50 Must Knows

Question 1

Are you aware of some of the aims highlighted within the RICS
Business Plan for 2021-22?

Answer 1

▪ Continue to support the profession as economies recover from Covid-19 and seek to minimise any increases in the cost of subscription levels.
▪ Utilise any surplus in cash generation to pay back furlough
monies received via the UK government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.
▪ Maintain and increase demand for RICS qualifications with a primary goal to ensure RICS qualifications remain relevant for future generations and that increased numbers of members use RICS to meet their knowledge and training needs.

Question 2

When are the Rules of Conduct Changing?

Answer 2

▪ The existing Rules of Conduct have been in place since 2007
and these will remain valid until 1st February 2022.
▪ The New Rules of Conduct will take effect from 2nd February
2022.

Question 3

What are the New Rules of Conduct?

Answer 3

▪ Rule 1. Members and firms must be honest, act with integrity
and comply with their professional obligations, including
obligations to RICS.
▪ Rule 2. Members and firms must maintain their professional
competence and ensure that services are provided by
competent individuals who have the necessary expertise.
▪ Rule 3. Members and firms must provide good-quality and
diligent service.
▪ Rule 4. Members and firms must treat others with respect and
encourage diversity and inclusion.
▪ Rule 5. Members and firms must act in the public interest, take
responsibility for their actions and act to prevent harm and
maintain public confidence in the profession.

Question 4

Explain your understanding of Rule Number 1?

Answer 4

▪ Having reviewed the example behaviors in adhering to Rule 1 RICS
Members and firms should not allow themselves to be influenced
improperly through the acceptance of work referrals, gifts or hospitality.
▪ Members and Firms must also be sure to identify conflicts of interest and
not provide services or advice where these conflicts of interest occur.
▪ This could be a scenario where you have reduced impartiality due to an
existing relationship, for example being friends with a Main Contractor who
has subsequently been selected to submit a tender would form a conflict of
interest.

Question 5

Explain your understanding of Rule Number 2?

Answer 5

▪ To ensure compliance with Rule 2, Members and firms must only act for
clients where they have the necessary knowledge, skills and resources to
carry out the work competently.
▪ Firms must supervise any employees or subcontractors undertaking work
on their behalf, for example requesting that a Junior Surveyor undertakes a
complex valuation due to resourcing issues would create problems in
achieving compliance with this Rule. Instead an experienced and suitably
qualified surveyor should be asked to undertake the valuation.

Question 6

Why did the previous Rules of Conduct change?

Answer 6

▪ The previous rules had been in place since 2007.
▪ Following research and consultation with RICS Members, Firms and
Members of the public, the majority voted in favour of replacing the
existing Rules of Conduct and separate Global Professional and Ethical
Standards.
▪ This was to provide a single document to enable greater clarity for RICS
members and firms.
▪ There is now a greater focus on clearer example behaviors, understanding
evolving technology and tackling climate change.

Question 7

Talk us through your understanding of the changes to the Rules of Conduct?

Answer 7

▪ The Rules of Conduct October 2021 Global Practice Statement will overhaul
the previous separate documents:
• Rules of conduct for Members.
• Rules of Conduct for Firms.
• Global Professional and Ethical Standards.
• Appendix A of the Rules of Conduct now contains the professional
obligations of Members and Firms.

Question 8

What is the Levitt Report?

Answer 8

▪ The Levitt Report was commissioned by the RICS following a Treasury management audit in 2018.
▪ Prior to the Audit the RICS had to extend its overdraft facility by circa £3m due to inaccurate cashflow forecasting.
▪ The treasury management audit offered a ‘no assurance verdict’ on RICS internal financial control procedures and following this the Levitt report was commissioned as an independent review.
▪ Following the report, the RICS accepted each of Levitt’s recommendations including:
• The RICS Governing Council are to have more oversight over internal dealings of the RICS.
• The RICS Governing Council are to be briefed by the Management Board as opposed to a single CEO.
• The RICS Governing Council are to oversee executive management bonuses.

Question 9

What are the professional obligations of members?

Answer 9

▪ 1. Members must comply with the CPD requirements set by the RICS which requires 20 hours of CPD for each calendar year, 10 hours of which must be formal CPD.
▪ 2. Members must cooperate with RICS.
▪ 3. Members must promptly provide all information reasonably requested by the Standards and Regulation Board, or those exercising delegated
authority on its behalf.

