Meeting documents

Building Occupiers

Responsibility/Accountability

Comments

1. Be responsible for buildings on a day to day basis.

Generally building occupiers are responsible for all day to day dealings with the property they occupy.

2. Comply with all occupier responsibilities and liabilities.

Specifically occupiers need to be responsible for the range of Health and Safety issues and any other legislation.

3. Nominate officers as Building managers and arrange for these members of staff to be adequately trained.

HOS are asked to nominate 2 officers as Building managers for each building and for these staff to attend a training course organised by Property Services covering all aspects of the responsibilities. These include repairs, fire precautions, access control, asbestos management, and statutory testing.

4. Not to buy or sell.

The delegation to buy and sell property rests with the Chief Property Officer, Assistant Director (Property & Facilities). Any proposal that involves the likelihood of either acquiring or disposing of land will need to be undertaken by Property Services using this delegation and should be referred to Property Services at an early stage.

5. Not to grant leases.

In a similar vein formal leases can only be granted by Property Services. Any proposal to give up possession of all or part of a site will have legal implications that could have a significant effect on the value of the resource. It is therefore important that no commitment is entered into without the relevant legal advice.

6. Deal with casual arrangements.

In contrast to the previous item casual arrangements that do not have any long term or legal implications can be discharged by occupiers. Examples of this would be the hiring of a football pitch or periodic booking of a sports hall. If there is any doubt as to the consequence of any proposed course of action then occupiers should refer to Property Services for advice.

7. Report building defects and maintenance requests.

Repairs and Maintenance is carried out by Property Services. Part of this is planned maintenance and is set as part of the budget process each year. Other work arises as a result of defects and failures, and these must be reported to Property Services for action. It is important that these latter responsive requests are reported promptly in order to avoid further deterioration. Requests should normally be reported via the Building Manager in accordance with locally agreed arrangements.

8. Report boundary encroachments and any other irregularities.

Property Services rely on the occupier to be the local eyes and ears. It is important that any irregularity is reported promptly in order that it can be investigated and remedied. Examples of the sort of thing that may have a detrimental effect on the total resource include high profile matters such as illegal occupiers (squatters) but also more mundane matters such as a fence being broken down, trees lopped or some rubbish tipped over a boundary.

9. Report on any buildings on site that are void.

Any building or part of a site that is physically empty needs to be reported to the Council's insurers and also security needs to be maintained at a certain level.

10. Not to do anything to frustrate the insurance cover in force.

On a more general level the insurance of the property may be affected by the operations that are carried out within the property. An obvious example of this would be the storage of flammable materials but could also include access by members of the public.

11. Property Asset Review - give early advice and liaise at an early date regarding any proposals for the site including the possibility of declaring all or part of the site surplus.

Property asset management and service delivery requirements must go hand in hand if the Council is to achieve the best use of its resources. Prospective solutions will reflect a combination of these aspirations and in order to achieve this early liaison is essential.

12. Authorise and pay all invoices relating to the property on time.

The main body of the policy explains some of the responsibilities for outgoings. Where such outgoings fall to be paid by the occupier then these should be dealt with in accordance with the Council's corporate standards.

13. Participate in condition surveys and structured site visits.

Condition surveys and the structured site visits provide the main formal liaison between occupier and Property Services. It is important that occupiers participate in this process so that their views can be accommodated in order that the resource can be managed in the most effective way possible. Occupiers should also allow any other ad hoc inspections by arrangement.

14. On a one off basis agree the extent of the property allocated to the service area.

As indicated in the body of the policy work is ongoing to establish accurate property records in the database. Once an accurate base position has been established then the provisions of the policy and management arrangements within Property Services will ensure that this is kept up to date. It is necessary however to agree the extent of properties allocated to service areas before the composite starting position is reported to the Council.

Each HOS will be asked to nominate a member of staff for this purpose.

Property Services

Responsibility/Accountability

Comments

1. Maintain accurate records of all property and the occupying HOS.

Records are held on the property database and also Property Services GIS. It is anticipated that records will form part of the corporate GIS solution.

2. Where there is a requirement to buy, sell or otherwise rearrange property, to take the lead in any process to make the best use of resources.

Such proposals will emerge as part of the management of changing requirements, and as a result of the associated property implications. The best use of resources will be governed by a number of factors including condition and a range of factors surrounding suitability.

3. Maintain the 5 yearly programme of Condition Surveys with a view to using this information as part of the overall management of the asset.

The condition surveys are carried out on a rolling 5 year programme and will involve occupiers.

4. Consult regularly with all occupiers concerning the suitability of property for purpose.

An annual customer survey will identify the suitability of property for purpose in terms of location and other factors and this will form part of the overall assessment of performance.

5. Prepare and maintain an annual programme of Repairs and Maintenance.

Repairs and Maintenance comprises planned and reactive elements.

6. Ensure all property is covered adequately for Insurance purposes.

Schedules of insurance reinstatement costs are stored on the property database and revalued/indexed annually.

7. Where property is declared surplus by any HOS to implements promptly the Surplus Land Procedure in section 6 and Appendix 1.

The surplus land procedure governs the process and details how property is reallocated or sold.

8. Assist occupiers with proposals to alter and improve property so as to improve the use of the asset.

Rationalisation may take the form of relocation however equally internal reorganisation or rearrangement of existing stock may improve utilisation and asset performance.