© 2026, Method Building Inspections. All rights reserved.
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These Terms and Conditions of Trade (“Terms”) apply to all services, site visits, testing, and reports supplied by Method Inspections Limited (“the Company”) to the person, firm, or entity requesting the services (“the Client”).
“Services” means all residential or commercial building inspection services, site visits, non-invasive testing, verbal briefings, and written reports provided by the Company.
“Standard” means the New Zealand Standard for Residential Property Inspection (NZS 4306:2005).
The Client accepts and agrees to be bound by these Terms on the earliest of any of the following events:
To comply with the Standard, the Company will issue a formal Letter of Engagement prior to the inspection. This Letter of Engagement forms part of this contract and explicitly details:
3.1 The Services consist of a visual-only, non-invasive condition assessment of the target property’s components that are readily visible and safely accessible at the precise date and time of the site visit. Visual observations may, at the absolute discretion of the Inspector, be supplemented by situational diagnostic checks as explicitly detailed below.
3.2 In accordance with the Standard, the primary objective of every inspection is to identify visible Significant Faults or Defects (defined as matters requiring substantial repairs, urgent attention, or immediate rectification) on an exceptional basis and does not extend to minor cosmetic or routine maintenance items. Cosmetic flaws or items in an acceptable condition for their age and building type will not be individually detailed.
3.3 Except where a Special Purpose Non-Invasive Weathertightness Assessment is commissioned under clause 3.4, the following applies to moisture testing:
3.4 Where the Client explicitly requests, books, and pays for a Special Purpose Non-Invasive Weathertightness Assessment, as specified in the Letter of Engagement, the exclusions in clauses 3.3 and 3.5(b) regarding a definitive weathertightness assessment and measurement against Appendix A of the Standard and E2/AS1 of the New Zealand Building Code do not apply to the extent described below, and the following protocols apply:
The report represents a general trade-experienced condition assessment. It does NOT constitute:
In accordance with Section 3.2(l) of the Standard, estimating the cost of remedying any identified faults or defects is strictly excluded from the scope of the Services and will not be included in the report. The Company accepts no liability for the accuracy of any cost estimates or projections, and the Client is advised to obtain formal, independent quotations from licensed tradespersons or contractors before making any decisions based on remediation expenses.
The Company will deliver the inspection report in electronic format as a secure PDF document via email to the Client’s nominated email address within 48 hours of completing the site inspection, provided that payment has been received in full. Hard copy reports will only be provided upon specific written request and may be subject to an additional administrative fee.
The inspection completely excludes any areas, systems, or building elements that are hidden, enclosed, or obstructed behind finished surfaces. This includes internal wall cavities, structural framing, insulation, subfloor or ceiling linings, embedded plumbing, drainage lines, data or electrical wiring, and HVAC ducts.
The inspector will not move vendor, tenant, or occupant possessions, including but not limited to furniture, heavy appliances, rugs, floor coverings, vehicles, stored items, vegetation, debris, or soil. Any area obscured by such items is strictly excluded from liability.
The Company will perform no disassembly of equipment, intrusive or destructive testing, lifting of carpets, removal of access panels, or excavation work.
The Company is not liable for failing to detect defects that only manifest during specific weather events (e.g., heavy rainfall), faults that occur intermittently, or defects that have been deliberately camouflaged, hidden, or repaired prior to the inspection.
Cursory checks of hot water systems, plumbing fixtures, or electrical switches reflect a non-specialist visual opinion only. The Company explicitly excludes the inspection or testing of air conditioning units, security alarms, fire and smoke detection systems, kitchen appliances, swimming pools, spa pools, or underground utility services.
The inspection does not include testing, identification, or assessment of environmental hazards including asbestos-containing materials, toxic mould spores, methamphetamine contamination, or other hazardous or toxic substances. The Company accepts no liability for the presence, identification, or effects of any environmental hazards. The Client is advised to engage appropriately qualified environmental specialists if concerned about potential environmental contaminants.
In strict compliance with standard health and safety protocols and the Standard, the Company’s obligation to inspect roof spaces, subfloors, and roof exteriors is conditional upon safe, unobstructed, and “Reasonable Access,” defined minimum clearances being:
If access areas are locked, physically blocked, structurally unsound, or deemed an unreasonable safety hazard by the inspector under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 (HSWA) or WorkSafe New Zealand guidelines, the area will be bypassed, and the exclusion will be explicitly recorded in the final report.