Question 10

Explain your understanding of Rule Number 3?

Answer 10

▪ As an RICS member or regulated Firm we must also be sure to understand
a clients’ project specific requirements before acting on their behalf.
▪ The clients’ scope of services should be agreed along with any exclusions
and timescales for achieving each of the deliverables before signing up to
formal terms of engagement.

Question 11

Explain your understanding of Rule Number 4?

Answer 11

▪ The RICS also expects its members to respect the rights of others and treat
others with courtesy.
▪ We need to ensure that everyone is treated fairly and look to eliminate any
instances of discrimination on the basis of age, disability, gender,
pregnancy, race, religion or sexual orientation.
▪ RICS members and firms also need to adopt a no tolerance policy of
bullying or harassment.

Question 12

Explain your understanding of Rule Number 5?

Answer 12

▪ Members and firms are required to question practices and decisions that
they suspect are not right and raise concerns with colleagues, senior
management, clients or the RICS.
▪ When making public statements we need to ensure these do not undermine
public confidence in the profession.
▪ When receiving and processing complaints, we need to ensure these are
dealt with promptly, openly and professionally.
▪ In complying with Rule 5, a useful sense check to ensure compliance is to
ask ourselves if we would be comfortable in standing behind our actions if
these were brought into the media or a public forum.

Question 13

What are the offences of the Bribery Act?

Answer 13

The offences are:-
• Making a bribe.
• Receiving a bribe.
• Bribery of a foreign public official.
• Failure of a corporate entity to prevent bribery on its behalf.

Question 14

What companies does the bribery act apply to?

Answer 14

The legislation applies to all UK Entities and includes associated Persons
for example sub-consultants and external advisors.

Question 15

What procedures can companies put in place to prevent bribery on their
behalf?

Answer 15

There are six principles of prevention companies should put in place:-
• 1. Proportionate Procedures.
• 2. Top Level Commitment.
• 3. Risk Assessments.
• 4. Due Diligence.
• 5. Communication.
• 6. Monitoring & Review.

Question 16

Under the Bribery Act, under what circumstance is a facilitation payment
permitted?

Answer 16

▪ The only circumstance in which it is OK to make a facilitation payment is when you are under duress.
▪ For example if there is a real and present risk or danger to “life, limb or liberty”.
▪ If you or your companions are under immediate physical threat.
▪ You should put safety first, make the payment and report the matter immediately.
▪ Or as soon as is practicable to your manager or your ethics compliance contact.

Question 17

Are you aware of any RICS Guidance notes on Covid-19?

Answer 17

▪ I am aware of the RICS ‘Covid-19 Guide to Surveying Services’
which contains a range of guidance notes to work safely and in
line with government guidelines through the Pandemic.
▪ This provides specific guidance on:-
• Physical Inspections for Residential Properties.
• Physical Inspections for Non-domestic Properties.
• Residential Valuations and Surveys.
• Reopening of the Housing Market.
• Reopening of Commercial Buildings.

Question 18

What impact has Covid-19 had on your area of surveying?

Answer 18

▪ From a Quantity Surveying perspective, recently I have found
there to be significant material cost increases and a reduction
in the availability of materials.
▪ In particular the cost of steel per tonne has increased in the last
year by around 22%.
▪ Products such as plastic piping, plasterboard and labour
availability have become increasingly scarce.
▪ Due to significant cost increases the financial viability of
developments has been affected.

Question 19

How have you helped clients with COVID issues?

Answer 19

▪ I have supported my clients by looking to secure early order placement of
materials in order to negate the risk of further price increases and material
availability issues.
▪ I have also kept clients updated on impending price increases when made
aware of this by key suppliers.
▪ Through early notification, contingency plans have been put in place to
increase cost certainty and negate further material price increases and lack
of availability.

Question 20

What precautions do you take in your day to day surveying concerning
Covid-19?

