Expert Witness

Expert witness work is carried out by our Director, Paul Hannent, who is qualified as Chartered building engineer, chartered builder, chartered environmentalist, chartered surveyor, having read building surveying at undergraduate level, post graduate certificates in both management and teaching, a master of science in architecture, energy and sustainability, as well as having undertaken the demanding RICS Expert Witness training. Paul has also lectured and examined in his subject, including developing and running the new MSc in Building Surveying at Kingston University and as such is a confident speaker and is able to explain his subject well.

Paul is often instructed as an independent expert witness both by lawyers and the parties themselves to provide the technical fact and detailed required to settle disputes. In this role, he brings both a depth and breadth of knowledge which is unique and cross disciplinary. In this way, he brings value and efficiency to the proceedings, which rarely are confined to one single area of practice.

An example of this is the valuation of property where defective or unlawful building works have taken place. Pauls knowledge of building standards, development value and building cost can bring important clarity to the table.   Another example is in disputes with conveyances, where building control certification was not checked. Assessing the most appropriate path to compliance costing that as well as the diminution in value requires someone who has practiced in each of those areas, as Paul has.

Examples of this include a 16th century building that was converted into a dwelling, sold, brought and then sold again, although the second sale fell through, because it transpired that neither planning nor building control approval had been obtained. Following that, the building was not insulated or damp proofed and had significant fire safety issues, to name just some of the problems. The building was significantly devalued and 10s of thousands of pounds are required to be spent of it over a number of months to get back to the position the new owners thought they were first in.

Another example is in assessment of diminution in value of a property that had been built subject to three separate extensions, although building control had seen nothing above ground two of the extensions were two storey and one was very large, cut into a significant slope. Paul liaised closely with building control and uses his own expertise in this area to provide accurate costings of the complicated remedial works as well as an accurate assessment of the likely loss to the new owners in what is a unique character property.