RICS Expert Witness Reports for Court CPR 35 Compliant

Expert Reports are often prepared for:

Disputes with builders and other contractors

Poor workmanship

Where a person does not have capacity and is under the protection of the courts.

Matrimonial disputes.

Bankruptcy and insolvency

Lease renewal and other landlord and tenant disputes.

Negligent mortgage valuations and surveys.

Boundary and Right of Way Disputes

 

Terms of appointment for an RICS Expert Witness Survey and Report can be downloaded here.

 

CPR Part 35 (Civil Procedure Rules) Expert Witness Reports for County Court:

Expert Reports for County Court are prepared in a special format ensuring that the Surveyor has for filled his duty to act impartially on behalf of the court. They also ensure that matters that the Surveyor has decided for him self, matters of fact and opinion and information received from other parties are all clearly explained to the court.

Steve Butler can also attend the Court to give evidence if the circumstances of the case require.

Steve Butler has given evidence at the Birmingham Crown Court in a Fraud Trial: R v Ronald Reeves and Others 2015 and acted as an advocate before the First Tier Property Tribunal: Land Registration in a Right of Way matter: Dawson v Smith 2014.

 

Chartered Surveyors CPR 35 compliant Expert Witness Report for Coventry County Court

This Coventry RICS Surveyors Expert Witness Report related to an Orangery constructed in the place of an existing conservatory that was relocated. Unfortunately when relocating the conservatory very shallow foundations were just poured on to ground that had not been prepared leading to a high risk of differential settlement. The new Orangery floor was laid at too high a level with a sudden slope down to meet a door opening. However even this level was too high to accommodate under floor heating. Channels retrospectively cut to house the heating were set too far apart to enable the floor to heat properly and much heat was likely to be lost to the ground due to inadequate insulation under the heating elements. The frame of the roof structure had not been bolted to the house or substantial timbers to each other. Steel lintels were sitting on out of plumb bearings which are likely to cause the bearing to try and rotate. A bock wall rocked when pushed with a hand. Our Expert Chartered Surveyor thought that the Orangery would have to be demolished.

 

 RICS Surveyors Expert Investigation into structural movement of a Coventry 1900 terrace building for insurers

Our RICS Expert Surveyors found that structural movement and cracking of this property had occurred in three locations. The types of movement had three different causes and were all unrelated to each other. The first type of movement was cause by poor foundation on what had been an outhouse that had been converted to a utility room. The structural movement probably occurred just after the property was constructed. The second type of structural movement appeared to approximate to a drain. The cracking also appeared to be old as our survey inspection showed that the drain had been replaced with a modern plastic one. The third type of structural cracking reported on was due to thermal expansion of a long wall. If a wall is too long and does not have expansion joints bricks move with heat on hot summer days until they snap because they have exceeded their elasticity. As the property was in an area of underground lime stone mines our RICS Expert Surveyors suggested that a mining report be obtained as a precaution against mining subsidence.

 

Expert witness CPR 35 report on a boundary dispute and nuisance neighbour at for county court 

 

Our RICS Expert Witness Surveyors prepare a CPR 35 report for court on a breach of the boundary causing damp at a property in Sheffield. Here the neighbour had constructed a raised paved area and rather than construct their own retaining wall has used the neighbour’s garage. Fortunately our boundary surveyors were able to demonstrate that the paved area projected beyond the boundary line.

 

RICS Expert Witness Reports

Independent Expert Witness Reports for Court