Answer 20

▪ I practice inline with the RICS Covid-19 guide for Inspections and Visits for
non-domestic properties which requires me to:-
• Maintaining Social Distancing.
• Minimising physical contact with building occupiers where possible.
• Ensuring I comply with the H&S procedures being operated by the site
team.
• Securing as much information as possible from the client prior to the
visit and as part of the pre-inspection research.
• sanitise equipment in line with current Public Health Guidance,
periodically and as often as practical

Question 21

What are the contractual implications for your projects around Covid-19
delays and shut downs?

Answer 21

• The projects I was working on during in Covid-19 were all impacted as
a result of the pandemic.
• On my projects that utilised JCT Contracts, as a standard the JCT form
included a Force Majeure clause that was called upon.
• This entitled the Contractor to an extension of time for the shut downs
that were imposed by the client to take stock and evaluate the Health &
Safety standards of the site.
• The Contractors also sought loss and expense claims for the additional
preliminary health & safety items such as temperature scanners,
masks, and perspex barriers along with the impact that social
distancing had on slowing down construction operations.
• For my projects that adopted NEC contracts a compensation event was
raised entitling the Contractor to additional time and costs for the
period of delay and additional prelims caused as a result of the
pandemic.

Question 22

How was the Covid-19 compensation event administered on your

projects that utilised NEC forms of contract?

Answer 22

• Under the NEC form an early warning notice was issued by the
Contractor within 8 weeks of becoming aware of the impact of the
pandemic.
• A further early warning notice was issued with notification of the
decision to suspend the works in order to take stock and review the
Health & Safety operations of the site.
• Because these early warning notices were in place it entitled the
Contractor to a compensation event however if they were not raised it
may have affected the Contractors entitlement under the NEC form.
• Following issuance of the early warning notices a meeting was
arranged with the Contractor, Client and PM to discuss the entitlement
to additional time and money. It was agreed that an extension of time of
2 weeks would be granted for the period of the shut down and a further
2 weeks due to the slowing of operations as a result of social
distancing.

Question 23

Are you aware of any industry guidance specifically relating to Quantity
Surveying that has assisted throughout the pandemic?

Answer 23

• The Construction Leadership Council has launched the Covid-19 Cost
Assessment Toolkit.
• This serves as a guide for better cost forecasting by recommending a
standard methodology to incorporate cost impacts resulting from the
pandemic and provides clarity around the assumptions and
exclusions that have been made.
• It has also collected industry wide data from the supply chain to help
keep surveyors and clients informed on potential cost impacts going
forward.
• Having access to this data has allowed me to improve the accuracy of
my reporting into clients to help them keep informed on ongoing
projects and assess the financial viability of future schemes.

Question 24

How has Brexit effected the UK Property & Construction industry?

Answer 24

▪ Movement of people is now restricted with free movement having ended on 31st
December 2020 and from 1st January 2021 the UK has a new global immigration
system.
▪ Employers are now required to register as sponsors in order to recruit from
abroad.
▪ To employ someone from outside the UK the individual must meet job, salary
and language requirements.
▪ With the supply of labour being more restricted this has led to labour cost
increases and a reduction in the availability of labour.
▪ Under the UK’s new trade agreement with the EU, most traders will not have to
pay tariffs when moving goods between across borders but will have to meet
relevant Rules of Origin for their products.
▪ The price of goods moving across the border is expected to increase due to the
additional border checks and administrative work.

Question 25

How has Brexit affected the OJEU?

Answer 25

▪ Tenders Electronic Daily (TED), the online procurement portal
used by EU member states, is no longer the main platform used
for e-tendering in the UK.
▪ TED, as a supplement to the OJEU, will be available for any
contracts that were accepted before 2021- these will resume on
TED/OJEU until their completion.
▪ Contracts accepted and not completed before 31 December
2020 are still subject to EU procurement rules and must publish
contract updates on OJEU until completion.
▪ Once all contracts pre-2021 are completed, the OJEU and TED
will no longer be necessary and cease to be used in the UK.

Question 26

Following the Grenfell Disaster are you aware of any

guidance the RICS has published to support fire safety?

Answer 26

▪ I am aware that the RICS has published the Guidance note
‘Cladding for Surveyors 1st Edition March 2021’ to support
surveyors working on Multi-storey and multi occupancy
residential buildings.
▪ The document aims to improve surveyors knowledge of
external wall cladding systems that may be considered within
the External Wall Fire Review.
▪ Whilst the document is useful and provides illustrated
examples of cladding systems, I appreciate that fire safety is of
great importance and ultimately falls outside my area of
expertise. If my clients do ask for advice on first safety I would
always recommend that they seek advice via a professional fire
risk assessment.

