CIPFA - Performance in Public Services: Property

AMP Network / Good Practice / Suitability Models

A building is not inherently suitable or unsuitable. Its suitability depends on the use to which it is being put. Services will therefore have the most accurate view of the suitability of a particular building, although they will not necessarily have the specific knowledge of how, and at what cost, deficiencies can be rectified. A structured questionnaire approach is typically used to establish the suitability of a building for its current use, assessing factors such as location, accessibility, layout, facilities, services and appearance/image.

Detailed suitability assessments without scores may be used for dealing with specific property issues but, to get an overall picture of the portfolio for review and prioritisation purposes, a single overall score/grade is a useful outcome. Unlike condition, there is no single commonly used scale for suitability assessment, but a selection of other organisations models can be found below.