The Client acknowledges and agrees that certain weather conditions (including but not limited to heavy rain, high winds, ice, snow, or extreme temperatures) or environmental conditions (including flooding, fire damage, or hazardous material presence) may prevent the inspector from safely accessing certain areas of the property or completing the full scope of the inspection. In such circumstances, the inspector may postpone or limit the inspection, and the affected areas will be noted as excluded in the report.
The Client must disclose to the Company, in writing and prior to the scheduled inspection date, any known or suspected hazardous conditions, materials, or environmental concerns at the property, including asbestos-containing materials, methamphetamine contamination, toxic mould, structural instability, aggressive animals, pest infestations, electrical hazards, or any other health and safety risks. Failure to disclose known hazards may result in the inspector suspending or terminating the inspection, and the Client will remain liable for all fees and may be required to pay additional fees for any rescheduled inspection.
Payment for the Services is due in full prior to the site inspection taking place and the report being electronically released, unless agreed otherwise in writing by a director of the Company.
Where the Client provides credit or debit card details over the telephone, the details will be input directly into a secure, PCI-compliant electronic payment gateway (e.g., Stripe). The Company will never write down, log, or store payment card details in any format.
All quoted prices exclude Goods and Services Tax (GST) and any other applicable statutory duties, which will be added to the invoice unless explicitly stated otherwise in writing.
Accounts unpaid past the due date shall incur a late payment penalty interest rate of 15% per annum, calculated daily and compounded monthly, from the original due date until full payment is cleared.
The Client indemnifies the Company for all third-party collection agency fees, disbursements, and legal expenses (calculated on a full solicitor-and-client indemnity basis) incurred by the Company in recovering outstanding debts or enforcing these Terms.
The Client waives any right to withhold payment, or execute deductions or set-offs of any kind, regardless of any pending transaction milestones, active property disputes, or current Sale and Purchase agreement timelines, except to the extent such withholding is required or permitted by law.
Any authorised work outside the scope of the standard quote (including secondary inspections or specialised testing requested post-booking) will be invoiced on a cost-plus-15% basis.
The Company reserves the right to apply an itemised travel surcharge for properties located outside its standard service radiuses. Any such travel surcharge must be specified by the Company and agreed to by the Client prior to the site visit commencing.
The Company allocates specific inspector availability and administrative resources for each booking. Cancellations or postponements by the Client must be made by email to the Company and are subject to the following charges:
No fee will apply if the Client provides written cancellation notice to the Company by email more than seventy-two (72) hours prior to the scheduled booking. Where the Client has already paid for the Services and a cancellation charge applies under this clause, the Company will retain the applicable charge and refund any balance to the Client within ten (10) business days of the cancellation taking effect.
If an inspection cannot proceed because the inspector is locked out, denied entry, or turned away at the property despite prior arrangements, the booking fee will not be refunded, and the Client must pay a new full booking fee to secure a new inspection slot.
Where an inspection cannot proceed due to severe weather conditions that make the inspection unsafe or impractical (as determined by the Company in its reasonable discretion), the Company will notify the Client as soon as reasonably practicable and will reschedule the inspection to the next mutually convenient date at no additional cost to the Client. No cancellation fees will apply for weather-related postponements initiated by the Company.
All intellectual property rights (including copyright and trademarks) in any report, condition summary, structural diagram, digital asset, or document prepared by the Company remain the exclusive property of the Company.
Upon full payment of all outstanding invoices, the Company grants the Client a non-exclusive, non-transferable, personal licence to use the report solely for evaluating the specific property transaction for which it was commissioned.
The report is strictly confidential and produced solely for the benefit of the named Client. The Company owes no duty of care, and accepts no liability or responsibility whatsoever, to any third party (including subsequent purchasers, lenders, or tenants) who views, or distributes the report, whether in whole or in part. The Client is expressly prohibited from transferring, distributing, copying, sharing, or otherwise disseminating the report or any portion thereof to any third party (other than its legal counsel or lender) without the prior written consent of the Company.
The Client agrees to fully indemnify and hold harmless the Company from any claims, losses, or damages reasonably incurred by the Company as a result of the Client releasing the report or its summary to third parties without the prior written consent of the Company.
The Company reserves the right to compile and utilise anonymised property metrics and general geographic data collected as a result of the Services for broad industry research or internal statistical evaluation purposes, ensuring no personal details or property identities can be reverse-engineered.
Should any dispute, complaint, or claim arise out of the Services, the Client must submit a detailed notification to the Company in writing within 20 business days of discovering the issue.
