There are statutory regulations and guideline codes, which all consulting civil and structural engineers must follow in design work regardless of the size of the project.  I will try here to provide clarity on understanding the codes and bring you up to date with changes.  If you ever need to employ an engineer, surveyor or architect to perform services for you, this article may help explain the rules and perhaps even correct the occasional error in coding.  The Building Regulations 2000 require buildings to be stable, loadings assessed and structurally sound.   This may appear rather obvious and even flippant but in reality it is a very serious statement.  Read the rest…

Often on my travels to letting agencies and landlord meetings, I experience the second-hand surprise (sometimes shock) that a tenant has gone bad in some way, shape or form.

Various exclamations are offered:

“I can’t believe a tenant would do that?!”

“They seemed so nice when we referenced them…!”

“He ‘suddenly’ stopped paying his rent.”

“She’s been on the phone again, ranting on about (fill in the blank…)”

Has this ever happened to you? Surprised at the unreasonable actions of a tenant? Shocked at a repair that has taken months to get this bad? Staggered that your tenant ‘suddenly’ stops paying the rent?

If you answered ‘Yes’ to any of the above with a big sigh and an exclamation mark (!), it’s likely you could have avoided the issue altogether, or at least avoided the surprise.

Read the rest…