Question 27

What is ACM cladding?

Answer 27

▪ ACM standards for aluminum composite material
▪ It consists of two skins of aluminum bonded to either side of a
lightweight core of materials such as polyethylene or a mineral
core aimed to provided insulating properties.

Question 28

What is the significance of ACM in relation to Grenfell?

Answer 28

▪ The ACM cladding in use was thought to contain combustible
materials that contributed towards the spread of fire across the
external elevation of the building.
▪ As a result the UK government has now banned the use of
combustible materials on high rise homes from 29th November
2018.
▪ The ban means that combustible materials are not permitted on
the external walls of new buildings above 18m.
▪ Local authorities also need to undertake remediation works to
replace dangerous ACM cladding on existing buildings.

Question 29

What is an EWS1?

Answer 29

▪ An EWS1 is an External Wall System Fire Review Certificate.
▪ They are applicable when a multi-storey residential property is
either being bought, sold or re-mortgaged.
▪ It is not a building safety certificate but a re-mortgaging
valuation tool.
▪ The RICS and mortgage lenders jointly formed the EWS1 form
as a way of mortgage lenders assessing the external wall safety
of buildings over 18m in height.

Question 30

What is the New Fire Safety Act 2021?

Answer 30

▪ The First Safety Act was introduced in March 2020 and holds
significant legal obligations of organisations deemed to be
responsible persons.
▪ It is introduced as an update to the Fire Safety order 2005.
▪ The main focus of the act is the amendment of the Fire Safety
Order to clarify that it will apply to the structure and external
walls as well as anything attached to external walls such as
doors, windows and cladding.
▪ Under the previous regime it was unclear who was responsible
for fire safety compliance for these elements of the building.
▪ This will force owners, landlords and managing agents of multioccupied
residential buildings to take precautions to identify
any dangerous cladding on those buildings and remediate any
dangerous materials whilst introducing interim measures to
ensure the building can be occupied safely.

Question 31

What is COP26?

Answer 31

▪ COP26 is the most recent annual UN climate change conference. COP
stands for Conference of the Parties, and the summit was attended by the
countries that signed the United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change (UNFCCC) – a treaty that came into force in 1994.
▪ The two-week meeting was seen as a critical moment for commitments and
action after richer nations had failed to raise the $100bn annual climate
funding they had promised to vulnerable countries and the gap to staying
below 1.5C loomed large.

Question 32

What was agreed at COP26?

Answer 32

▪ For the first time at a COP conference there was an explicit plan to reduce
use of coal which is responsible for 40% of annual CO2 emissions.
▪ There was a commitment to ‘phase down’ rather than ‘phase out’ coal after
a late intervention by China and India.
▪ The agreement pledged to significantly increase money to help developing
countries cope with the effects of climate change and make the switch to
clean energy.
▪ There’s was also the prospect of a trillion dollar a year fund from 2025
onwards after a previous pledge for richer countries to provide $100bn
(£72bn) a year by 2020 was missed.
▪ While some observers say the COP26 agreement represented the “start of
a breakthrough”, some African and Latin American countries felt not
enough progress was made.

Question 33

How does COP26 relate to the Paris Agreement?

Answer 33

▪ At the COP 21 meeting in Paris in 2015, the Paris Agreement was formed.
▪ During the COP Meeting, the parties agreed to pursue efforts to prevent
temperatures rising more than 1.5C above pre-industrial levels to avoid the
most dangerous impacts of global warming.
▪ The following Conference of the Parties meetings discusses how each
nation is progressing against the original Paris Agreement

Question 34

Are you aware of any impending changes to minimum energy efficiency
standards?

Answer 34

▪ Yes I understand the government has recently proposed changes to the
EPC requirements for commercial property and buy to let properties which
are due to take effect from 2025.
▪ Currently the minimum required energy efficiency rating for domestic
rental property requires an E rating however this is expected to increase to
a C rating or above from 2025.

Question 35

Please explain your understanding of Green mortgages?

