What is a Chartered Surveyor?
What is a Chartered Surveyor?
What is a RICS Chartered Surveyor?
Chartered Surveyors are highly qualified and experienced property professionals, professional members of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).
To become a Chartered Surveyor, individuals must complete a qualifying degree course and the RICS qualification exams. Practicing Chartered surveyors are regulated by the RICS, and must meet their stringent rules of professional conduct and maintain their qualifications through a programme of continuous professional development (CPD).
There are different grades of RICS membership denoted by the letters after their name: AssocRICS (Associate Member), MRICS (Member) or FRICS (Fellow). Membership is for individual surveyors; companies cannot be members, but can be a firm Regulated by RICS. To be regulated, the firm's principal or an executive director must be a RICS Member, and any work must be carried out in accordance with the RICS rules.
Not all RICS Surveyors are 'Chartered' - the Chartered Surveyor title is reserved for those who are full MRICS or FRICS members - but all RICS members are experienced and fully professionally qualified for the type of work they carry out, and are regulated by the RICS in the same way, so you can be assured that any survey by a RICS surveyor will be to the required professional standard.
There are also additional classifications of professional qualification. To provide a valuation, a RICS Surveyor must also be a RICS Registered Valuer and adhere to the RICS 'Red Book' procedure for valuations. Another common classification amongst the surveyors on our site is that of Chartered Building Surveyor. A Chartered Building Surveyor is a RICS Member who has completed additional training and specialises in building design and construction.
The RICS rules are strict, and backed up by the RICS Regulation department. There is a particular emphasis that RICS Surveyors must be independent, without conflicts of interest, act in the interests of their clients, act honourably financially, and carry appropriate professional indemnity insurance for the work they undertake. This means that when you instruct an RICS Surveyor you can be assured that any work they carry out will be to the highest professional standard.
In general, most RICS Chartered Surveyors are able to provide a variety of advice on property matters, including building design and construction, property value, and environmental issues. Additionally many will provide additional services such as negotiating Party Wall agreements, property maintenance, and building project management. However, some may limit their activities to just home surveys, either RICS HomeBuyer Reports or Building Surveys. This is why when using our surveyor search you may get different results returned for different survey types in the same postcode district.
We do not currently list Chartered Quantity Surveyors on our site, as this is a specialist area not usually applicable to home surveys.
To get estimates for standard RICS surveys and valuations, simply complete the form below. If you require a Chartered Surveyor for other non-standard services, click here.
What is the RICS?
What is the RICS?
All the surveyors or firms listed on our site are RICS regulated - either AssocRICS, MRICS, FRICS, or RICS Regulated Firms. Established by Royal Charter in the UK, the RICS is the pre-eminent worldwide body responsible for the training and regulation of Chartered Surveyors.
All RICS Surveyors working in the UK must comply with the RICS Rules of Conduct which covers their stringent professional and ethical standards, and as the UK regulatory body, the RICS is responsible for investigating complaints against RICS members and RICS regulated firms.
When you engage a RICS Surveyor, denoted by the professional qualification letters for individual surveyors, AssocRICS (Associate Member), MRICS (Member) or FRICS (Fellow), or a RICS Regulated firm, you can be assured that the survey you receive will be carried out by a fully qualified professional surveyor.
For more information on the RICS: RICS
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How Our Site Works
How it Works
Our RICS Surveyors cover the whole of the UK. All of the surveyors or firms listed on our site are RICS Registered and Regulated - either AssocRICS, MRICS, FRICS, or RICS Regulated Firms, so you can be sure that your survey will be carried out to the highest professional standards.
Getting an estimate for a standard home survey is as simple as 1, 2, 3...
1. Enter your property details
2. Enter your contact details, and
3. Press Search - what could be simpler?
You will receive estimates for your survey from up to five RICS Surveyors operating in your postcode. These estimates and the surveyor details will be displayed on screen, and also emailed to you for you to follow up. Your details will also be sent to the listed surveyors so they can contact you to discuss your requirements in more detail.
If you need something other than a standard survey for a home purchase, then simply click on one of the 'Survey Types' options from the main menu to find a relevant surveyor.
FAQs
FAQs
I didn't get 5 results/estimates, why is that?
The maximum number of estimates you will receive is 5, and in most urban areas, for the common survey types, you will receive a full complement. But in some areas, particularly rural areas, the actual number may be fewer, depending upon the number of surveyors offering the specific service you require, as:
a) not all surveyors will offer all survey types in their chosen territories, and
b) some areas, particularly more rural areas, simply have fewer surveyors covering them!
Do quoted fees include VAT?
Yes, fees include VAT where applicable. But note not all surveyors are VAT registered, particularly independent surveyors or smaller practices who's prices will be shown without VAT.
