Home Buyers Reports

Home buyers reports will soon need to include certification of the existence of asbestos materials.

Domestic housing has become a worry and of increasing concern by the existence of asbestos materials creating a manipulation of values of properties because of the potential hazard.

Owners of domestic dwellings built before December 1999 need to be vigilant and aware of possible asbestos hazards in their homes.

Asbestos Inspections

Inspections are beneficial to highlight hazardous materials to prevent possible contamination from asbestos materials.

Families with children need to be more aware of such a danger to prevent contamination and possible health ramifications.

DDA Audits: Important news update

The Disability Discrimination Act was originally introduced in 1996 and has three successive stages;

Stage 1,Recognizing the overall problem December 1996
Stage 2 Businesses and service providers needed to make reasonable adjustments October 1999
Stage 3 Compliance is mandatory which demanded that reasonable adjustments to the physical features of premises are made to overcome access barriers October 2004

The final phase of Part 3 of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) places a duty on the organizations offering a service to members of the public to remove where reasonable physical barriers that prevent access to people with disabilities. The Act's interpretation of 'disability' includes those's who experience difficulty with manual dexterity, physical co-ordination, speech defeats, learning difficulties, hearing loss, and visual impairment. Businesses from October 2004 will have to make what is considered to be "reasonable adjustments" to features that makes access to their premises difficult for the variety of disabilities name above.

Three stages to compliance

Conducting a DDA Audit

Executing the necessary works

Validation and issuing compliance documentation

However it is important before getting on with an audit, it is essential to develop and apply a disability policy as this will support your view of the alterations required, faciliate and determine your priorities.

It must be remembered that "Compliance with building regs does not necessarily mean compliance with the Disability Discrimination Act"

If you need further assistance our DDA consultants can assist with any enquiries concerning the above.