In the event of an alleged oversight or error, the Client agrees not to disturb, repair, alter, or attempt to remediate any elements, systems, or building components that constitute evidence relating to the dispute, except where urgent remedial actions are strictly required to protect life, safety, or prevent catastrophic structural or environmental damage.
Subject to urgent safety exceptions outlined in clause 9.2, the Client must grant the Company full access to physically inspect, investigate, and document the property and the alleged issues before any permanent remedial or repair works are commenced. A failure to preserve accessible evidence or provide a reasonable right to re-inspect may be taken into account when assessing the validity or extent of any subsequent claim.
The Client explicitly agrees that if, after raising a dispute or noticing a potential defect oversight, they proceed to make an unconditional offer or confirm a contractually binding Sale and Purchase agreement in reliance on the inspection or report, this may be taken into account in assessing the reasonableness and extent of any subsequent claim against the Company.
If a dispute, complaint, or claim is not resolved following notification under clause 9.1, the parties will first attempt in good faith to resolve it by negotiation between persons with authority to settle. If the dispute is not resolved within twenty (20) business days of that notification, either party may refer the dispute to mediation administered by the Resolution Institute (or another mediator agreed by the parties), with the parties sharing the mediator’s costs equally, before commencing court proceedings. Nothing in this clause prevents either party from seeking urgent interlocutory relief.
Nothing in these Terms is intended to contract out of, limit, or exclude the statutory rights of consumers under the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 (“CGA”) or the Fair Trading Act 1986, except to the extent permitted by law. These clauses must be read subject to those statutory protections.
Where the Client is acquiring the Services for the purposes of a business (as defined in Section 2 of the CGA), the parties explicitly agree that the provisions of the CGA do not apply. All standard implied common-law warranties, statutory terms, or conditions as to acceptable quality or fitness for purpose are excluded to the maximum extent permitted by law.
To the maximum extent permitted by law, the Company’s total liability arising out of or in connection with the Services (whether in contract, tort, equity or otherwise) is limited to a sum not exceeding the actual fee paid by the Client for the specific Services.
Subject to clause 10.1, the Company shall not be liable under any circumstances for any indirect, incidental, or consequential losses, including but not limited to loss of profits, alternative accommodation costs, loss of transactional opportunities, or psychological distress suffered by the Client or any third party.
The Company is not liable for any errors, omissions, or losses resulting from incorrect or incomplete information supplied to it by the Client, the property vendor, real estate agents, local councils, or public databases (such as land measurements and structural history).
General building condition reports do not satisfy or constitute a full Healthy Homes compliance assessment under the Residential Tenancies (Healthy Homes Standards) Regulations 2019 unless a specialised Healthy Homes assessment is explicitly booked, paid for, and detailed in the formal Letter of Engagement.
The Company collects, holds, uses, and discloses personal information (as defined in the Privacy Act 2020) about the Client and its personnel for the purposes of providing the Services, communicating with the Client, processing payment, exercising and enforcing its rights under these Terms, and complying with its legal obligations.
In performing the Services, the Company may collect data relating to the property and its occupants, including photographs, measurements, moisture readings, and other diagnostic information. The Company may use and retain such data in accordance with clause 8.5 and this clause 11.
The Company will take reasonable steps to keep personal information secure and will not disclose it to any third party except:
The Client has the right to access and request correction of any personal information the Company holds about them by contacting the Company in writing. Where the Client supplies the Company with personal information about any other person, the Client confirms that it is authorised to do so and that the person has been informed of the matters set out in this clause.
If any provision or sub-clause of these Terms is deemed invalid, void, illegal, or unenforceable by a New Zealand court of law, the validity, legality, and enforceability of the remaining provisions shall remain completely unimpaired and in full force.
These Terms and all services provided by the Company are governed strictly by the laws of New Zealand and the parties submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of New Zealand.
Any variation to these Terms must be executed in writing and explicitly signed by a director of Method Inspections Limited.
Any notice given under these Terms must be in writing and delivered by email to, in the case of the Client to the email address used in the booking, and in the case of the Company to admin@methodinspections.co.nz. A notice is deemed received when sent unless the sender receives an automated delivery-failure notification.
These Terms, together with the Letter of Engagement, constitute the entire agreement between the parties in relation to the Services and supersede all prior representations, understandings, and agreements. In the case of any inconsistency, the Letter of Engagement takes priority.
No failure or delay by the Company in exercising any right or remedy under these Terms operates as a waiver of that right or remedy, and no single or partial exercise of any right or remedy prevents any further exercise of it or the exercise of any other right or remedy. A waiver is only effective if given in writing and signed by a director of the Company.
Last updated: 30 June 2026