Document downloads - Surveys
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Subsidence in relation to insurance claims
Published September 2011
This guidance is for RICS members and other professionals involved with subsidence claims.
The key areas considered are the causes of subsidence, heave and landslip, the causes of other building fractures, policy cover details, handling a subsidence claim, recoveries and contribution, relevant voluntary agreements. -
Technical due diligence of commercial, industrial and residential property in Continental Europe (ARCHIVED)
This document has been archived and is available on isurv for information purposes only.
Technical due diligence reports, which detail the physical condition of a property, are increasingly in demand throughout continental Europe, as financial institutions, investors and owner-occupiers look ever more closely at the risks of buying and selling property. -
Flooding: issues of concern to RICS surveyors and valuers (Residential property) (ARCHIVED)
This document has been archived and is available on isurv for information purposes only.
This information paper describes the nature of the current flood risk problem, the consequences of that risk and how a residential practitioner may take these into consideration when providing residential survey and valuation services. -
Technical due diligence of commercial property
Published January 2020
Effective from 1 April 2020
Reissued April 2023
The purpose of this standard is to ensure that all technical due diligence (TDD) reports are consistent around the globe, while bringing clarity for a prospective purchaser, occupier or financier about any risks associated with a property transaction from a technical perspective.
Under previous guidance, RICS members or firms have always been required to undertake an impartial and professional assessment of a property and provide a professional opinion of the condition, highlighting any deficiencies that could have an impact on the building or its occupants.
However, the standard recognises that chartered surveyors often take the lead in the TDD process, liaising directly with specialist subconsultants and coordinating multidisciplinary inspections. All future reports are expected to assess every element of the building methodically, providing thorough recommendations and making accountability clear.
Alongside this, the standard aims to ensure that chartered surveyors produce a more useful document for any buyer, seller or invested party, reflecting the complexity of the TDD process in modern built assets.
The standard reinforces guidance about health and safety and fire safety; all members or firms should clearly stipulate any defects that require ‘immediate’ action, or foreseeable defects that could pose a danger. If any such defects are listed, the appropriate person – for example, the building owner or facilities manager – should be contacted as soon as reasonably possible to allow appropriate action to be taken.
A ‘traffic light’ risk rating is also included in the standard, highlighting to clients the areas that require appropriate action in order of importance.
This document was reissued in April 2023 as a professional standard. It had previously been published in January 2020 as a guidance note. No material changes have been made to the document. -
Valuation of properties in multi-storey, multi-occupancy residential buildings with cladding
Published March 2021
Effective from 5 April 2021
This document is intended to help valuers undertaking valuations for secured lending purposes on domestic residential blocks of flats in the UK only, but may also be useful when undertaking valuations of such properties for other purposes. -
Insights into real estate registration and cadastre
Published 1 November 2021
Reissued October 2022
Effective land administration and real estate registration is a key governance, social justice and economic requisite for any developed or developing country. It forms the basis of any functioning land and property market and, when ineffective (or non-existent), is the source of almost insurmountable problems, including a lack of land and property taxation revenue, non-functioning land/property markets, insecure tenure (and all that entails, including the inability to issue mortgages or invest), decreased public health intervention, lower infrastructure development, increased conflicts and disputes, and much more besides.
So how does a nation move towards a functioning real estate and cadastral system that benefits the public and enables economic development? After all, over 70% of global land and property is unregistered – putting a brake on any hope of economic and social development in many nations.
This practice information focuses less on the academic and more on the practical and technical needs of any land initiative, from tech innovation to governance and capacity-building and the role of licensed surveyors. The expert authors draw on their own professional experience during decades of working at the sharp end of land administration and registration practice in numerous countries.
This document was reissued in October 2022 as practice information. It had previously been published in November 2021 as an insight paper entitled Real estate registration and cadastre. No material changes have been made to the document. -
Valuation approach for properties in multi-storey, multi-occupancy residential buildings with cladding
Published 15 December 2023
Effective from 1 January 2024
This document is intended to help valuers undertaking valuations for secured lending purposes on domestic residential flats, within residential blocks of 5 or more storeys or 11 metres or more tall. In accordance with the remediation schemes and qualifying lease protections, applicable to England only and those remediation schemes applicable to Wales only as set out by the respective governments. This approach will be updated to reflect remediation arrangements and schemes in Scotland and Northern Ireland once published. -
The Single Survey Property Inspection Technical Guidance for the completing of Single Surveys
Published 1 December 2008
The purpose of these Inspection and Reporting Requirements is to assist chartered surveyors to produce Single Survey Reports in accordance with the requirements of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 and the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 (Prescribed Document) Regulations 2008.