1. As part of compliance by AC Developments Limited t/a Straight Up Inspections (“we”, “our”, “us”) with New Zealand Property Inspection Standards NZS 4306.2005 (“the Standards”) our letter of engagement outlines and/or incorporates the following:
(a) the scope of our inspection and report;
(b) any limitations to our inspection and report; and
(c) these terms and conditions, which must be accepted in writing by the client (“you”, “your”) and Guarantor (if any).
(d) The letter of engagement will be provided and will also state the following:
(i) Your name.
(ii) Inspectors name or inspection Company.
(iii) Date the report is due by.
(iv) Scope of report.
(v) Any special-purpose property inspection items.
(vi) Fee.
(vii) Limitations and conditions.
(viii) Professional liability cover.
before any inspection can be carried out.
(a) For the purpose of pre-sale or pre-purchase inspections, the inspection process will be carried out in accordance with the Standards. You agree to be bound by the Standards. In the event of conflict between these Terms and Conditions and the Standards, the Standards will prevail.
(b) A copy of the Standards is available at our office for your inspection or alternatively you may contact Standards New Zealand and purchase a copy.
(c) We will have a qualified person with a relevant qualification and building inspection experience carry out the inspection in accordance with the Standards (“the Inspection”).
(d) We will certify that the Inspection has been carried out in accordance with the Standards and that the inspector meets the competences of that standard.
(e) We will consider weather tightness regardless of age, however it will not be measured against Appendix A of the Standards or to E2/A51 of the Building Code Matrix and Evaluation as this would be subject to a specialist report.
Under the Standards the scope of the inspection is limited to a visual inspection of the components of a building to which the inspector has reasonable access and being in their clear line of sight. A non-intrusive moisture meter will be used around accessible joinery or identified risk areas, however readings are an aid only and their results are not conclusive.
(a) You agree to ensure that reasonable access can be gained to the property including but not limited to the roof and foundation spaces and that any such spaces if they exist are cleared for inspection to be carried out.
(b) “Reasonable Access” means access that is safe, unobstructed and which has the minimum clearance specified in the table below (or if the minimum clearance is not available the area is within the inspector’s unobstructed line of vision).
Reasonable Access:
Roof space: 450 x 400mm manhole access, 600 x 600mmm crawl space and accessible from a 3.6 metre ladder
Subfloor: 500 x 400mm manhole access, 400mm vertical clearance crawl space from underside of bearer – timber 500mm vertical clearance crawl space
Roof exterior: accessible from 3.6m ladder or such other means of access that meet Worksafe NZ requirements
(a) The report should be seen as a reasonable attempt to identify any Significant Fault or Defect at the time of the visual inspection rather than an all-encompassing report dealing with every aspect of the building. The reporting of any Significant Fault or Defect is on an exceptional basis rather than reporting on items which are in acceptable condition for their age.
(b) “Significant Fault or Defect” is defined in the Standards as – “A matter which requires substantial repairs or urgent attention and rectification.”
(c) A Significant Fault or Defect will be addressed in the summary section of the report as maintenance or remedial work.
(a) The Inspection and report is intended only as a general guide to help you make your own assessment of the overall condition of the building and is not intended to reflect the value of the property, or any representation as to the advisability of purchase.
(b) The report expresses the opinions of the inspector, based upon his or her visual impressions of conditions that existed at the time of the inspection only.
(c) The Inspection and report are not intended to be technically exhaustive, or to imply that every component was inspected or that every possible defect was discovered.
(d) No disassembly of equipment, intrusive or destructive inspection, moving of furniture, appliances, stored items or excavation will be performed.
(e) All components and conditions which by the nature of their location are concealed, deliberately hidden, camouflaged or difficult to inspect are excluded from the report.
(f) Any suggestions or recommendations contained in the report are suggestions only and it shall be the responsibility of the person or persons carrying out work to ensure the most appropriate repairs are carried out in conjunction with any further discoveries, warranties or manufacturers recommendation and warranties and any necessary local authority consents obtained prior to proceeding with repair work.
(g) Inspections of the systems in the building are outside of the scope of our report. The inspector will however, conduct a cursory inspection of the hot water system, the plumbing system, the electrical system (we will carry out a visual inspection for physical damage of power points, light switches and wiring but we recommend an electrician does a full electrical inspection as we are not qualified to comment on the safety of these items). You should note this will only be the opinion of the inspector, who is not a qualified plumber, electrician or gas fitter. You should note that our inspector does not inspect the air conditioning system, dishwashers, stove hobs, heating systems, aerials, swimming pools or spas.
(h) It is not our policy to give oral advice, we will provide a written report. If you do require us to give you oral advice we shall not be held responsible for that advice.