Why are you not showing the option of a RICS Level 1 Condition Report?
The scope and work involved in the preparation of the RICS Condition Report is very similar to that of a RICS Level 2 HomeBuyer Report. It involves the same amount of travel to the property, the same visual inspection, and only a slightly less comprehensive report. Because of this, the price differential between the two report levels is insignificant, generally less than 10%. Added to this, many surveyors consider the scope of a Level 1 report to be insufficient for buyers to make a truly informed buying decision. As a result very few suveyors actively offer the Level 1 survey, preferring to only offer the Level 2 HomeBuyer report as a more appropriate alternative. Conseqently we no longer include the RICS Level 1 Condition Report as a search option on our site.
Are your surveyors all local to my postcode?
Results will list surveying firms of a mixture of sizes and locations. Some are independent practitioners, and others may be larger firms covering wider areas. Smaller firms and independent surveyors tend to be highly localised - they don't like to waste hours 'on the road' travelling between surveys!
Larger regional or semi-national firms with main offices that are located out of your immediate locality usually employ surveyors local to the postcodes they appear in for the same reason, so you can expect that the surveyor carrying out your survey for any firm appearing in your search results will have a good knowledge of your local area. Just because the main office of a surveying firm is distant from your location does not mean the actual surveyor carrying out your survey is not local!
If you are in any doubt as to the local knowledge of the surveyors returned, we'd recommend you simply ask about their experience of your locality before you choose.
Why do you ask for the postcode and address of the property?
We need your postcode to find local surveyors actively operating in the area. The full address helps surveyors answer any questions you may have based on the specific property, and its location, for which you require the survey.
Why do you ask for my contact details?
We need these to email your estimates to you, and so the surveyors can contact you to discuss your exact requirements. If you choose to withold your contact information (by entering dummy information for example) you will still be able to view your search results on screen, but they will not be emailed to you. If you prefer to be emailed but not called, simply enter 'please don't call me' or a series of zeros in the telephone number field.
Can I withhold my contact details?
You can if you wish, but if you choose to withold your contact information (by entering dummy information for example) we will not be able to email your estimates to you, although you will still be able to view your search results on screen. If you want to receive confirmation of your estimates by email but prefer not to be called, simply enter 'please don't call me' or a series of zeros in the telephone number field.
What do you do with my details?
Details of your survey estimate and the contact details you provide are are stored in our database, and sent to the surveyors shown in results so they can respond to you. They are prohibited from using your data for any other purpose.
If you tick the 'Please send me details of other services...' box we may send you additional information on our other services and products. If you do not tick the box you will not receive any further offers from us. Under no circumstances will we sell or pass your personal data to any other party - please see our privacy policy for full details.
Is your site secure?
Our website uses a Secure Socket Layer (commonly called an SSL certificate) to encrypt all data being transmitted between your browser and our webserver using the https protocol to ensure that no personal information can be intercepted. Click on the padlock in your browser address bar for details of our SSL certificate.
Are all your surveyors RICS surveyors?
Yes. All the surveyors or firms listed on our site are RICS accredited - either AssocRICS, MRICS, FRICS, or RICS Regulated Firms. Results may also return estimates for companies such as Your Survey, that provide a centralised 'outsourced' marketing, booking and administration service for individual RICS regulated surveyors.
Why is there a difference between quotes from different surveyors for the same 'standard' type of RICS survey?
Most surveyors base their fees on the amount of time taken to carry out the property inspection and prepare their final report.
They will generally include an allowance for covering their travel time and mileage to and from the property, and time to answer any follow up questions.
Although Level 1 and Level 2 surveys (RICS Condition Report and RICS HomeBuyer Report) have to meet the RICS standard minimum scope, there can be variations to that. For example, some surveyors may include more detailed photos and additional information. Although the minimum RICS specification should be met, the survey may include 'extras' that add to the cost. This variation can be more marked for Level 3 surveys (Building Surveys), where reports may be more in-depth and more customised.
Many surveyors will provide sample reports, and it is worth requesting a copy of these to compare before giving your instruction to proceed to check you are comparing 'like-with-like'.
Another factor to consider is VAT. The fees quoted on our site include VAT where applicable. However, not all surveyors are VAT registered, particularly independent surveyors with smaller practices, and that will be reflected in their quoted fee.
Are the quotes on your site binding?
No. The fees quoted on our site are estimates based on a conventional property of standard construction, so should be correct for 'normal' urban properties.
However, if properties are older, or have been modified, for example through the addition of extensions, garages, conservatories, or loft rooms etc, then there might be extra costs involved. This would particularly apply to properties that have additional outbuildings or annexes. You should always check that the surveyor is aware of these, or any specific concerns you want addressed, in order to obtain a confirmed quotation.
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