You should read and understand the following definitions of words used in this Agreement and the Report. This will help You understand what is involved in a Property and building inspection, the difficulties faced by the Inspector and the contents of the Report which We will provide You following the Inspection.
Acceptance Criteria: The Building shall be compared with a building which was constructed at approximately the same time. using practices which were generally accepted as normal for that time and that the property has received maintenance to ensure that the intended strength and serviceability of the building have not significantly deteriorated over time.
Access hole (cover) means a hole in the structure allowing safe entry to an area.
Accessible area is any area of the Property and structures allowing the Inspector safe and reasonable access within the scope of the inspection.
Building Element means a part of a building performing a particular function either singularly or in conjunction with other such parts.
Business Day means a day other than a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday in Sydney, New South Wales.
Client means the person(s) or other legal entity for which the inspection is to be carried out. If ordered by the person(s)’s agent then it is agreed that the agent represents the person(s) and has the authority to act for and on their behalf. (See also “You/Your” below).
Defect means a variation or fault in material or a component or assembled element that deviates from its intended appearance or function.
Inspector means the company, partnership or individual named in the Report who carried out the inspection requested by You.
Insolvency Event means if a party enters into bankruptcy, provisional liquidation, liquidation, receivership, receiver and managership, voluntary administration or if a controller (as defined in the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth)) is appointed to a party or if a mortgagee takes possession of any assets of a party whether by itself or by an agent or if a party ceases to trade or is unable to pay its debts as they fall due or if a party makes a compromise with its creditors or enters into a scheme of arrangement.
Intellectual Property Rights means all present and future intellectual, industrial or proprietary rights conferred by statute, at common law or in equity anywhere in the world, whether issued or pending, registered or unregistered, including all forms of copyright, patents, trade marks, designs, trade secrets, know-how, confidential information and circuit layouts.
Limitation means any factor that prevents full achievement of the purpose of the inspection.
Major defect means a defect of such significance that without correction would not avoid Safety Concerns, loss of the intended practical performance of the building element or an additional decline in the existing condition of the Property inspected.
Minor defect means a defect which is not a Major Defect.
Person means any individual, company, partnership or association who is not a Client.
Property means the structures and boundaries up to thirty (30m) metres from the exterior walls of the main building but within the boundaries of the land on which the main building is erected.
Report means the document and any attachments issued to You by Us following Our inspection of the Property.
Structural Inspection means the inspection shall comprise visual assessment of accessible areas of the Property to identify Major defects to the building structure and to form an opinion regarding the general condition of the structure of the Property. The Report will not include those items noted in Clause A3 of AS4349.1-2007 e.g. Condition of roof coverings, partition walls, cabinetry, doors, trims, fencing, minor structures. ceiling linings, windows, non- structural & serviceability damp issues, rising damp, condensation etc.
Safe and Reasonable Access does not include the use of destructive or invasive inspection methods or moving furniture or stored goods. The Standard AS4349.1-2007 provides information concerning safe and reasonable access:
Only areas where reasonable and safe access was available were inspected. Access will not be available where there are safety concerns, or obstructions, or the space available is less than the following:
Reasonable access does not include the use of destructive or invasive inspection methods. Nor does reasonable access include cutting or making access traps, or moving heavy furniture or stored goods.
Subfloor – Access is normally not available where dimensions are less than 500mm x 400mm for the access hole and less than 400mm of crawl space beneath the lowest bearer, or, less than 500mm beneath the lowest part of any concrete floor;
Safe Access is determined at the Inspector’s sole discretion. The Inspector will take into account conditions existing on the Property at the time of the inspection. Safe access is subject to sufficient space being available in and around confined areas. If the inspector reasonably believes that hazardous mould, inadequate ventilation or water pooling may exist, access is deemed to be unsafe.
Our/Us/We means the company, partnership or individual named below that You have requested to carry out the Property inspection and Report.
You/Your means the party identified on the face page of this agreement as the Client, and where more than one party all such parties jointly and severally, together with any agent of that party.
You agree that in signing this agreement (physically or Electronically by clicking/or replying I agree). You have read and understand the contents of this agreement and that the inspection will be carried out in accordance with this document. You agree to pay for the inspection before delivery of the Report.
If You fail to sign and return a copy of this agreement to Us and do not cancel the requested inspection then You agree that You have read and understand the contents of this agreement and that We will carry out the inspection on the basis of this agreement and that We can rely on this agreement.
