RICS delays introduction of new compulsory survey rules ‘due to Covid’
Organisation says surveyors are too tied by 'upheavals' of Covid pandemic to implement huge changes to way surveys are marketed and conducted.
RICS has delayed the much heralded shake-up of home surveys until March 1st next year after ‘listening to surveyors’.
Originally planned for June this year, its Home Survey Standard’s introduction is a victim of Covid as members deal with the upheaval caused by the lockdowns during the pandemic.
“We’re listening and responding to what our professionals are telling us on the ground,” says Ana Bajri, RICS Global Property Standards Associate Director (left).
“A cocktail of changing Covid-19 measures requiring changes to business practices, alongside a busy marketplace after the stamp duty holiday, mean more time is needed to make sure these changes are included in members’ current survey standards and processes.”
The new standard will better protect buyers and sellers, ensuring that consumers understand the importance and benefits of using a home survey and what will be included in it before buying a property.
This includes simplifying the process and language used in surveys and standardising their format.
RICS own research shows that home buyers are confused by the bewildering array of products on offer and even those who do use them aren’t aware of which survey they have paid for.
The overhaul has been completed following a lengthy industry consultation. RICS says the key change will be a new ‘professional statement’ that RICS members and regulated firms in the UK who deliver any level of residential property survey must adopt.
The statement will be the sole standard for home surveys,replacing all previous guidance notes and statements for all levels of condition surveys.
