Research carried out by insurance company Churchill has revealed that 13 million homeowners have needed unexpected building work completed on their property since moving in. Over half of those who had major building work said knowing that in advance would have influenced their decision to buy the property.
Moreover, seven million did not have a survey completed on their current property. This includes 3.5 million people who did not have any type of independent checks completed and 3.6 million who assumed a mortgage valuation was sufficient. According to surveyors the most common three problems that can be detected by a building survey are damp, roof issues and subsidence.
The number of people who have at least a base level survey has increased over time: from 63% cent 20 years ago to 91% in the past 12 months. However, having a comprehensive building survey done has reduced significantly, from 28% 20 years ago to just 6% in the past 12 months.
The Royal Borough of Greenwich has welcomed the decision to dismiss a claim for Judicial Review of the council’s decision to grant planning permission for the Enderby Wharf development in 2015. The Claimant was granted permission to bring the claim earlier this year on the grounds that the Council had (allegedly) failed to require an assessment of the cumulative effects of the proposed development on air quality in the immediate area.
Construction companies have been ordered to pay almost £8m in health and safety fines since new sentencing guidelines came into force earlier this year, according to BLM’s Health and Safety tracker.
The Appeal Court’s decision on 11 May to uphold a Government initiative to waive affordable housing requirements for small developments was hailed by the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) as a boost for SMEs and housebuilding.
Powered gate owners are being urged to have their gates checked for safety after a court heard how a defective works gate collapsed and seriously injured an employee.