SAVA Technical Bulletin August 2016

TECHNICAL BULLETIN For Residential Surveyors

REMOVING CAVITY WALL INSULATION

Looking at how cavity walI insulation can be removed Page 04

HIGH SPEED RAIL LINK 2

What valuers need to consider Page

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THE ‘INSIDE’ GAS METER

A case study into gas meters Page

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ISSUE 23 AUGUST 2016

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COMPLAINTS HANDLING

The new RICS guidance notes Page

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TECHNICAL BULLETIN

CONTENTS 03

THE TECHNICAL BULLETIN

WELCOME TO THE NEW TECHNICAL BULLETIN

FOR RESIDENTIAL SURVEYORS

A message from the editors

Welcome to the Technical Bulletin for Residential Surveyors. This Bulletin is designed for residential practitioners who are members of RICS and/or the SAVA Scheme.

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REMOVING CAVITY WALL INSULATION

Produced jointly by BlueBox partners and SAVA, here you will find technical articles, updates on convention changes and best practice etc. We hope you will find this useful in your day to day work and we welcome any feedback you may have and suggestions for future publications.

Looking at how cavity wall insulation can be removed 08

HIGH SPEED RAIL LINK 2

What valuers need to consider

CONTACT SAVA Head office: SAVA, National Energy Centre,

Davy Avenue, Milton Keynes MK5 8NA Telephone number: 01908 672787 Email: bulletins@nesltd.co.uk Web: www.sava.org.uk

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THE ‘INSIDE’ GAS METER

A case study into gas meters

CONTACT BLUEBOX

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Office hours 09.00-13.00 please contact on mobile outside these hours

COMPLAINTS HANDLING

Head office: Cambrian House, 51 Broad Street,

Chipping Sodbury, Bristol BS37 6AD Telephone number: 01454 329933 | 07989 406168 Email: chris.rispin@blueboxpartners.com Web: www.blueboxpartners.com

The new RICS guidance notes 19

RICS HOMEBUYER REPORT SERVICE

CPD

The RICS HomeBuyer Report Survey, 1st Edition, June 2016

CPD is a commitment by members to continually update their skills and knowledge in order to remain professionally competent. The SAVA Technical Bulletin is worth 30 minutes of CPD and can be recorded as such.

More CPD can be found on the SAVA website.

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FILE SIZES AND DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHS

Understanding the file formats of digital cameras

SAVA is wholly owned by National Energy Services Ltd. (NES) While every effort has been taken to ensure the accuracy of all content in this publication, NES and BlueBox partners take no responsibility for any errors or omissions in the content and the views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of NES or BlueBox partners.

Neither NES nor BlueBox partners can accept any liability for any loss or damage suffered as a result of the content or opinions expressed.

All rights in this publication, including full copyright or publishing right, content and design are jointly owned by NES and BlueBox partners, except where otherwise described.

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WELCOME TO THE NEW TECHNICAL BULLETIN Welcome to the new ‘Technical Bulletin for Residential Surveyors’, published jointly by BlueBox partners and SAVA. This is a new and exciting joint venture to bring you quality technical information that will help you do your job better and in a more informed way. You may not always agree with what we say so we welcome your comments and then we can have an informed debate on the points raised.

We hope you like what we have done but we are sure you will let us know as you always have – nothing has changed there!

HILARY GRAYSON

CHRIS RISPIN

DIRECTOR OF SURVEYING SERVICES SAVA

MANAGING DIRECTOR BLUEBOX PARTNERS

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REMOVING CAVITY WALL INSULATION Looking at how cavity wall insulation can be removed CHRIS MCGINN MANAGING DIRECTOR, ALL-BUILDING ENERGY SOLUTIONS

have been inappropriately or incorrectly installed and understand the options available to the home owner if this is the case.

In Issue 20 of the SAVA Technical Bulletin (published in November 2015) we published an article on cavity wall insulation (CWI) and specifically asked the question does cavity wall insulation cause damp?

Why CWI?

In this article Chris McGinn discusses if Cavity Wall insulation should be removed and how this would be done.

Various government backed energy efficiency schemes such as the Energy Company Obligation (ECO), the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT) and the Community Energy Saving Programme (CESP), have resulted in significant take up of cavity wall insulation, with home owners being offered significant discounts on installations as a drive to use less energy.

Is CWI fit for purpose?

We addressed this question in detail but to recap here, the simple answer is yes, if properly installed and if the materials have been tested and certified. The Energy Savings Trust has calculated how much an occupier could save if the insulation is correctly installed.

Although the government subsidised schemes resulted in some larger firms installing insulation on an almost industrial scale, it should be emphasised that the vast majority of cavity wall insulation installation companies were not rogue installers or operating under false promises.

There are a lot of properties which have had CWI installed without any issues at all and customers report that the house is warmer, and the bills are less.

However, it is a fact that some houses should not have had cavity wall insulation installed or that over the years changes have occurred resulting in cases where the insulation is being reported as having caused damp.

(Source: Energy Saving Trust – www.energysavingtrust.org.uk)

The issue for surveyors is to recognise that CWI has been retrofitted and to be alert to situations where CWI may

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TECHNICAL BULLETIN A number of installations should never have been done due to adverse location issues or the fact that the cavity was full of debris, for example. Also, some were not done correctly. At the time of the installation it would be difficult for the customer, or indeed a surveyor appointed by the home owner, to challenge the quality of the work due to the simple fact of not being able to see the finished product as it was inside the cavity.

And it would be simple to blame the companies for installing the materials in inappropriate properties. However, installation companies would only be able to carry out limited pre-install surveys. This is due to the simple fact that they were retrofitting the product into a property that had already been built and while they would have used a borescope to inspect the cavity prior to installation this would only be done at high risk locations, such as wall junctions, and inevitably not all the cavity would be seen.

Who should remove the insulation?

Many ex-insulation installers are re-branding themselves as extraction specialists. However, unlike CIGA which regulates the product insulation in the first place, up to now there has been no regulation of extraction companies.

Until recently there has been no industry standard for cavity extraction or a framework to monitor the companies doing the extraction work. However, there is now a cavity extraction competent persons’ scheme (CPS) operated by Stroma.

