Stock Condition surveys for Birmingham City Council properties

We have a large number of properties and need to have accurate information about your home to make sure the correct decisions can be made to keep the properties in good condition.

We obtain this information by carrying out stock condition surveys.

What is a Stock Condition survey?

A Stock Condition survey is an important assessment of the condition of the main elements in your home, including the roof, windows, external doors, kitchen, and bathroom. It also helps to make sure that properties are safe and free from any serious hazards.

The assessment will be undertaken by a surveyor who will visit your home and will need to look inside and out, take photographs, and complete a number of checks.

The surveyor will have a handheld device such as a phone or tablet which they will use to record the information.

The surveyor will need to look in all the rooms and have access to your loft, the boiler and meter cupboards.

Surveys normally take about 40 minutes.

How will I be contacted?

We will contact you by letter in advance, you may also be contacted by phone to arrange an appointment that is convenient for you.

It is really important that we are able to access your home so if you do need to rearrange your appointment, let us know as soon as possible.

The surveyor will carry identification and we would ask that you check this when they arrive.

If we call and you are not in, we will leave a card or letter with a phone number so you can arrange another visit.

We have nearly 60,000 properties so it’s not possible to carry out stock condition surveys to them all at the same time, but it is planned that every property which has not already been visited will have a survey over the next 4 years.

We will be targeting those properties identified as most in need of a survey, taking account of things such as:

• repairs history
• any previous improvement works
• if the property has been empty in the last 5 years
• if damp and mould issues have been identified
• whether a stock condition survey has already been completed

It is important that we survey all of our properties.

As we have such a large number of surveys to carry out, we would be grateful if you could help us by waiting until you are contacted and that you give us access to complete the survey when we visit.

Stock Condition Survey Programme

We have developed a programme of where we will be surveying over the next 4 years. This shows where we will be surveying and the start date in each of those areas.

Who will complete the survey?

We currently have 2 surveying organisations, Acivico and Savills, working with us to conduct surveys of your home.

Each organisation will work across different constituencies every year, so we get a full picture of the stock across the city.

Acivico or Savills will contact you to make a convenient appointment, and all of their surveyors carry identification. You must check this before allowing anyone access to your home.

What happens with the information?

The information gathered from the surveys will be used to help identify where improvement works are required and will be used to develop future programmes of work.

Repairs

It is important that you continue to report any repair issues to us by:

• logging your complaint on your BRUM account, or
• phone us: 0121 216 3330

Find more information about how to book a repair.

If you feel there is an urgent need for your home to be surveyed before our scheduled visit to your area, email us: SCSCustomerRequests@birmingham.gov.uk. Specify the reason for the urgency, and we can then review your request and get back to you.

Last updated: 22 April 2024