Quantity Surveyors- Quantity or Quality?

Monday 11th July 2011

The case of Dhamija and another v Sunningdale Joineries Limited from 2010 explored the scope of a quantity surveyor's duty. The Dhamijas had employed an architect on their house building project, who recommended that McBains Cooper Consulting Ltd ("McBains") be appointed as quantity surveyor ("QS"). A dispute arose when the Dhamijas made allegations that the builder had carried out defective works, also alleging that the QS had failed its duty to value all of the work, including that which was "obviously defective".

Due to the absence of a written contract between the Dhamijas and McBains, the Dhamijas sought to argue that a contract should be implied and that it was an implied term that McBains, as quantity surveyor on the project, had a duty to inspect all work. The court held that whilst there would be an implied term for the QS to use reasonable skill and care, it would not extend the duty further than this; the court said that a QS only had a duty in relation to what its name suggests- quantity. If it were the responsibility of the QS to inspect all works, including defective works, and to report any and all defects to the architect, this would effectively leave the QS responsible for quality as well as quantity.

The court took the opportunity to examine the law as it stands in the case of Sutcliffe v Chippendale and Edmondson, which held that the architect's duty extended to informing the QS of any defective works so that the QS could then exclude such works from interim valuations. The QS had no such obligation to report defects to the architect and Coulson J stated that the QS is under no obligation with regard to the quality of the works. On this basis, the Dhamijas' claim was struck out.

In the wider context, the opportunity to examine the role of the QS has been welcomed by the courts and Quantity Surveyors alike. This judgment is a welcome reminder that a Quantity Surveyor's duty is limited to issues of quantity and valuation and does not extend to issues of quality, as the employer sought to argue in this case. It also clarifies the extent of the Quantity Surveyor's duty in terms of where this ends and where that of the architect begins (in the event there is no formal contract setting this out).

If anyone has any queries regarding this article, please feel free to contact Stephen Homer at s.homer@ashfords.co.uk