Stroma runs a number of competent person schemes. Their latest scheme for the accreditation for Cavity Insulation extraction involves a combination of the below, which are pooled to gauge whether a company is competent to carry out the work. Their processes include: • Review of company processes and documentation

(Method Statements, Risk Assessments etc)

We also have to acknowledge the commercial pressures on the installation companies which would have been subject to meeting volume targets on relatively low margins.

There are varying estimates of how many properties have either been incorrectly installed, or should never have been touched. Estimates range from the bottom end of tens of thousands, up to the millions depending on who is reporting. So surveyors have little to guide them and must rely on their own expertise and the results of careful inspection.

Should CWI be removed?

Once the insulation in a property has got wet, this will impact on the efficacy of the insulation. Just 1% moisture content within insulation will make the house actually feel colder than it did before the insulation was installed.

• On Site Competency Assessment Report - known as

an OSCAR, which is an assessment that the operatives are capable and competent to carry out their work to a high and safe standard.

• System Design Carding – to ensure the operatives are

trained and carded by the designer of the machinery they use on site.

In addition all extractions are lodged with Stroma who carry out random audit checks.

This is a new scheme so time will tell if it provides effective customer protection and gains traction in the industry.

WHAT IS CIGA?

The Cavity Insulation Guarantee Agency (CIGA) is an independent body that provides 25 year guarantees for Cavity Wall Insulation fitted by registered installers in the UK. In order for CIGA to issue a guarantee, the insulation material used must be tested, assessed and approved by the British Board of Agrément (BBA) or the British Standards Institution.

There are several different types of insulation:

Moisture gets into the cavity via a number of routes, but when it is in a cavity which has had CWI there is not enough air circulation to allow the water to evaporate as it would have done previously.

Indications that suggest the insulation might need to be removed include: • High exposure areas

• Bonded bead (white polystyrene beads)

• Cold spots and voids where a temperature imbalance

• Glass wool (yellow or white in colour)

has occurred • Rubble and blockages within the cavity

• Rock wool (grey/brown in colour)

• Bridging of the cavity / penetrating damp

• Urea formaldehyde foam (white foam)

• Flood damage

Both glass wool and rock wool are known as ‘mineral wool’.

• Compromised DPC

According to CIGA, all are suitable for their purpose, have a similar insulation value and the systems can be used in all parts of the UK except for Urea Formaldehyde foam.

Whether the cavity can be refilled is then open to the same conjecture that was present before the original installation took place. It is to be noted that, with a different product, and any original issues resolved, it may be suitable to insulate the cavity once it has dried out.

All technicians who install CWI should undergo training approved by the system supplier/manufacturer and the installing firm to ensure they are competent in CWI.

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How Is the Insulation Removed?

created by the removed brick, thus reducing the risk of losing air pressure in the cavity.

Previously, insulation removal has proved somewhat of a cumbersome and labour heavy task, often involving cutting out diamonds of bricks and removal of the insulation by hand. Sometimes cavity install machines have been used, with a suck mechanism rather than blow.

This method works well with most insulation material, including particle fill (beads), fibres (mineral wools, white wool), and open cell foams. However, some foams used in the past are renowned for setting to an almost rock hard formation (closed cell foams), and almost become part of the structure of the wall. In these cases, other options for extraction will need to be explored. Tests should always be carried out to see whether a material can be removed prior to extraction - typically during the pre-extraction survey.

The method favoured by accredited extraction companies is to use a machine designed specifically for removing insulation from cavities. In simplistic terms, the method of extraction involves sealing all gaps within the wall space to pressurise the cavity, including open cavities in the loft space and small air gaps inside the properties, e.g. under window sills. Small drill holes are then inserted into the wall (similar to the drill pattern of the install). A compressor pumps high air pressure through a hose, which has a specifically designed “whip” attachment at the end. This whip then works in a propeller motion within the cavity to agitate and loosen up the insulation. Once the insulation has been loosened up, the whip is replaced with a directional nozzle that uses the same high air pressure to direct the insulation to the collection point. The collection point will generally be at the bottom of the wall, where a single brick is removed, and the CLC200 sucks out the loose insulation. The collection hose has a specifically designed brick connector that fits perfectly into the gap

About the Author

Chris McGinn is a qualified Domestic Energy Assessor and MD of All-Building Energy Solutions. He has been in the energy industry for the last ten years and more recently has worked on renewable and boiler schemes. Having seen first hand the damage to some properties caused by inappropriate insulation, Chris believes that extraction should be carried out by firms competent to do so.

He is studying for the Diploma in Residential Surveying and Valuation through the SAVA School of Surveying and BlueBox partners with a view to becoming an Associate Member of RICS.

PHIL PARNHAM WRITES

Dampness in an insulated cavity wall is very complex. It is also a controversial area where I suspect many surveyors who find dampness in an insulated cavity wall will assume the wall insulation is the cause of the problem without following a diagnostic approach allowing the precise cause to be identified.

Surveyors will be providing services to clients at a range of levels and must differentiate the advice they provide accordingly.

For mortgage valuations/valuations, the level of knowledge and ‘trail following’ is much less than at level 2 (the Home Condition Survey and HomeBuyer Report) and level 3 (building survey) requires an even greater depth of knowledge.

We must also be alert to the issues CIGA has been facing recently. Recently they have come under the spotlight of consumer publications such as Which? and ‘You and Yours’ (the Radio Four consumer programme). The BRE has published two important Good Building Guides on cavity wall insulation (GBG 44 parts one and two) and Ofgem has published the very important supplementary guidance issued under the ECO banner in 2013. They have a particularly useful form that Chartered Surveyors have to complete when they are assessing a wall for suitability for insulation.

(See the Ofgem website for ECO2 Chartered Surveyor Recommended Measure Report) One of the main points about cavity wall insulation is because water will regularly run down the inside face of the outside wall (especially during periods of wind driven rain), cavity wall insulation will always get wet, or rather will always be susceptible to getting wet. Hopefully, if it has been properly manufactured (with water proof additive) and properly installed (compacted with no gaps or voids), the water should not get into the material and across the cavity. It is only when something is not right (many of which Chris has identified) that some level of investigation is required.