(i) Matters which might be within the scope of Inspection under the Standards but are not included in our report shall be, but aren’t limited to, the existence of formaldehyde, lead paint, asbestos, toxic or flammable materials, pest infestation and other health or environmental hazards, the condition of playground equipment, efficiency measurement of insulation or heating and cooling equipment any internal or underground drainage or plumbing systems which are shut down or otherwise secured, water wells (water quality and quantity) zoning ordinances, cosmetics, Building Code conformity, intercoms, security systems, fire detection systems, heat sensors (any general comments about these systems and their condition are for information only and do not represent an Inspection or form part of the report).
(j) The Inspection and report should not be construed as a compliance inspection of any building consent or territorial authority standards, codes or regulations. The report is not intended to be a warranty or guarantee of the present or future weather tightness, adequacy or performance of the structural systems or their component parts. The report does not constitute any express or implied warranty merchantability or fitness for use regarding the condition of the building and it should not be relied upon as such. Any opinions expressed regarding adequacy, capacity or expected life of components are general statements based on information about similar components and occasional variations are to be expected between such estimates and actual experience.
(k) You accept that the inspector will not detect some faults and/or defects because:
(i) The fault occurs only intermittently.
(ii) Part of the building has not been used for a period of time and the fault usually occurs after regular use.
(iii) The type of weather that would normally reveal the fault is not prevailing at or around the time of the inspection.
(iv) The fault or defect has been deliberately concealed.
(v) Furnishings are obscuring the fault or defect (see clause 6(d)).
(vi) We have been given incorrect information by you, a vendor, a real estate agent or any other person.
(vii) The fault or defect is/was not apparent on a visual inspection.
We certify that our inspectors have no interest present or contemplated in the property or its improvement and no relationship with any contractors or trades people nor will they derive any benefit from any sales or improvements.
(a) Should any dispute arise as a result of the Inspection or report it must be submitted to us in writing immediately.
(b) You agree that upon raising a dispute the contents of the report may not be used to satisfy any conditions in or terms of a sale and purchase agreement until the disagreement/dispute has been resolved.
(c) You agree that if, after raising a dispute, you use the Inspection or report to make an unconditional offer or confirm satisfaction of conditions under a sale and purchase agreement, that you waive all of your rights to continue with the dispute, and/or raise any future dispute or claim against us.
(d) In the event of a claim/dispute regarding damage to a building, you will allow us to investigate the claim prior to any repairs to the building be undertaken or completed. You agree that if you do not allow us to investigate the claims of damage before any repairs are carried out that you waive your right to continue with and/or make any further claim against us.
(e) In the event of any dispute, you agree not to disturb, repair, or attempt to repair anything that would constitute evidence relating to the dispute, except in the case of an emergency.
(f) Any complaints will be subject to our internal complaints process.
(a) Subject to any statutory provisions, if we become liable to you, for any reason, for any loss, or harm or injury in any way connected with the completion of the Inspection and/or report, our liability shall be limited to a sum not exceeding the cost of the Inspection and report. We will not be liable for any consequential loss of whatever nature suffered by you or any other person injured and you indemnify us in respect of any claims concerning such loss.
(b) If you are purchasing a property, you agree to indemnify us and keep indemnified from any and all claims by the Vendor or any third party arising from your release of all or part of our report. In that event the Purchaser’s shall pay all legal costs incurred by us arising from such claims.
(a) We have no responsibility or liability for any cost, loss or damage arising from:
(i) any errors or omissions from information, data or documents not prepared by us, our employees or other persons under the direct control of us;
(ii) any act or omission, lack of performance, negligent or fraudulent act on your part;
(iii) any act or omission, lack of performance, negligence or fraud on the part of any consultant, contractor or supplier to you, or on the part of any of your employees or agents.
(b) That all commercially sensitive information obtained by either party during the preparation of the report shall remain confidential.
(c) The contents of the report or any other work prepared by us is confidential and has been prepared solely for you. We accept no responsibility for anything done or not done by any third party in reliance whether wholly or partially, on any of the contents of the report, unless we have specifically agreed in writing that the report may be supplied for the benefit of a specific third party.
(d) Where the content of any report is relied upon for industry research or evaluation purposes, such research or evaluation shall not include any data that may allow for the identification of any property or personal information included in the report in any way.
(e) You shall pay all costs and expenses (including legal costs on a solicitor/client basis) resulting from any breach of these terms of trade by you or the enforcement by us of these terms of trade.
(f) This contract shall be governed by New Zealand law.
11. Cancellation Fee
If you cancel the Inspection, we may charge a cancellation fee equal to the full cost of the Inspection and report, provided however that if we have received one full working days written notice of cancellation, no fee shall be payable.
We offer a professional, same day inspection service.
Your builders report will be emailed the same day.
