

Failure to Advise on Planning Permissions: If a surveyor fails to inform a client about the need for planning permissions or misrepresents the property’s compliance with local regulations, it can lead to costly delays, fines, or the inability to proceed with planned developments.

Neglecting to Identify Title Defects: Surveyors who overlook title issues, such as encroachments or claims by third parties, may cause the buyer to purchase property with undisclosed legal risks, which can result in legal challenges and unexpected costs.

Failure to Provide Proper Reports: In some cases, surveyors may fail to deliver timely or accurate reports, such as homebuyer reports or valuation reports, leaving the client without crucial information needed for making informed decisions. This can lead to missed opportunities or significant financial loss in real estate deals.

In each of these cases, the surveyor’s failure to meet their professional obligations could lead to legal action for negligence, where the affected party may seek compensation for the damages caused.

Making a professional negligence claim against a surveyor

Making a professional negligence claim against a surveyor involves proving that the surveyor failed to meet the expected professional standard, causing you financial loss.

Filing a complaint with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors RICS can address issues of misconduct, while a legal claim through the courts can secure compensation.

If you decide to proceed with a legal claim, your solicitor will send a formal “letter of claim” to the surveyor. This outlines the details of your case, the alleged negligence, and the compensation you are seeking. The surveyor’s insurer will usually handle the response.

Under the Civil Procedure Rules, the surveyor has a specific time to respond, typically three months. They can accept, deny, or offer a settlement. This stage is designed to encourage settlement without going to court.

If the case proceeds, you may need to obtain expert evidence to support your claim. This could involve hiring another surveyor to provide an opinion on whether the original surveyor’s work was negligent. Assessing damages in such cases can be complex, as it involves calculating the financial impact of the surveyor’s negligence.

In many cases, parties may reach a settlement through negotiation, mediation, or other forms of ADR. This can be less costly and faster than taking the matter to trial. However, if no settlement is reached, your solicitor can file the claim in court. This involves submitting a formal statement of claim outlining the facts, the negligence, and the damages you are seeking.

Both parties will present evidence in court. Expert witnesses may be called to testify. If successful, the court can award damages to compensate you for the losses caused by the surveyor’s negligence.

Typically, you have 6 years from the date of the negligent act to bring a claim, though in some cases the time limit starts from when the negligence was discovered.

How can Expert Commercial Law assist?

Our panel of professional negligence solicitors are highly capable of assisting clients with their surveyor negligence claims.

Some commercial law solicitors will offer their services on a no win, no fee agreement, also known as a conditional fee agreement, meaning you will not pay any upfront fees.

All of the professional negligence solicitors on our panel have the experience and expertise required to take on your case. Each solicitor is vetted before being allowed onto our panel, and we select only the best solicitors in the business. All of our solicitor firms are authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).

Our solicitors can also help with commercial claims, such as breach of contract, partnership disputes, fraud claims, restrictive covenants and CCJ removal.

Please note we are not a firm of solicitors; however, we maintain a panel of trusted and regulated legal experts. If you contact us in relation to a commercial law case, we will pass your case on to a panel firm in return for a fee from our panel firms. We will never charge you for passing your case to a panel firm.