The problem then comes with the investigation. It is difficult with a borescope and not much better when taking bricks out because the source of a visible leak can be remote from where the leak is appearing on the inside. One promising option is a thermal imaging camera – but the use of those can be variable depending on the time of year and the operative.

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This is the basic ‘triage’ framework I use for assessing cavity walls that have been insulated:

Valuation level 1

What are the indicators?

• Is it a cavity wall?

• Has it been insulated?

• Is it covered by a guarantee/warranty scheme with at least 5 years left to run?

• Where insulated, always follow this trail. On the most exposed elevation(s), • Is the outside face of the insulated wall in a satisfactory condition?

• Using a moisture meter, check around all window openings for signs of dampness/mould growth • Visually check rest of inside wall surfaces for signs of dampness

What action should I take?

If any adverse signs are noted, call for further investigation by appropriately qualified person.

Refer the matter to the legal adviser if there is a warranty issue.

HBR or HCS – Level 2 What are the indicators?

All the above plus:

• Are there weep holes over the openings (is there a cavity tray?); • Is the outside skin of the wall built in natural stone? (this would make it a hard to treat cavity); • Has the cavity wall been repaired since the insulation inserted? (this will affect the guarantee and/or the distribution

of the insulation.

What action should I take?

As above but include a (very) brief outline of the issue and likely consequences.

Building Survey – Level 3 What are the indicators?

All of the above.

What action should I take?

As above, but include an outline of the problem, the likely consequences and the scope of the likely repair work.

Less likely to be a problem

Assessing insulated cavity walls

More likely to be a problem

No

Was the property built before 1939?

Yes

Yes

Does it have weep holes over most openings?

No

No

Do natural stone blocks form the outer leaf?

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

Is the cavity wall insulation covered by an insurance backed guarantee with at least 10 years to run?

Is the outside face of the wall in a satisfactory condition and/or has flush joints?

No

Is the property in zone 3 or 4?*

Yes

No

Is the property locally exposed (whatever the exposure zone)?

Yes

No

Is the outside of the cavity wall painted?

Yes

No

Have the wall ties been replaced/repaired

Yes

*See BRE Good Building Guide 44

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HIGH SPEED RAIL LINK 2 What valuers need to consider CHRIS RISPIN MANAGING DIRECTOR, BLUEBOX PARTNERS

The HS2 rail link has been described as one of the most ambitious infrastructure projects this century, not just because of the huge expenditure, but because of the impact up on those who live along the route and the number of contractors that will be involved in its development. This is regardless of the ultimate benefits that are claimed (or rejected depending on your political persuasion) once the line is complete.

that could adversely affect its construction. This does not mean that no development can take place it merely allows for HS2 Ltd to assess whether the development would affect the scheme.

The importance of this is that from July 9th 2013 owners of property within or partly within the safeguarding zone could serve the Government with a Blight Notice. However, the project has not yet gone through the complete parliamentary process and there are still some other areas of consultation required. That said, it is now at the third stage so it is my understanding that parliamentary approval should not be that far away.

This article considers those who live along the route, with the consequences for those who have lent money on the property affected and what Valuers need to consider in the short term should they be posed with the requirement to give advice to a lender or a home buyer. Details of the scheme can be found on the HS2 website www.hs2.org.uk.

It is important to check the website if a valuer is required to review a case as there are new developments occurring on a regular basis. This article does not consider commercial owners who would be governed by similar principles, but other considerations apply.

• Phase 2 is still subject to consultation (and therefore

to speculation) as to where the precise route will run.

However there is an “Exceptional Hardship scheme” (EHS) for those who have been affected by the announcement and have an urgent need to sell their homes. This is a discretionary scheme that operates in the same way as it did for Phase 1, it follows similar principles to Statutory Blight.

Basic Facts • There are two Phases:

• Anyone can determine whether a property is situated

within the safeguarding zone by using the HS2 website and a valuer should establish this before undertaking an inspection on a property known to be near this scheme.

• Phase 1 – London to Birmingham anticipated

completion in 2026 • Phase 2 – Birmingham to Manchester and Leeds

anticipated completion in 2033

Compensation

• Phase 1 is more advanced in that the proposed

route and an area adjacent to it has now been “safeguarded”. This effectively protects the route of HS2 from any planning applications or developments

The scheme will allow for formal compulsory acquisition powers to be in place, but this will not happen until the Bill has been given the Royal Assent, in the meantime there 08

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In addition the Blight Notice must be served on the whole property, although the government can serve a counter notice advising that it may only acquire part of the property, probably most significant in respect of agricultural land.

are two options, one which is the Discretionary purchase scheme and rent back and the other is Statutory Blight which is the core means of claiming statutory compensation.

The Discretionary purchase scheme includes:

Probably of most importance is that an owner has to prove that reasonable endeavours have been made to sell the property. However, this is one area that is currently subject to further review. The government has proposed that one of the additional measures is that the owner does not have to show reasonable endeavours. However, it was anticipated that this would be decided in 2014, but that document has not been updated so it is assumed nothing has changed, but this will be for the conveyancer to check. The current heads of claim for compensation are essentially as they have been for many years:

• Express Purchase – this is like the blight scheme but

appears to be more generous • Rural Support zone – for properties in areas up to

120m from the line and outside the safeguarded area • Voluntary Purchase scheme (VPS) – Purchase at full

un-blighted market value subject to certain criteria – which include freeholder or leaseholder with more than 3 years, owner occupier and 25% of the property must be in the rural support zone • Cash offer – for people who do not want to sell their

• The value of land taken – meaning the un-blighted

home and want to stay in the community – this must assume that the property is not directly affected and they have to meet the same criteria as the VPS

open-market value of the owner’s interest in the land taken; • Severance and injurious affection – meaning

• Need to sell scheme – a discretionary scheme with

compensation for the reduction in value of any land retained by the property owner if only part of the property needs to be purchased;

no defined boundaries where there is a compelling reason to sell such as job relocation. Each case would need to be looked at on its merits

• Disturbance – usually only available to the occupiers

• Rent back scheme – if the owner occupier has had to

of the properties, it means compensation for reasonable additional costs and losses incurred as a result of being required to move (e.g. removal expenses) as well as statutory loss payments. This head of claim should include tenants, but they may not apply until CPO procedures are in place given the continued level of uncertainty; and

sell the property to the government then they may be able to rent it back As these schemes are discretionary, they would need to be fully investigated by a solicitor and agreement reached.