Note: Additional inspection requirements requested by You may incur additional expense in regard to the cost of the inspection.
You should read and understand the following definitions of words used in this agreement and the Report. This will help You understand what is involved in a Timber Pest Inspection or a Termite Inspection, the difficulties faced by an inspector and the contents of the Report with which We will provide You following the inspection.
Access hole means a hole in the structure allowing entry to an area.
Active means live timber pests were sighted during the inspection.
Business Day means a day other than a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday in Sydney, New South Wales.
Client means the person(s) who requests the report. If ordered by the client’s Agent then it is agreed that the Agent represents the client and has the authority to act for and on behalf of the client.
High moisture readings means a reading on a moisture meter that is higher that the norm for other parts of the structure. Such high reading should be investigated by invasive means as the presence could indicate a leak or may indicate timber pest activity and damage.
Inactive means that no active (see definition above) timber pests were detected but evidence such as workings, damage, mudding or exit holes is found at the time of the inspection.
Inspector means the company, partnership or individual named in the Report who carried out the inspection requested by You.
Insolvency Event means if a party enters into bankruptcy, provisional liquidation, liquidation, receivership, receiver and managership, voluntary administration or if a controller (as defined in the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth)) is appointed to a party or if a mortgagee takes possession of any assets of a party whether by itself or by an agent or if a party ceases to trade or is unable to pay its debts as they fall due or if a party makes a compromise with its creditors or enters into a scheme of arrangement.
Intellectual Property Rights means all present and future intellectual, industrial or proprietary rights conferred by statute, at common law or in equity anywhere in the world, whether issued or pending, registered or unregistered, including all forms of copyright, patents, trade marks, designs, trade secrets, know-how, confidential information and circuit layouts.
NOTE: Where visual evidence of inactive termite workings and/or damage is located, it is possible that termites may still be active in the immediate vicinity and the termites may continue to cause further damage. It is not possible, without benefit of further investigation and inspections over a period of time, to ascertain whether any infestation is active or inactive. Continued, regular, inspections are essential.
Property means the structures, gardens, trees, fences etc up to thirty (30) metres from the exterior walls of the main building but within the boundaries of the land on which the main building is erected. Unless You specifically order in writing that structures, gardens, trees and fences etc outside the thirty (30) metres from the exterior walls of the main building be inspected no such inspection will be carried out.
Reasonable Access means only areas to which reasonable access is available are inspected. The Australian Standard AS 3660 refers to AS4349.3-2010 which defines reasonable access. Access will not be available where there are safety concerns, or obstructions, or the space available is less than the following:
Roof Void – the dimensions of the access hole should be at least 500mm x 400mm and reachable by 3.6 M ladder, and there is at least 600mm x 600mm of space to crawl;
Roof Exterior – must be accessible by a 3.6M ladder placed on the ground;
Subfloor – Access is normally not available where dimensions are less than 500mm x 400mm for the access hole and less than 400mm of crawl space beneath the lowest bearer, or, less than 500mm beneath the lowest part of any concrete floor;
The Inspector shall determine whether access is safe. The Inspector will take into account conditions existing on the Property at the time of the inspection. Safe access is subject to sufficient space being available in and around confined areas. If the inspector reasonably believes that hazardous mould, inadequate ventilation or water pooling may exist, access is deemed to be unsafe.
Reasonable access does not include the use of destructive or invasive inspection methods. Nor does reasonable access include cutting or making access traps, or moving heavy furniture or stored goods.
Report means the report issued to You by Us following Our inspection of the property.
Termites means subterranean and dampwood termites (white ants) and does not include Dry wood termites.
Our/Us/We means the company, partnership or individual named below that You have requested to carry out a timber pest or termite inspection and report.
You/Your means the party identified as the Client on the face page of this agreement, and where more than one party all such parties jointly and severally, together with any agent of that party.
You agree that in signing this agreement (physically or Electronically by clicking/or replying I agree). You have read and understand the contents of this agreement and that the inspection will be carried out in accordance with this document. You agree to pay for the inspection before delivery of the Report.
If You fail to sign and return a copy of this agreement to Us and do not cancel the requested inspection then You agree that You have read and understand the contents of this agreement and that We will carry out the inspection on the basis of this agreement and that We can rely on this agreement.
Note: Additional inspection requirements requested by You may incur additional expense in regard to the cost of the inspection.
