New document will be mandatory for RICS professionals from June next year
The RICS has made a bid to end the confusion around the “plethora” of guidance documents governing home surveys by launching a single new mandatory standard next summer.
Due to come into effect in June next year, the new Home Survey Standard “will replace and harmonise all previous guidance”, RICS said, and set out “clear, new mandatory requirements for [our] members and firms”.
The most recent RICS guidance on home surveys was re-issued two years ago.
RICS said calls from the industry and consumers for more clarity around homes surveys led to a consultation exercise being carried out earlier this year which concluded a complete overhaul of the regime was required.
It said the new standard would “better protect buyers and sellers, with emphasis on consumers fully understanding the importance and benefits of commissioning a home survey before purchasing a property”.
As well as making the process of surveying more transparent, the new standard would also seek to deliver more open communication which RICS said would “greatly benefit property transactions”.
RICS said the “excessive number” of documents being used had caused confusion for members and consumers alike around expectations for surveys, “which is why [we] are completely overhauling them with one new standard, to be mandatory for all RICS professionals from June 2020”.
The standard also will set a minimum benchmark for three levels of homes surveys.
A RICS spokesperson said: “The levels of one, two and three with the minimum service and benchmark requirements for each will make it easier for consumers to identify what type of survey they need.
“An older house, with the potential for defects, will require a higher level than a new build, and so on.”
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