An overriding principle of any compensation scheme though is that if compensation is paid then any subsequent purchaser is deemed to be buying with knowledge and no further compensation is likely to be paid so the valuation must reflect the situation for which compensation was paid.

Statutory Blight will apply to the following who are within or partly within the Safeguarding Zone: • Owner occupiers of residential property (an interest

• Fees – meaning compensation for reasonable valuers’

and/or solicitors’ fees that may be incurred as a result of the property being acquired.

There is one month to appeal to the Upper Tribunal if the Blight Notice is rejected.

Exceptions to acquisition and/or compensation

defined as a freehold interest or leasehold with at least 3 years remaining on the lease)

Even if a property is in the safeguarding area then it does not necessarily mean it will be acquired.

• Owner occupiers of commercial property with an

annual rateable value not exceeding £34,800

The safeguarded area is a development control mechanism for planning applications, not a land acquisition boundary for HS2. If the property is in the safeguarded area, this means that HS2 Ltd wishes to be informed about any development proposals affecting the safeguarded area. In some cases it may be that only an occupation for a limited period is needed, during construction, and this may be possible by lease or tenancy rather than outright acquisition.

• Owner occupiers of agricultural property within or

partly within the Safeguarding Zone • Mortgagees (e.g. banks and building societies) who, at

the time of sale: • have the right to exercise their powers of sale in

relation to a property; and • can give immediate vacant possession.

• Personal representatives of a deceased person who

had one of the above qualifying interests in a property within the safeguarded area at the time of death.

However, there are provisions that apply, some of the more significant ones are as follows: There are occupational criteria that apply for all the above including the need for it to be the main residence.

Note that if your property is subject to subsoil safeguarding only, then the Government would not normally expect to acquire that part of the property which is above ground and the Secretary of State may not accept a Blight Notice in these cases.

For those outside the safeguarding area, but who consider that their property has been blighted then they will have to await the completion of the Bill through parliament before

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TECHNICAL BULLETIN being able to claim in a formal way, although it’s possible the EHS scheme may assist in the intervening period, but this is discretionary and no specific guidelines exist as to what would be acceptable outside the Safeguarding area.

tried to identify some of the core areas which benchmark certain situations and these will hopefully give a steer to those that fall outside.

We will look at the period between now and when the scheme should get the Royal Assent. There will be further considerations during construction up until completion and the 12 months after that for Land Compensation claims where further thoughts may be required. In addition we will only look at Phase 1 with the assumption that the same criteria will apply to Phase 2 once the initial consultations are completed.

Land Compensation Act 1973

Part 1 Land Compensation Act 1973 refers to compensation for the reduction in value of the property due to physical factors (noise, vibration, smell, fumes, smoke, artificial light, discharges of substances) caused by the use of public works, and applies to owners of a qualifying interest in the property on the date the scheme is opened. It cannot be claimed earlier than 12 months from the commencement of the use of the public works (in the case of phase 1 then the opening in 2026 if on target).

NOTE: A current standard requirement in establishing whether a property is affected and therefore subject to any compensation is that the owner has to make “reasonable endeavours” to sell. This will equally apply to a mortgagee in possession. It is also assumed that all ownership and occupancy criteria apply as specified above.

Commentary

As with any scheme of this size one solution is unlikely to meet all requirements so in the following table we have Situation

Valuer considerations

Property located fully or partly in the The property is eligible for the service of Safeguarding Zone a Blight Notice.

Future saleability will be affected and new cases should be rejected where a loan is anticipated.

Although some property may actually be demolished there will be some that ends up having a rail line very close to them. Nothing can really be done until the company determine whether they will accept the Blight Notice.

Property located in the Safeguarding Zone, but subject only to subsoil safeguarding e.g. property above where the rail line will pass through a tunnel

It is unlikely such a property will be required and therefore the Blight Notice could be rejected, but until the notice is served and the review is known then there will be uncertainty.

There will also be uncertainty during the construction period and this may influence the value significantly, so much so that an Exceptional hardship claim needs to be submitted.

Property outside the safeguarding zone Such property could be affected by noise but within close proximity of the zone and dust. It could also be considered and/or a route for construction vehicles that the increased volume and type of vehicles could be an additional safety hazard and adversely affect the value of property in such a location

Lender Considerations 1. Existing lenders should identify current outstanding mortgages and advise their customers of what will be required within their mortgage conditions including the employment of a suitably qualified valuer to act on behalf of the borrower and the lender.

2. New cases should be rejected as unsuitable securities pending the outcome of the Blight Review.

1. As (1.) above 2. New cases - A Valuer should be consulted to advise on whether the property could be affected during the construction phase in which case it may be appropriate to withhold funds until the construction is completed 3. Take advice on whether the property could be eligible for a Land Compensation Act 1973 claim once the construction has taken place Lender should be made aware of the likely impact upon saleability, although there will need to be an acceptance of a degree of uncertainty until precise plans are known. This in itself may trigger an Exceptional hardship claim.

This property may be the subject of a Part 1 Land Compensation Act claim 12 months after the completion of the line.

Table showing core situations from the current date and Royal Assent where a property is being considered for a mortgage valuation

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TECHNICAL BULLETIN The impact of the HS2 is critical to the valuation of the property and therefore should be reported in all forms of valuation, whether for mortgage, dispute, probate or as a HomeBuyer report. The positioning of the property relative to the proposed route will be critical for the conveyancer who will then determine the legal criteria that will apply precisely. So although a valuer will have a broad understanding of what impact there is from the current status of the legislation, it will be for the conveyancer to advise whether the interpretation is correct and therefore the valuer should always state that “this is his/her understanding of the situation, but the conveyancer needs to confirm” or words to that effect.

property lies relative to the line and then referral for more information on what form of compensation is available based on the criteria mentioned above. It would be unwise to provide a valuation until those investigations have taken place.

