When a person is said to be liable for an action under the law, it means that they are responsible in some way for the outcome that results either in the law of a nation to be violated which comes under criminal liability, or in an injury to other individuals that is considered to be a civil liability. The main requirement for a liability happens to be intent1, which says that, an individual is not responsible for something that they did not mean to do. However, the Law of England and Wales acknowledges the concept negligence as the way of holding an individual accountable when they fail to make the suitable decisions even if they did not intend to cause any kind of harm. This assignment would focus on the circumstances under which Surveyors have been held liable for negligence.
Before we discuss a case law, we must have a clear understanding of the duties of a surveyor and the circumstances in which he can be charged with negligence. A surveyor is an individual who checks out or surveys a situation or property for the individual who hires him2. It could be construction companies who want a building site checked, insurance companies who would want a damaged checked before they pay for the damages or buyers who would want a property inspected when before they buy it. it is a well known fact that the English Law operates on the principle of caveat emptor3that means let the buyer beware.
Who owes the duty?
If a buyer instructs a surveyor to carry out a survey on his behalf, then the surveyor owes the buyer a duty of care4 in both negligence and contract. This precise duty is generally defined by the agreement between the two. It is seen that in the majority of cases, the buyer is financed by a mortgage and very often, the lender needs a surveyor to carry out valuation that would be paid for by the borrower. A lot of buyers, more often than not, do not tend to get hold of any other form of statement from the surveyor.
In a