For Property Owners
What to expect when the Building Survey Company carries out the Pre-Condition / Pre-Construction Survey of your Property
After being awarded the project, AV Consultants Pte Ltd will send an official letter to the stakeholders whose properties lies within the zone of influence. The letter will either be sent by normal mail or, for some urgent cases, letters will even be delivered “By Hand”. The official letter will include the name of the Main Contractor, the Project Title and details of the appointed Professional Building Surveyor, who will be carrying out the Pre-condition / Pre-construction Survey of your property.
The contents of the letter will indicate the purpose of the Pre-condition / Pre-construction Survey and the benefits of carrying out the survey for both property owners and building contractor. The letter also states the intended dates of survey and to seek the owners’ permission to access the property to carry out the survey. In the event the owners are not available on the stated dates, the owners may choose to respond and request for an alternative date and time.
On the stated date of the Pre-condition / Pre-construction Survey, the surveyor shall approach the respective owners or occupiers in a polite manner. The surveyor will identify themselves and that they from AV Consultants Pte Ltd and represent the building contractor to carry out the survey.
During the Pre-condition / Pre-construction the predominant equipment used by the Surveyor is a professional DLSR camera and other accessories such as measuring ruler to check the width of critical cracks, laser pointer to give a better focus on fine cracks, torchlight for areas that are too dark, hollow checker tapping rod for hollow tiles etc.
During the Pre-condition / Pre-construction Survey, the Surveyor will take into consideration the sensitivity and respect the privacy of owners or occupiers. During the photographic survey, the surveyor will avoid capturing family or personal photos, portraits, beds, art pieces, expensive items, displays, personal belongings or special proprietary manufacturing machines/instruments. Under certain circumstances whereby it is necessary and unavoidable, the resultant photographs will have the sensitive areas or objects blanked off in the final report.
To ensure Owner's privacy, we do not take photos showing artwork, beds, private art collection, etc.
Drag the center bar to the left or right to see the difference.
The photos we take will show ceiling, walls, flooring, e.g. in the right photo of the slider.
The surveyors will need to seek permission from the owners or occupiers to access the various parts of the property. In some cases, the owners or occupiers may refuse to allow access to certain rooms, the surveyors will respect the owners or occupiers privacy and will not proceed further but to indicate accordingly.
During the surveying process, always request the owners or their representatives to accompany the surveyors around the property to avoid any claims of lost items or valuables or any misunderstanding.
Upon completion of the survey, the surveyor will inform the owners or the occupiers that the survey has been completed and to thank them for their time and the permission granted to carry out the survey in their property. The owners will be informed that a copy of the completed survey report will be presented to them by the Contractor.
For Contractors
What must the Main Contractors do, prior to Commencement of the Pre-condition Survey for Private Residential Properties:
As required by the Commissioner of Building Control (CBC) of the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) the Building Contractor carrying out the proposed construction works must submit the Notification of Building Works to Neighbours Form, also known as Annex 1 to CBC duly signed by the affected neighbouring property owners prior to the commencement of the works.
Annex 1 is to inform the affected property owners that their properties are within the minimum zone of Pre-construction Survey and to notify them of the impending construction works. The information required in the Form consists of the Building Contractor’s details, Liaison Person & Contacts, Project Title, expected Commencement Date and expected Duration of the building works.
Annex 1 also required the Building Contractor to Request for Consent for Access to the owners’ property to carry out the necessary Pre-Construction activities like Pre-condition / Pre-construction Survey, Install Monitoring Instruments, To Plaster and Paint the New / Extended Party Wall or Erect Scaffolding. The Form must be acknowledged and duly signed by the affected property owners. The Building Contractor shall keep record of the Acknowledgement by Neighbours.
After receiving the acknowledgements and duly signed Form (Annex 1), the Building Contractor then submits the Notification of Communication Plan for Landed Development Projects (Annex 2) to CBC.
In Annex 2, the Building Contractor is required to fill in the Notification to CBC on the :
- Project Reference No. & Project Title.
- Status of Communication Plan (Section 1),
- Status of Pre-Construction Survey (Section 2)
- Consent for Access (Section 3)
Building Contractor is solely responsible to approach the affected building owners and to collect the acknowledged and duly signed Annex 1 and to complete Annex 2, then submit them to the Commissioner of Building Control (CBC) prior to the commencement of the project.