If a surveyor is asked to do a condition report on a property (that does not involve a valuation) that falls within proximity of the proposed line then the surveyor needs to establish the purpose of the report. It is very possible that an owner may want to benchmark the condition of the property at a point in time so that any impact of the works can be recorded and possible compensations claimed. If the Surveyor is carrying out a survey for a purchaser, then the Surveyor should record the fact that the property is within the proximity of the proposed line and refer the client to his solicitor/conveyancer.

The second point the valuer needs to consider is whether s/he has sufficient experience to then undertake the compensation negotiations, which are a specialist area. In most cases it will merely require identification of where the

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Milton Keynes

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th th of Complete training in visual and operational checks One Day training course

Includes membership of SAVA and NAPIT www.surveyorqualifications.co.uk

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THE ‘INSIDE’ GAS METER A case study into gas meters HILARY GRAYSON DIRECTOR OF SURVEYING SERVICES, SAVA

As part of the service to surveyors who are members of the SAVA Scheme, the scheme takes over the management of a complaint that is likely to turn into a claim against the SAVA PI policy.

contrary to [the surveyor’s] description of it being in an “external housing“. It is in fact in the hallway, close to the electric metre. [The surveyor] got this matter wrong.

The operating company recommends that the metre is re-housed externally. I shall be submitting evidence of this in due course.”

This case study relates to a real complaint that at the time of writing is ongoing.

(Note: this was not an RICS HomeBuyer Report but a SAVA HCS. The customer got the nomenclature wrong)

Background to the Claim

The surveyor inspected the subject property in July 2015.

In May 2016 the surveyor received an email from his client, who had proceeded with the purchase, setting out the basis of the complaint as follows:

The Property

The property is a 1960s bungalow with what would have originally been a detached garage, but which has been converted into a dining room. However, the passage way between the bungalow and the dining room/garage has not been properly incorporated into the house. It has been closed off at either end by external doors and a roof has been put over - effectively making it a double ended porch.

“There is a problem with the gas metre in the above property. The gas authorities are demanding that the metre is removed to the external of the property instead of being in the hallway. It seems it is at present illegally situated In your Homebuyers Report you have described the metre as being externally situated, whereas it is in the same area in the hallway as the electricity metre.”

In this corridor/porch there are two meter cupboards housing the electric and gas meters.

The surveyor reported on the gas meter under Section F2.

Further clarification from the claimant was received in a subsequent email: “However, the position of the gas metre was questioned by the operating company as being illegally positioned internally of the building, and 12

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ISSUE 23 AUGUST 2016

TECHNICAL BULLETIN Although at this section the surveyor reports that the meter is in an ‘external housing’, this is not specifically picked up elsewhere in the report. In particular there is no clear description of the linking corridor and reference to it being, in effect, nothing more than a ‘porch’.

After SAVA had taken over the claim, the surveyor wrote to us as follows: “Given that there is still a step up into the bungalow, and no step into what was the garage, I concluded that the passageway covered and sealed was in fact external, and that the meters are in external housings, after all they are not within the original exterior walls, rather they are in the outer leaf of the exterior wall.

There was on inspection an issue with the boiler pipework, a loose “cap” had been placed on a pipe beneath the boiler, this was reported and further investigation was recommended. The gas meter was functioning and correctly installed in its case (I have surveyed properties with gas meters in the living room) the case is the correct one for a gas meter and is lockable. The only issue that could arise is if the meter was to be read, however with an external quality lockable rear door into the bungalow, leaving the access door to the passageway open would not compromise security, alternatively arrangements could be made to be in when the meter is read”

Photo2 – the gas meter.

Internally Sited Gas Meters

The issue is not the location of the gas meter (it is fine for a gas meter to be inside) but the fact that the supply pipe into the meter is plastic. Internally sited meters should have metal supply pipes.

Two immediate questions arose: • Should the surveyor have known about the rule of

plastic piping?

• Is the corridor an ‘external housing’?

And of course the surveyor is quite correct – it is possible to have an internal gas meter. So what was the issue with this particular meter?

We asked a registered gas engineer about the meter. He confirmed that the responsibility of Gas Safe engineers starts on the consumer side of the meter. The supply side is the responsibility of the gas transporter/Gas Distribution Network Operator.

Although the gas engineer we asked was Gas Safe registered, he did not immediately recognise the reason for the issue with the gas meter. He had to check this with Gas Safe and only then was he able to inform us about the issue of the plastic pipe into the meter.

The surveyor did record the gas installation as CR3 due to the fact that the property did not have a valid Gas Safe certificate for any of the gas appliances.

(It should be noted that even if there had been a Gas Safe Certificate it is possible that the gas engineer would have missed the gas meter issue since this was the ‘wrong side’ of the gas meter. Gas Safe engineers are not covered for the supply side)

Turning to the corridor in which the meter was located, should the surveyor have reported differently on this?

The surveyor did not refer to the corridor specifically in the report – he did not bring to the purchasers’ attention that it was in effect a ‘double ended porch’.

On reflection we would suggest that the corridor could have been more carefully described. Specifically it could have been referred to as a porch or, alternatively, referred to within the sub elements (ie E3. Inside walls etc.)

photo 1 shows the ‘corridor’ door.

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ISSUE 23 AUGUST 2016

TECHNICAL BULLETIN However, even if the surveyor had described it as a porch in the report, the issue remains how the gas transporter/Gas Distribution Network Operator (in this case National Grid) regards the space. Is a porch ‘inside’ or ‘external housing’?

The answer is that the gas ‘transporter’ does view it as ‘inside’. The issue is that the gas meter is in an enclosed space. A conservatory or traditional porch would also be classed as inside because they are enclosed.

REPORTING ON THE CORRIDOR BETWEEN THE CONVERTED GARAGE AND THE BUNGALOW IN THE HCS

A number of reporting options would be available to a surveyor who has inspected a similar property. All would involve the creation of ‘sub elements’ in order to make sure the client was clear about the standard of construction of the space between the main bungalow and converted garage.

