Terms of Business - Stock Page Stock – Established 1825 – Surveyors, Valuers and Property Management

We provide professional services including, but not limited to:

• Residential block and estate management, including service charge administration and day-to-day management of common parts.
• Residential lettings and, where agreed, ongoing property management for individual units.
• Commercial property management.
• Building surveying and project management in relation to major works and planned maintenance.
• Lease extension and freehold valuation advice, together with related leasehold advisory work.
• Right to Manage and similar advisory services.

The precise scope of services, together with any assumptions and limitations, will be set out in the relevant Engagement Letter or management agreement for each instruction. Unless explicitly included, services that are outside that scope will either need to be agreed separately or may be provided at additional cost.

You agree to:

• Provide us, promptly and on an ongoing basis, with complete, accurate and up-to-date information and documentation reasonably required for us to carry out our services.
• Ensure we and our contractors have suitable access to the property or properties, on reasonable notice, to carry out inspections, works, surveys or meetings.
• Review and, where required, give clear and timely instructions or approvals so that we can progress matters without unnecessary delay.
• Comply with your own obligations under leases, legislation and any relevant regulatory requirements, and seek independent legal or tax advice where appropriate.
• Not rely on any draft report, advice or estimate as final unless we have confirmed it in its final written form.

We will not be responsible for any loss or delay arising from inaccurate, incomplete or late information, or from your failure to comply with your own legal or contractual obligations.

Our fees may be structured in different ways depending on the nature of the instruction, for example:

• Management fees for ongoing property and estate management, usually calculated by reference to an agreed schedule or percentage basis.
• Fixed fees for defined pieces of work, such as specific reports or discrete valuation instructions.
• Time-based charges for advisory or surveying work, calculated by reference to our then current hourly or daily rates.

Details of the fee basis, any applicable disbursements or third-party costs, and whether VAT is payable, will be set out in the relevant Engagement Letter or management agreement.

Unless stated otherwise, we will issue invoices at appropriate stages during the instruction or at agreed intervals. Our standard payment terms are that invoices are payable within the period stated on the invoice. We may charge interest and, where applicable, reasonable recovery costs on overdue sums in accordance with applicable law.

We reserve the right to suspend work, or to decline to undertake further work, where invoices remain unpaid or credit terms are exceeded.

We will exercise reasonable skill and care in providing our services. Our advice is given solely for the purposes and to the addressee(s) identified in the relevant Engagement Letter and may not be relied upon by any other party without our prior written consent.

To the fullest extent permitted by law:

• Our total aggregate liability to you arising out of or in connection with any instruction (whether in contract, tort, negligence, for breach of statutory duty or otherwise) will be limited to the amount stated in the relevant Engagement Letter or, if none is stated, to a fair and reasonable sum having regard to our professional indemnity cover and the nature of the instruction.
• We will not be liable for any indirect or consequential loss, loss of profit, loss of business opportunity or loss of goodwill.
• We will not be responsible for any loss arising from circumstances beyond our reasonable control, or from your failure to act on our advice or to provide information we reasonably require.

Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or for any other liability that cannot lawfully be excluded or limited.

An instruction will take effect when we confirm acceptance in writing, usually by issuing an Engagement Letter or management agreement. We are not obliged to accept any proposed instruction.

If you ask us to vary the scope of an instruction, we may confirm any agreed changes, and any resulting impact on fees, programme or resources, in writing. We are not required to implement a variation until it has been agreed.

Unless otherwise specified in an Engagement Letter or management agreement, either you or we may terminate an instruction or ongoing management agreement by giving reasonable written notice. On termination:

• You will remain responsible for our fees and disbursements incurred up to the date termination takes effect, together with any fees reasonably incurred in connection with handover to you or to a replacement adviser or manager.
• We may retain papers and documents relating to the instruction to the extent permitted by law until our outstanding fees and costs have been paid.

Termination will not affect any rights or obligations which have accrued prior to the effective date of termination.

We will treat as confidential any information you provide to us in the course of an instruction, subject to our professional duties and to any disclosure required by law, regulation, court order or the rules of a relevant professional body.

We will handle personal data in accordance with applicable data protection legislation. Our separate Privacy Policy, available on our website, explains in more detail what personal data we collect, how we use it, the lawful bases on which we process it, and your rights.

By instructing us, you acknowledge that we may use and store information, including personal data, for the purposes of providing our services, managing our relationship with you, complying with legal and regulatory obligations and maintaining appropriate records.

We aim to provide a high standard of service. If you are dissatisfied, please raise the matter in the first instance with your usual contact at Stock Page Stock Limited so that we can seek to resolve your concerns promptly and informally.

If your concerns cannot be resolved informally, you may make a formal complaint under our internal complaints procedure. Details of this procedure, including any relevant redress schemes or professional bodies to which you may be able to refer your complaint, are available on request.

Where a dispute arises that cannot be resolved through our complaints procedure, you and we will each consider whether it is appropriate to attempt to resolve the matter through negotiation, mediation or another form of alternative dispute resolution before commencing court proceedings.

These Terms of Business, any Engagement Letter and any non-contractual obligations arising out of or in connection with them are governed by and shall be construed in accordance with the laws of England and Wales.

Subject to any mandatory requirements of law or any applicable redress scheme, the courts of England and Wales will have exclusive jurisdiction to settle any dispute arising out of or in connection with our appointment or these Terms.

If any provision of these Terms is found to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable, the remaining provisions will continue in full force and effect.