The surveyor's contract: a necessity for both parties

Drawing up a contract between the topographical surveyor and the project owner, known as a topographical surveyor's contract, is therefore not only a matter of prudence, but also of professional ethics.

The tasks entrusted to a topographical surveyor by a project owner are many and varied, since the surveyor may be involved at the pre-project stage as well as during execution, and even after acceptance. In the absence of a contract precisely defining the scope of the topographical surveyor's work and his commitments to his client, the relationship between the parties can become complicated.

Indeed, Since July 15, 2019, all private-sector IGTs are required to use the electronic contract with QR code in all their professional acts, in accordance with National Council decision no. 17/2019 dated May 13, 2019.

Like any other contract, this surveying engineer's contract must specify the parties involved (identification of the project owner and the surveying engineer) and its purpose. It must define the planned operation, its financial envelope and, above all, the rights and obligations of each party. The topographical surveyor's contract is subject to the laws and regulations in force.

Obligations of the parties

The project owner

Beforehand, the project owner must provide the topographical surveyor with all the legal data (title deeds, calculation of land area, cadastral plan, etc.) and, where applicable, any previous studies and technical data required for the project (dimensioned plan, location plan, delimitation plan, etc.).

During the course of the contract, he must approve the documents drawn up by the topographical surveyor (calculations, plans, etc.). Approval implies unequivocal acceptance of the content of the contract proposed by the topographical surveyor and of the corresponding fees, and above all it enables the topographical surveyor to continue his work. In the event of refusal, the topographical surveyor must modify the documents, without additional remuneration, unless the program is modified.

The cautious client will have specified the budget for the services, thus limiting his maximum commitment to the services and, where applicable, will have made the contract subject to obtaining a loan to carry them out. If the budget is not sufficient, the project manager (topographical surveyor) will have to obtain the prior agreement of the client, which will take the form of an amendment.

Naturally, the project owner must also pay for the surveyor's services, in accordance with the terms and conditions of the contract.

The project manager: the surveyor and topographer

The surveying engineer's obligations depend on the tasks entrusted to him under the contract. In addition to the tasks themselves, the topographical surveyor has a wide-ranging obligation to provide information. Even before signing the contract, he must give his opinion on the technical and financial feasibility of the project.

During the term of the contract, the topographical surveyor must provide the project owner with legal information (land and town planning regulations, etc.) and technical information (constraints linked to the terrain, changes in the method and technology used, etc.) affecting the project.

If additional services are required, it is essential to sign an amendment to the contract before starting the additional studies and work agreed with the client. This avoids payment and execution difficulties!

The topographical surveyor must also provide a certificate of professional liability insurance, which must comply with the provisions of law 30-93 relating to the exercise of the profession of topographical surveyor and instituting the national order of topographical surveyors.

The tasks of a topographical surveyor

The topographical surveyor is involved at every stage of a project. Beforehand, they carry out a survey of the site where the equipment will be installed.

Then, during the worksite, it provides the reference points needed to carry out the work (layout), while the data collected is used for machine guidance, and also checks the progress of the work and its conformity with the contract documents, and in particular with the plans and descriptive documents.

Finally, once the work has been completed, the surveyor will check that it has been properly carried out (récolement), working alongside the project owner to ensure that all the work has been carried out as planned. He may also take part in monitoring the work (auscultation).

The remuneration of a topographical surveyor

The remuneration of the surveyor can be freely agreed between the parties.

It essentially depends on several variables: the cost of the operation, its complexity, and the scope and difficulty of the mission entrusted to it.

Remuneration is generally based on a fixed price (a fixed price is set for each phase of the assignment) or on time spent (hourly amount per collaborator and estimated number of hours, then invoiced on justification).

The contract also specifies the terms of payment (payment in instalments, payment deadlines and default indemnities in the event of late payment), as well as the penalties that may be applied by the project owner in the event of delay attributable to the topographical surveyor.

The remuneration can only be re-evaluated in the event of a program modification or additional services requested by the client. Any underestimation of time by the topographical surveyor would therefore remain at his expense.

When no remuneration method is specified in the event of a dispute, judges often refer to the recommendations of the Conseil de l'ordre national des ingénieurs géomètres topographes .

Since its publication in the Bulletin Officiel on December 27, 2018, all topographical surveyors have been required to comply with the provisions of the decree on the Code of Professional Duties, and in particular paragraph 13 of article 40 on compliance with the Ordre's Technical Standards and the Guide Référentiel des Honoraires adopted by the National Council on May 10, 2019, and posted online via the link https://guidehonoraires.onigtevents.ma.

Breach of contract

Termination of the contract by either party, or even by operation of law, can be provided for by the inclusion of clauses defining the cases of termination and the amount of compensation according to each party's responsibility for the breach.

According to article 6 of the model contract recommended by the Ordre national des ingénieurs géomètres topographes :

1-  Lorsque le maître d'ouvrage ou ses ayants droit, ou ses ayants cause, décident de résilier d'une manière unilatérale, le présent contrat, il doit acquitter à l'IGT la valeur des prestations réellement exécutées, plus 25% du montant du solde des honoraires des prestations restantes. En contre partie, il reçoit de l'IGT un désistement en bonne et due forme.

2- la clause résolutoire est de droit, en faveur du maître d'ouvrage, après sommation faite à l'IGT, lorsque celui-ci:
        - Diffère, plus que de raison et sans motif valable, à entamer l'exécution des prestations commandées
        - est en demeure de livrer lesdites prestations; le tout s'il n'y a pas faute imputable au maître d'ouvrage. 

Dans ce cas, l'IGT est tenu, de restituer les avances reçues.

The contract can also be terminated by mutual agreement between the parties, for example when the client does not wish to continue the work due to lack of resources. In this case, a termination amendment must be signed.

Finally, termination may be ordered by a judge. Referred to by one of the two parties, the judge will establish that one or other of the parties has failed to meet its obligations, and will then order termination. The judge may also be asked to award damages.

Whatever the reason for terminating the contract, all services rendered up to the date of termination of the contract are due, as is any default interest due at that date.

Sample surveyor's contract

The contract models recommended by the Ordre National des Ingénieurs Géomètres Topographes differ according to the type of service. The two most commonly used models are shown below:

Did you want to know more about outsourcing topographic work? We hope this article has answered your questions. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any comments or questions. We'll be happy to advise you without obligation.

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