1. Describe the space between the bungalow and garage conversion as a porch. There is an option to enter a porch

as an element in its own right under Section D12 on the input screens. This particular property had a conventional porch at the front so, as with the other elements, a separate element could be created.

2. Break the various building elements down in sub elements. For example: • E1 Roof structure • E3 inside walls.

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REPORTING ON THE GAS METER

As with any other building element, in an HCS it is possible to create a ‘sub element’ under Gas. Consequently, the way this issue could have been reported is as follows.

• Under Section F services select ‘New’ to create a new sub element.

• Report on the Gas Meter separately.

PHIL PARNHAM WRITES How to report on the issue in RICS formats

This is an interesting case study because it identifies an issue that ‘falls between the cracks’ in terms of both residential practitioner’s knowledge as well as the structure of most condition reports. With reference to RICS’s Home Survey brand, here is how I think the issue should have been reported.

RICS Home Survey brand

All the products within the RICS stable are similarly structured. Section G2 (Gas/Oil) covers the gas connection to the property. The latest Professional Statement for the RICS HomeBuyer Report: Survey (1st edition, June 2016) provides guidance on how G2 should be completed. After a reminder that all gas and oil appliances and equipment ‘…should be regularly inspected, tested, maintained and serviced by a registered ‘competent person’ and in line with the manufacturer’s instructions’ The publication states that the surveyor reports: • description and general condition; • evidence of installation/alteration certification, annual inspections and reports for all types of installation.

This section covers the gas and oil supply pipework from the utility company’s supply (or the storage vessel) through to the heating appliance itself. However, all matters relating to the appliance are to be reported in G4 Heating.

The section then goes on to state: Mains gas installations • Does it have a mains supply and is it connected?

• How is the meter location and condition? Is the meter positioned on an escape route?

• What is the route, nature and condition of the pipework?

As with all types of services in domestic property, residential practitioners do not have a specialist knowledge of installations and so we must be careful about not offering advice outside of our area of knowledge. To help clarify this area, I have split my thoughts into two sections: • The visual signs of defects and/or deficiencies that residential practitioners can be expected to spot; and • ‘Evidence of installation/alteration certification, annual inspections and reports for all types of installation’.

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Visual signs of defects and deficiencies

In partnership with SAVA, BlueBox partners offer a full-day CPD workshop titled Assessing Services in Residential Property and a large part of the course is spent on gas supply and gas appliances (follow this link for details of the next course).

Focusing on gas meters and supplies, residential practitioners should be looking for the following signs of potential problems under G2: • Gas meters and associated pipework in a poor condition. Typical examples could include meters dangling on the

end of the supply and output pipework; rotten or corroded shelves and brackets; heavily corroded gas meters and so on; • Gas meters located at high level. Where the meter cannot be read by the occupants and meter readers without the

use of step ladders. Some gas suppliers may raise this as an issue; • Asbestos containing materials in the vicinity of the meter position. There is a range of possibilities but the main

ones are gas meter support platforms, backing boards used to support metering equipment and enclosures built of asbestos based board; • Unprotected gas meters in communal areas. This is especially important where the route is likely to be used in the

case of fire; • Temporary or permanent obstruction to the meter position. Typical examples include a lockable cupboard for which

the user does not have a key, over-grown vegetation preventing access to the meter and even a disused vehicle parked in front of the meter box; • External gas meters where the meter cupboards are damaged. This would allow unauthorised tampering with the

equipment; and • External meter cupboards enclosed by an extension/conservatory. A new one to add to the list.

In all of these cases, a further investigation should be recommended before commitment to purchase. A CR3 should be allocated to G2 (F2 in an HCS) and a reference to the issue made in J3 ‘Risks to people’ (Section C in the HCS)

Evidence of installation/alteration certification, annual inspections and reports for all types of installation This is where it becomes complicated. The main problem stems from trying to decide who is responsible for what. This is not as simple as it seems. For example, this is a summary of many hours of phoning organisations we never knew existed: • Gas distribution network operators (sometimes called gas transporters) own the pipework up to and including the

emergency control valve (ECV) in domestic installations. Examples of gas transporters include the National Grid and Northern Gas Networks; • The gas supplier (the utility company) owns the meter and pipework between the ECV and the outlet pipe. The

outlet pipe runs from the gas meter to feed the gas appliances. The meter can be sited within an external meter box or on the inside of the property. The gas supplier has a legal duty for the safety of the gas meter and must arrange inspections at least every two years. However, many gas suppliers and Ofgem (the sector regulator) claim the ‘supply licence’ has been changed so the duty for the gas suppliers to inspect is no longer valid; • Many ‘gas suppliers’ often appoint a Meter Asset Manager (MAM) to discharge all of its duties in relation to gas

meter safety and meter reading. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) state on their website ‘This is the company with whom a gas supplier or gas transporter contracts to provide metering services to customers and is responsible for the meter at all stages of its life (‘cradle to grave’).

Are you still with me? Here are a few other facts I discovered on the way: • External gas meter boxes - the property owner ‘owns’ the meter box and is responsible for the costs of repair

although this can only be done by the gas supplier or the Meter Asset Manager; • The property owner is responsible for all pipework and appliances from the outlet pipe connection onwards. This is

usually covered by the work of a Gas Safe engineer carrying out the gas safety check or service of the appliances.

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Assessing gas installations under G2

Here is a recap for clarity. To ensure a gas installation is safe, in addition to the normal visual inspection, a residential practitioner should ask for: • Evidence of a service or a gas safety check on all gas appliances and associated pipework on the customer side of

the outlet pipe of the gas meter. This will form the basis of the condition rating and report in G4 Heating. To make things easier, I include ALL gas appliances under G4 including boilers, gas fires, gas hobs and gas ovens; • Evidence the gas meter has been satisfactorily inspected by the gas supplier or the Meter Asset Manager within the

last two years. This will form the basis of the condition rating and report under G2 Gas/oil.

If this evidence is not available, then a recommendation for further investigation and a CR3 should be included in both elements.

