RICS' Home Survey Standard Launching 1 March 2021

Guest article written by Lucy Cadwallader of RPC

RICS has recently announced that the Home Survey Standard that was due to come into mandatory effect in December 2020 will now be launched on 1 March 2021. 

The Home Survey Standard is the result of an industry and consumer consultation launched by RICS in April 2019. By carrying out an extensive review of existing guidance, the consultation found that there was a need for a set of mandatory requirements for RICS members and regulated firms in the UK who deliver any level of residential property survey.   

The aim of the Home Standard Survey

The consultation carried out in April 2019 found that stakeholders and consumers felt that there was the need for a consistent approach across the residential industry.  The idea behind the creation of a set of mandatory requirements for all RICS members is that this would guarantee consistency and serve the changing needs of the market. The aim is to help improve the home buying and selling process which sometimes is complicated by the different products available.

The new Home Survey Standard

The Home Survey Standard was launched in November 2019 (RPC was involved in the drafting of the new Standard).  It will be the sole standard for home surveys, replacing all previous guidance notes and statements for all levels of condition surveys in a complete over overhaul.

RICS hopes that this new simplified approach will help consumers

"fully understand the importance and benefits of commissioning a home survey before purchasing a property".

The new Standard will improve communication between a homebuyer and their surveyor by including benchmarks that embrace new technologies and media. This will hopefully make it easier for everyday homebuyers to understand the results of their survey. Whilst, it will put more responsibility on surveyors to be clearer about their observations and recommendations, it also will help develop increased trust between homebuyers and the profession. The industry hopes that more confidence in the surveys carried out as part of the conveyancing process will see a decrease in the number of renegotiations of the purchase price post survey as well as less aborted transactions.  A survey that is clearly set out and does not include any ambiguity, can guarantee the success of a deal.

How does this work in practice?

Prospective purchasers are given the choice between a Level 1, Level 2 or Level 3 survey, within which the services offered are standardised, and the language simplified.  This is based on the previous system which was set out as a three-tier system approach.

Given the similarity between the two systems, during the consultation members highlighted that the process and its implementation needed to be 'minimal'. This is also with a view to protect less sophisticated buyers and sellers who may be find themselves navigating the system for the first time.

The new Standard will be introduced in a market in which, lenders are trying to cut costs and increasingly relying on automated valuations based on statistical trends. So often in these transactions no surveyor enters the building to inspect the actual condition of the property. The new RICS Home Survey Standard will improve the accessibility and quality of information that homebuyers receive when they commission a survey.

The previous deadlines of June 2020 and 1 December 2020 mean that some firms will already have implemented the Home Survey Standard.  However, this further extension comes as a result of surveyors expressing their concerns to RICS that their primary focus is responding to the business implications arising from COVID-19 and they are not currently in a position to implement significant changes to the way surveys are marketed and conducted. 

RICS are listening to the surveyors and have also confirmed that they will continue to engage with the profession throughout this extended period to provide members with support in preparation of the forthcoming change.