The figure comes from a survey of some 400 property companies by law firm CMS Cameron McKenna. About 64 per cent of those asked believed that the cost per property to the owner or occupier would be a minimum of £2,000.
Few facilities or property managers will be surprised by the fact that 75 per cent of the property industry is very familiar with, or at least has some knowledge of, Part III of the Disability Discrimination Act, but how many are actually on the verge of taking action in order to comply?
According to CMS Cameron McKenna figures, 54 per cent of the property industry involved in the firm's survey plan to audit all the properties they own and occupy. Around 66 per cent of those asked felt that fewer than half of their properties would need to be physically altered to meet compliance.
Figures show that about 21 per cent of those asked were not prepared for the change or had not taken any steps towards making the 'reasonable' alterations needed.
Mark Heighton, a property lawyer at CMS Cameron McKenna, who has been looking at the issues that will affect property companies ahead of the impending regulations, said he was encouraged by the fact that so few companies were unprepared. 'Obviously, if it was July 2004 I would be worried, but this isn't bad with three years to go before it becomes effective,' he said.
Heighton believes that small companies will have slightly less to worry about than big firms with a nationwide spread of property.
The Disability Rights Commission is likely to make an example of big companies that fail to take 'reasonable' action, he added.
Source
The Facilities Business