More easily said than done

Getting hold of a Gas Safe certificate for the customer’s side of the gas installation should be relatively straight forward and well understood, however, getting evidence the gas meter has been inspected is not so easy. To test this process, I phoned my own gas supplier and pretended that I was selling my house and a potential buyer wanted documentary evidence my gas meter had been inspected within the last two years and was safe. Here is what happened: • When I got through to a real person at my gas supplier’s call centre, I had to wait ten minutes while this genuinely

very helpful person gave me the phone number of their ‘meter asset manager’ (MAM); • I phoned the MAM who was surprised to be phoned by a ‘customer’. Another genuinely helpful person told me that

they did not carry out specific safety inspections but their meter readers were trained to spot ‘safety issues’. She gave me all the dates on which my meter was read but could not provide me with any correspondence proving this.

She told me to contact my gas supplier; • I contacted my gas supplier, spoke to a less helpful person and his supervisor and was curtly informed that gas

suppliers had no responsibility for the safety of the gas meter.

It is at times like this when I say to myself ‘Keep it simple’. As residential practitioners we operate a ‘triage’ or ‘signposting’ role. We are not expert engineers but should be able to spot the most problematic installations and indicate what our clients need to do next. If we go beyond that function, not only will we expose ourselves to challenge but we may also endanger our clients. In this particular case, if we are not provided with appropriate evidence the gas meter is safe then we should allocate a CR3 and tell the client to ask their legal adviser to investigate. This may seem like ‘passing the buck’ but we do not have the time (or the fee) to follow this through ourselves.

What should go in a HomeBuyer Report

Looking at this case study, here is what I think should be included: G2 Gas/Oil There is a mains gas supply and the meter and control valve are located in an external meter box in the corridor between the bungalow and the converted garage. The meter box is in an unusual position and I did not see evidence the gas supply pipe or the meter has been recently inspected. This is a safety hazard (see J3).

Condition rating 3. Further investigation You should ask your legal adviser to check with the gas supplier for evidence the gas meter is properly located, properly installed and safe. If evidence is not available, you should ask an appropriately qualified person to inspect the gas meter and supply and provide you with a report.

What do you think? Write and let us know.

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COMPLAINTS HANDLING The new RICS guidance notes PHIL PARNHAM DIRECTOR, BLUEBOX PARTNERS

Dr Oonagh McDonald’s report ‘Balancing Risk and Reward: Recommendations for a Sustainable Valuation Profession in the UK’ identified effective complaint handling and dispute resolution as key to ensuring the long-term sustainability of the valuation profession.

Many small organisations don’t have the benefit of a friendly technical section at head office who can help them deal with challenging customers – most sole traders have to cope with this on their own. Although this Guidance Note won’t make these complaints go away it can at least provide you with a step-by-step approach of how they can be handled.

This new Guidance Note from RICS uses this as their starting point. It pulls together the extensive knowledge gained by residential valuation firms, their insurers and their legal advisers during the challenging years of the financial crisis.

For more information see: http://www.rics.org/uk/regulation1/complaints1/

Based on the enquiries we get at BlueBox partners, this publication is well timed. Whether on the phone or over a coffee at conferences, we get numerous sole traders and owners of small practices asking our advice on best way to handle complaints. This well written publication can help them in this process.

Although the publication covers the full range of matters, we think the sections covering the early stages of the complaint are particularly useful. This includes: • Receiving a complaint – initial actions and responses; • Evaluating a complaint; • Initial response to the claimant; and • Additional investigations.

The appendices also include a list of relevant RICS help sheets and other references and a flow chart that illustrates the ‘life of a complaint’.

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RICS HOMEBUYER REPORT SERVICE The RICS HomeBuyer Report Survey, 1st Edition, June 2016 PHIL PARNHAM DIRECTOR, BLUEBOX PARTNERS

After a long period of consultation, drafting, discussion, changes of minds, and redrafting, it’s finally here! RICS recently published the newest addition to the Home Surveys stable – the RICS Homebuyer Report (Survey) service.

• It increases the range of products from which our

clients can choose; and • Professional indemnity insurers may reduce premiums

where the proportion of red book valuations is reduced.

As you may be aware, RICS has long been keen to rationalise its range of standard survey formats by offering three different levels of condition reports (the Condition Report, the HomeBuyer and the Building Survey) together with a separate valuation module that could be bolted on to any of them.

However, there are always two sides to a coin. Many practitioners are concerned that it has taken long enough to establish the HBR in the market place and changing it will simply lead to confusion. Also, some are worried that removing the valuation will put further pressure on fees.

The new Professional Statement will come into force in September 2016. See http://www.rics.org/uk/knowledge/ home-survey-suite/

However, further discussions at Great George Street resulted in the classic fudge and now have four standard formats:

New BlueBox partners/SAVA workshops

• RICS Condition Report service;

Whatever your view, look out for the new series of BlueBox/ SAVA one-day workshops in the autumn. These will cover all four RICS Home Surveys.

• RICS HomeBuyer Report (Survey) service; • RICS HomeBuyer Report (Survey & Valuation) service; • RICS Building Survey service.

See future editions of this newsletter and http://www.nesltd. co.uk/training/residential-surveyor-training

The HomeBuyer Report (Survey) service is the first to be published. Although many parts have been updated (for example, consumer cancellation), the professional statement will be familiar to many.

Although we preferred the ‘bolt-on’ valuation option, this new development has a number of advantages: • It allows RICS members who are not registered

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ISSUE 23 AUGUST 2016

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THE SIZE OF PHOTOGRAPHS Understanding the file formats of digital cameras ALY MCMORLAND CONTENT PRODUCER, SAVA

Digital cameras are an essential part of the surveyor’s tool kit and because photographs can be uploaded into the Home Condition Survey they are an excellent tool to help you communicate with your client.

So, when is it best to shoot in JPEG and store more photos and when is it best to shoot in RAW/TIFF and store more information in each photo?

Compressing JPEGs

Are you fully conversant with all the aspects of your camera and in particular how to use the right file size?

A digital photograph stored in the JPEG format means that the file sizes are smaller. On many digital cameras the user can determine how much compression to apply to the photograph size.

