By Hans van Brakel, TDD advisor

C2N is regularly part of a team of specialists who carry out a due diligence on behalf of a buyer on a property that is up for sale. Our input concerns the Technical Due Diligence (TDD), in which we examine the structural and installation components.

In addition to a visual inspection of the building, we pay the necessary attention to the property file in order to establish, among other things, whether the building complies with laws and regulations, fire safety, use and maintenance, defects and repairs, the expected remaining life span of components, planned interventions to continue to comply with new laws and regulations, particularly in the area of sustainability.

In order to be able to carry out this check properly, the technical part of the file should at least include:

• The building permit(s), including all annexes and correspondence from the competent authority.
• Mandatory inspections and certificates for the fire alarm and evacuation system, sprinkler system, fire hose reels, powder extinguishers, fire resistant (self-closing) doors, service doors, lift system(s), façade cleaning system.
• A valid NEN-3140 inspection of the electrical installation.
• A Legionella management plan, with mandatory periodic inspections.
• An energy label
• Any sustainability labels.
• Maintenance contracts, maintenance history and an overview of complaints that have occurred over the past 2 years. Which parts have been replaced and which parts are due for replacement in the foreseeable future.
• Planned (re)construction activities.
• Demarcation list showing which parts of the building/installation belong to the owner of the building or the tenant, and how the responsibility for maintenance is arranged.
• Applicable guarantees.
• A NEN-2580 measurement certificate.
• Revision drawings: architectural, structural and installation.
• Maximum permissible useful floor loads.
• It is a long list, which can be extended with things that are also of legal importance, such as ownership relations, leases and cadastral data of the property. Or data that are part of the environmental investigation, such as an asbestos inventory and a soil investigation report.

A property file is rarely complete. We request missing data from the selling party via a Q&A. After receiving the documents and answers, we complete our TDD report, in which we indicate which relevant documents are missing and which risks are involved.

A buyer may decide to translate these risks into a discount on the purchase price. Hence the title of this blog.

Want to know more? Hans van Brakel (06 – 41 39 99 28) is willing to tell you more.