RICS

TFT chairs RICS Dilapidations Conferences in Scotland and England

TFT Technical Partner Jon Rowling recently chaired the RICS Dilapidations Conference, Scotland. Jon is jointly based in TFT’s Edinburgh and London offices and heads TFT’s Dilapidations, Service Charge and Dispute Resolution service lines nationally. 

The event covered pressing issues for our UK clients, including: comparisons between Scots law and England and Wales; a mock cross-examination which highlighted why one wouldn’t want to get as far as litigation; and accession of movable items and fixtures.

Of the nuanced and challenging issues facing tenants and landlords, of great importance for both sides will be to avoid litigation procedures, which can be done with the right approach to dispute resolution.

Jon authored the go-to text book on these matters: The TFT Purple Book, which offers guidance and reference to make the right decisions through the process. Jon has also authored the RICS Dilapidations Guidance Note and the Dilapidations Dispute Resolution Scheme. He also chaired the London edition of the RICS Dilapidations Conference from 2010 to 2014.  Since then the event has been chaired by TFT Partner Paul Spaven. 

With Jon Rowling as the service line lead, TFT leads the way in dilapidations across the UK, while in Scotland our Expert Determination and Dispute Resolution offerings are gaining notable traction.

Neil Wotherspoon, TFT Partner and head of the Edinburgh office

Please do get in touch with either Jon or Neil if you would like any assistance with a dilapidations issue.

TFT at RICS Building Surveying Conference

Last week TFT decamped to the Royal Lancaster Hotel to join the 2019 RICS Building Surveying Conference (May 2), an industry gathering with a full programme of seminars and panels tackling the state and future of surveying.

Katie Brooks, Associate Building Surveyor, chaired three sessions on two topics across the day, hosting almost 600 people as part of her role in the RICS Conference Working Group which shaped the day’s agenda and content.

Katie’s first session was on offsite and modular construction, a topic which is regaining recognition in the industry due to the cost saving opportunities it offers, and the scale which modular building techniques can provide. A recent RICS report on Modern Methods of Construction declared modular methods could be a route to accelerate home building for the Government’s target of 300,000 homes per year by 2020.

Katie chaired a presentation and Q&A by Tim Prosser of Hawk Technical, who examined the pros and cons of modular and off-site construction methods. Tim drew on case studies he has witnessed over the past few years, and weighed up the benefits for different kinds of developer, and he also showed how differing approaches would result in implications for building sequence, logistics, sustainability and design process on top of the core considerations of time, cost and quality.

The second session on Katie’s agenda was a presentation on the building regulations, and specifically enforcement. A presentation from David McCullogh (who chairs the RICS Fire Safety Leaders Forum and sits on CIC’s specialist Grenfell panel) reminded the audience that the industry has a duty to self-regulate, and to take responsibility for proposing improvements.

We also saw TFT Partners David Mann and Chris Gibbons take the stage to give an update on Technical Due Diligence (TDD) as the RICS prepares to launch the latest Guidance Note on TDD. The pair presented best practice updates on assessing risk, how to approach surveys for different building types, how to use technology such as drones to maximise access and value from a survey, and what clients expect from the best surveyors.

In summary, those are: sharp detective instincts, a commercial perspective on what impacts value the most, and clear, timely communication of the key facts.