RAW and TIFF vs. JPEG

There are three main file formats for digital photographs, these are RAW, TIFF and JPEG formats.

Cameras will normally allow the user to set two or three levels of compression.

Both RAW and TIFF do not apply any compression to the photo. When your camera saves a digital photo as a RAW or TIFF (if your camera has the option of doing so), the photo includes all of the information captured by your camera’s image sensor and therefore takes the maximum amount of space on your memory card.

And in terms of the number of photographs you can save on a media card this can, in effect, double the capacity of the card:

However, JPEG is a much more common file format and probably the one that we are all familiar with, and it uses compression. It is a much more popular format as it enables memory cards to store more photographs, saving them with less information and therefore they take up less space.

The problem with a highly compressed photograph is that it will lose detail and the image will start to become grainy.

If you are using your photograph as evidence and you lack the information or detail it may hinder your influence.

Since a lot of cameras do not save TIFF or RAW formats and because JPEG is a file format that is universal we will focus on the JPEG format.

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TECHNICAL BULLETIN The issue to remember is what the photographs will be used for. However, before discussing the file size the other thing to consider is the ‘zoom’ capacity of the camera.

2. As part of the record of inspection that you will

consider when writing the report 3. As a means to defend your actions or conclusions in

the unfortunate circumstance that a client later makes a claim or complaint against you

Digital Zoom and Optical Zoom

Most cameras will have both optical zoom and digital zoom.

Optical zoom works just like a zoom lens on a traditional film camera. The lens changes the focal length and magnification as it is zoomed and the image quality stays high throughout the zoom range.

For the latter 2 uses, the better the image quality then the more detail you will be able to see, or if you are a member of the SAVA Scheme and we manage the complaint on your behalf, how much detail we will be able to see. It would therefore benefit you to shoot in RAW or TIFF format.

Digital zoom works by simply cropping the image to a smaller size, then enlarges the cropped portion to fill the frame again. Digital zoom results in a significant loss of image quality.

This is very important. We are currently dealing with a complaint relating to a crack in some render on the side wall of a property underneath a window at first floor level. It would not be clearly visible from ground level.

As a surveyor you will be inspecting the property from ground level and so you will need a camera with a good optical zoom. There are a range of entry level cameras which now offer up to 30x Optical Zoom – excellent for photographing chimney details from the ground.

The matter is still live, but the reason for mentioning it here is that while the surveyor took a photograph of the side wall, the size of the file is such that the photograph is very limited and we are not able to examine the wall in detail.

The size of this photograph is 167.5KB, this is a very compressed file and so the viewer is unable to see any detail. Had this file size been at least 1MB then this would have included sufficient detail for us to see the wall clearly.

Alternatively, the wall could have been photographed using an Optical Zoom or the surveyor could have stood closer to the issue and taken the photo.

Should I compress my photographs?

The key thing to consider is how your photographs will be used: 1. In the report to illustrate a point for the client

Changing the format on your camera is straight forward and can be found in the camera’s settings menu. If your camera can only shoot in JPEG and you don’t have the option to change the format to RAW then usually you will have the ability to set the compression size of the JPEG.

VISUAL EXAMPLES OF COMPRESSION

Picture in TIFF format

Picture in JPEG format

From the outset the two photos above look identical in quality but this is only because they have been resized to fit in this article. However, they are different as the TIFF photo on the left is 5.8MB and the JPEG photo on the right is 1.3MB, meaning the photo on the left contains more information within the image. This is apparent when the images are enlarged, as the word “Coach” in the TIFF version is still very clear, whereas in the JPEG version it pixelates because the image lacks the information.

If your camera doesn’t have the ability to change the compression or format in its menu then the compression size may be changed at the time of shooting. However if you have no ability to alter the camera’s compression rate at all then it may mean you need to buy a better camera.

If your camera does enable you to change compression size then at least 1MB will be fine.

Enlarged TIFF format

Enlarged JPEG format

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Uploading Photographs into a Report

At SAVA I take a lot of photos covering a wide range of subjects and I would find it difficult to maintain a library of images if I didn’t have a good program to organise everything. I have tried many different programs but for a long time I have used Adobe Lightroom to organise my images. Lightroom is quick and intuitive and allows me to batch edit, export and rename scores of photos in one go.

So, if you use the SAVA HCS we suggest that you compress any photographs that you want to upload into the report.

The HCS software struggles when it is pulling large files together into the PDF and can time out if the system is being heavily used at that time.

However, we recommend you save all your photos in their original uncompressed format and keep them there to help defend your decisions if needed.

The downside to Adobe Lightroom is the cost. As a premium product it is probably one of the most expensive. This being said, if you are serious about taking and maintaining a number of photos, it is a very good investment. As a surveyor, you are essentially a detective for structural issues and you spend a lot of time looking for issues and defects that affect value, so you couldn’t do your job without photographic evidence. It therefore makes sense to have a way of keeping your images safe, secure and catalogued.

If you are then putting any of those photos into a report or onto the SAVA HCS we would recommend compressing the original and saving a copy so that the original stays intact so the report has a photo that better serves its purpose.

Once the report is finalised you won’t need the smaller duplicated file and can delete it. As you’ll still have the original, if you are called upon to provide evidence, it will all be there in its original format with the most information.

As always if Lightroom doesn’t appeal there are many cheaper alternatives and presently all computer systems come with a basic photo editor. On PC there is Windows Picture Manager and on Mac there is iPhoto. Both come with their merits and downsides and will enable you to resize images amongst other functions. However, if you’re sitting on an extensive library of photos and like to edit in batch then I cannot recommend Lightroom enough.

Photo Editing Software

To help you decide what is best for your needs, here is a list of the best photo editing software for 2016.

When you put a photograph into a document and save that document as a PDF, the PDF writer will automatically compress any photographs loaded into it. Therefore, if your client reads the PDF on screen they will not be able to zoom into any detail on the photograph in the PDF, even if you uploaded a larger file into the report.

There are a number of programs that will aid your photography in both organisation and transformation. Not only do these software packages allow you to easily locate and resize your photos, but they go a long way to helping you maintain a healthy library of images.

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