Dilapidation Reports
Evidence of condition before someone starts building next door.
A dilapidation report records the condition of a property before nearby work starts. If a dispute follows about who caused a crack, the report is the evidence.
When you need one
Construction, excavation, demolition and piling all transmit movement through the ground. A neighbouring building can pick up cracking, subsidence or damage to driveways and paths, and the argument that follows tends to come down to whether the damage was there beforehand.
Without a report, that argument is unwinnable in both directions. The party doing the work cannot prove it did not cause the damage. The neighbour cannot prove it did.
Bodies corporate are on the receiving end of this more often than most. A tower goes up next door, and eighteen months later the committee is looking at cracking in a common property wall with no record of what the wall looked like before.
What the report contains
- A documented inspection of the property before work begins
- Photographic record of existing cracking, movement and surface damage
- Written description of the condition of relevant structures, tied to the photographs
- A comparison inspection after works finish, where that has been commissioned
The value is in the specificity. A report that says the building was “generally in good condition” settles nothing. One that photographs and measures an existing crack settles a great deal.
Before and after
Dilapidation work is usually done in two passes. The pre-works inspection establishes the baseline. The post-works inspection identifies what changed. Committees sometimes commission only the first and then find they have a baseline with nothing to compare it against.
If adjacent works are already finished and no pre-works report exists, an inspection can still document current condition, though it will not carry the same evidentiary weight.
Why use a quantity surveyor
Seymour Consultants has worked in construction and development for over 25 years, and our quantity surveyors are members of the Australian Institute of Quantity Surveyors. Assessing building condition and understanding what construction activity does to neighbouring structures is core to that discipline.
We prepare these reports for bodies corporate, strata committees, strata managers and property owners across Queensland and northern New South Wales.
Frequently asked questions
Who pays for a dilapidation report?
Commonly the party carrying out the works, since they carry the risk of a damage claim. A body corporate can also commission its own report to protect the scheme’s position, and sometimes both parties do.
How soon before works should the inspection happen?
As close to the start as practical. A baseline captured months earlier leaves a window where damage could have occurred from something unrelated.
Is this the same as a building condition report?
No. A building condition report assesses the state of a building for the owner’s own purposes. A dilapidation report exists to establish a record for a specific external event, usually adjacent construction. We prepare both.
Do you cover the common property only, or individual lots?
Scope is set with you. For a body corporate the usual focus is common property, though lots adjoining the works can be included. [VERIFY: confirm standard scoping practice]
To arrange a dilapidation report, call 07 5573 4011 or email info@seymourconsultants.com.au.
