As autumn approaches, a variety of changes in RICS’s guidance and policy are coming into effect. Find out more with expert Jen Lemen
Writing for PBC Today, chartered surveyor Jen Lemen BSc (Hons) FRICS examines five key topics within planning, building, and construction that surveyors should be aware of:
- RICS Professional Standard Service Charges in Commercial Property (2nd Edition) – of relevance to commercial property managers
- Revised RICS property measurement guidance – of importance to all surveyors, including valuers, quantity surveyors and building surveyors
- Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (Commencement No. 2) Regulations 2025 – compliance required by almost all industry professionals
- Building Safety Act 2022 and changes to limitation periods – of relevance to construction and design professionals
- Proposed new RICS Home Survey Standard – of importance to residential surveyors providing home surveys to the public
1. RICS Professional Standard Service Charges in Commercial Property (2nd Edition)
The new RICS Professional Standard Service Charges in Commercial Property (2nd Edition) takes effect from 31 December 2025.
This supersedes the former 1st Edition (effective April 2019), with changes aimed at promoting best practice, consistency, reasonableness, and transparency. The 1st Edition was one of the most downloaded RICS guidance documents, proving its popularity and success in setting best practice standards for service charge management.
The Professional Standard is designed for commercial property managers, management companies, and occupiers of commercial property in the UK, such as multi-let office blocks, shopping centres, and industrial estates with common areas.
RICS Professional Standards provide mandatory requirements (where the word ‘must’ is used) and best practice recommendations (where the word ‘should’ is used).
In exceptional circumstances where a departure from the Professional Standard is required, the surveyor should clearly document and justify this in writing. A common reason for departure is when existing lease terms conflict with the Professional Standard requirements. The lease terms always take precedence over the Professional Standard as they are contractual in nature. If the existing lease is silent, unclear, or ambiguous, then the service charge should be administered in line with the guidance of the Professional Standard.
The key aims of the new Professional Standard are:
- To improve best practice, consistency, reasonableness and transparency in service charge management
- To ensure that budgets and year-end certificates are issued on time
- To reduce the risk of disputes and provide guidance on dispute resolution
- To provide guidance on service charge clauses in commercial leases for various stakeholders, including solicitors, clients and property managers
There are eight mandatory (minimum acceptable) requirements. These include the principle of 100% recovery of the proper and actual costs (‘not for profit, not for loss’) and provision of a service charge apportionment matrix.
One key change within the mandatory requirements is that time limits relating to the provision of service charge budgets and year-end accounts have become mandatory (requirement 3). If, in exceptional circumstances, there is a delay in the provision of a service charge budget (less than one month before the start of the service charge year) or service charge year-end accounts (more than four months after the service charge year-end), then a timely written explanation must be provided and the documentation subsequently issued.
Another key change relates to not withholding service charge monies that have been correctly demanded (requirement 7), unless the issue involves a simple mathematical or computational error. This stems from the Supreme Court case of Sara & Hossein Asset Holdings Ltd (a company incorporated in the British Virgin Islands) (Respondent) v Blacks Outdoor Retail Ltd (Appellant).
There are further changes to the core principles and best practice (to support the core principles) areas of the Professional Standard. These are:
- The property manager should sign off on the year-end accounts to confirm that they provide a true and accurate reflection of the actual costs and services provided
- Management fees should only relate to management and administration of the service charge, not any additional charges, such as those relating to asset management
- Any discounted insurance premiums should be passed on in full, e.g., where a group contract is arranged, and any incentives received by a property manager for arranged insurance should be disclosed
- Energy costs under the Heat Network (Metering and Billing) Regulations 2014 should be invoiced separately, whilst the cost of maintenance and repair of related equipment should be dealt with under the service charge, where permitted by the leases
- An apportionment matrix showing the basis and method of apportionment must be provided
- Guidance on the Building Safety Act 2022 and estate charges for large mixed-use schemes has been included
- A balance sheet or cash reconciliation should be included alongside the statement of actual expenditure
- The standard industry cost classifications have been refined, e.g., splitting up repair and maintenance
- New guidance around handover procedures after a change of landlord or property manager has been added in
- Dispute resolution guidance has been added in, following the Sara & Hossein Asset Holdings Ltd case referred to above
- Guidance on provision for anticipated future expenditure has been added, together with three key templates
- Guidance on ESG has been updated, including recovery of costs for improving the environmental performance of the property
- A schedule of material accruals must be provided going forward
2. Revised RICS property measurement guidance
RICS have recently archived RICS Property Measurement (2nd Edition). This was previously the core measurement guidance for surveying professionals, including valuers, agents and quantity surveyors.
The withdrawal of this guidance removes any reference to the former (separate) IPMS Residential and Office standards, as well as any supplemental guidance provided.
At present, RICS confirm that the appropriate measurement basis from IPMS All Buildings or the Code of Measuring Practice (6th Edition) should be adopted. Surveyors must state in their report which measurement basis (or bases) have been adopted.
Unfortunately, as RICS has not simultaneously published new overarching measurement guidance, this leaves many unknowns for surveyors when measuring property. RICS are in the process of updating the Code of Measuring Practice, with a 7th Edition proposed in 2025/2026.
At present, therefore, adopting IPMS All Buildings or dual reporting (with the benefits of IPMS emphasised) is recommended until the new RICS guidance is published.
3. Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (Commencement No. 2) Regulations 2025
In April 2025, the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (Commencement No. 2) Regulations 2025 came into effect. This implemented specific provisions of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (DMCCA) and replaced the former Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (CPRs). As a result, all existing guidance on the CPRs 2008 and material information has been withdrawn by NTS.
The Act applies to ‘traders’; essentially, anyone (individuals, businesses, or agents) providing frequent or high-volume services to consumers at a profit. This includes estate and letting agents.
The DMCCA transfers enforcement powers from National Trading Standards (NTS) to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). If a trader breaches the DMCCA, the CMA can levy fines of up to 10% of the trader’s global turnover and pay compensation to affected consumers.
The CMA have published full guidance on the new legislation, alongside a technical note and example practices. Agents should continue to provide consumers with material information about any properties they are marketing, including the key characteristics and sale price.
Similar to the former CPRs, the DMCCA regulates commercial practices that are unfair to consumers. This means that traders must act fairly and diligently when dealing with consumers. This includes not being misleading or acting aggressively (e.g., harassment, coercion and undue influence).
Thirty-two practices are prohibited completely, whilst other practices are instead considered unfair or misleading if they have an adverse impact on the decision-making of consumers.
Banned practices include:
- Misuse of trust marks, codes of conduct or endorsements
- Misleading promotional claims
- Deceptive marketing and false, fraudulent or incentivised reviews
- Illegal products
- Pressured selling
- Lack of or poor quality after-sales care
- Omitting information from invitations to purchase
Misleading practices include:
- Misleading actions – providing false information, presenting information in a misleading way or failing to comply with a code of conduct (e.g., such as the RICS Rules of Conduct)
- Misleading omissions – not providing information which consumers need to know or which is required under legislation, failing to make it clear when products are being marketed, providing information late or attempting to hide key information from consumers
For surveyors, RICS have withdrawn existing guidance based on the CPRs 2008 and raised concerns over ambiguities in the CMA guidance.
4. Building Safety Act 2022 and changes to limitation periods
Surveyors need to be aware of recent changes to limitation periods under the Defective Premises Act 1972 and Building Act 1984, as a result of the Building Safety Act (BSA) 2022.
If you have ever studied psychology, Loftus & Palmer’s (1974) work demonstrates how memories can change over time. The fluid nature of memories and the risk of losing documentary evidence can make it challenging to produce a fair outcome in litigation, even long after the fact.
Thus, under the Limitation Act 1980, claims can only be brought 6 years after the date of harm or 12 years (for contracts made under a deed). There is also a 3-year secondary limitation period from the date of discovery (if this was after the initial date of harm). This resulted in a total limitation period of up to 15 years.
Section 135 of the BSA 2022 amended the Limitation Act 1980, with a new Section 4B.
Firstly, this relates to claims made under Section 1 of the Defective Premises Act 1972, This is where a defect means that a newly constructed or (as another amendment under the BSA 2022) an existing building (e.g., due to defective remedial works, refurbishment or maintenance) is made uninhabitable.
For Section 1 claims, the limitation period has been extended to:
- 30 years retrospectively, i.e., before the date that the BSA 2022 came into force, on 28 June 2022
- 15 years for claims arising after 28 June 2022
Secondly, this also relates to claims under Section 38 of the Building Act 1984. This is where a breach of the Building Regulations leads to a claim for damages.
For Section 38 claims, the limitation period is extended to 15 years where a building was completed after 28 June 2022.
Surveyors need to know about the changes to limitation periods under the BSA 2022 to provide diligent advice to clients and to act competently, such as when they are:
- Dealing with contractual provisions, including sub-contracts, to align limitation periods
- Retaining documents for the appropriate imitation period (at least 15 years and up to 30 years)
- Considering pricing in the context of higher risk due to extended liability periods
5. Proposed new RICS Home Survey Standard
The Home Survey Standard is the RICS professional guidance for residential surveyors undertaking home surveys (levels 1, 2 and 3) for consumers (homebuyers). The current 1st Edition became effective in 2021, and dynamic changes in the residential market mean that it is not fit for purpose.
The Home Survey Standard aims to provide a clear framework and minimum requirements for Home Surveys. There are standard RICS template reports linked to the Home Survey Standard that provide a clear reporting structure for surveyors, incorporating a RAG (red, amber, green) traffic light rating system.
RICS are currently consulting on the 2nd Edition of the Home Survey Standard, in addition to considering a separate new home survey regulatory scheme. Both of these seek to address inadequacies in the current guidance, as well as improve consumer confidence and trust in the home survey process.
Some of the key changes in the proposed guidance include:
- Updated guidance on legislation and regulation, and how to incorporate these within the Home Surveys process
- Use of technology and AI in the production of Home Surveys
- Clarity on the three levels of survey and report, with one being the lowest and three being the highest (in terms of inspection and reporting detail)
- Adding in a valuation service to Home Surveys (which are condition-based)
- Providing guidance on ‘additional risk’ buildings, such as historic buildings, new builds and retrofitted properties
- Adding in other services to Home Surveys, such as drone inspections (e.g., of roofs or hard-to-reach elements) and retrofit advice
The consultation closes on the 14th October 2025, after which the RICS and the Home Survey Expert Group will consider the responses and finalise the 2nd Edition Professional Standard. This will then need to be approved by RICS governance, specifically the Standards & Regulation Board.
The post Five hot topics for surveyors in autumn 2025 appeared first on Planning, Building & Construction Today.