Answer 35

▪ A mortgage that rewards someone for buying or owning an energy efficient
home by offering favorable terms than as standard.
▪ This typically result in lower interest rates or receiving cashback when you
take out the mortgage.

Question 36

What is Urban greening factor?

Answer 36

Brought about by London Plan Policy G5 - detailed guidance to be published later in 2022
▪ The urban greening factor is a tool that evaluates and measures the
amount of urban greening (vegetation cover and planting around buildings)
to aid the appropriate planning of greening on future developments.
▪ The aim is to increase the amount of green cover around buildings and
support its consideration at the design and outset of developments.
▪ Councils can develop their own targets with the plan for London being a target score of 0.4 for residential developments and 0.3 for commercial
developments.

Question 37

What is the Data Protection Act 2018?

Answer 37

▪ The act replaces previous 1998 legislation and manages how personal data
is processed by organisations and the government.
▪ It is the UK legislation for the implementation of the EU General Data
Protection Regulations (GDPR).

Question 38

What are the key Principles of the Data Protection Act 2018?

Answer 38

▪ The act ensures that data is:-
• Used fairly, lawfully and transparently.
• Used in a way that is adequate, relevant and limited to only the purpose it is intended.
• Is retained for no longer than is necessary.
• Processed securely including the protection against unlawful use, loss or destruction.

Question 39

What are a person’s rights under the Data Protection Act?

Answer 39

▪ People have the right to:-
• To be informed about how their data is being used.
• The right to access their data.
• The right to have incorrect information updated.
• To have their data erased.
• To stop or restrict the processing of their data.
• The right of portability.
• To object to the use of their data.

Question 40

Who are the key persons outlined within GDPR?

Answer 40

▪ Controller
• The controller is the natural person or legal entity that determines the
purposes and means of the processing of personal data for example when processing an employee’s personal data, the employer is
considered to be the controller.
▪ Processor
• A natural person or legal entity that processes personal data on behalf of the controller for example a call centre acting on behalf of its client is considered to be a processor.
▪ Data Protection Officer (DPO)
• The Data Protection Officer is a leadership role required by EU GDPR.
This role exists within companies that process the personal data of EU citizens. A DPO is responsible for overseeing the data protection approach, strategy, and its implementation.

Question 41

What are the 8 individual rights under GDPR?

Answer 41

▪ The right to be informed.
▪ The right of access.
▪ The right of rectification.
▪ The right to erasure.
▪ The right to restrict processing.
▪ The right to data portability.
▪ The right to object.
▪ Rights of automated decision making and profiling.

Question 42

What legislation or regulations relate to inclusive environments?

Answer 42

The main legislation within the UK that applies to Equality, Diversity and
Inclusion are the Equality Act 2010 and The Human Rights Act 1998.

Question 43

Please explain your understanding of inclusion within the workplace?

Answer 43

▪ Inclusion within the workplace is creating an environment and culture
where all company employees feel like they belong in the organisation.
▪ This results in every employee being comfortable to voice their opinions
and that no one person feels excluded on the basis of their identity.

Question 44

What sustainable initiatives are you aware of that are implemented by the RICS?

Answer 44

• SKA ratings encouraging green codes of practice for commercial properties. Rating for sustainability of fit-out projects
• RICS has launched the Value the Planet campaign and committed to forming a climate change expert panel to implement the UN’s sustainable development goals.
• RICS has also launched a Responsible Business Report filled with solutions for companies to operate in a greener capacity, regardless of the firm’s size. This includes introducing higher recycling rates and reducing energy, transport and water use where possible.

Question 45

What things do you implement to promote sustainability?

Answer 45

• Print only when necessary
• Car sharing
• Use of energy efficient equipment
• Recycling
• Cycle to work
• Careful to minimise waste
• Avoid use of plastic bottles where possible
• Use of cloud based sharing systems

Question 46

Can you explain your understanding of the term carbon neutral?

Answer 46

• Carbon neutrality is to have a balance between the carbon emitted and the carbon
absorbed from the atmosphere in carbon sinks
• This is an important measure of the impact that businesses and projects have on
the environment and global warming
• To date no artificial carbon sinks are able to remove carbon from the atmosphere
at the levels required to off set global warming

Question 47

What procedures does your firm implement to promote sustainability?

Answer 47

• Recycling of cardboard, paper and plastics
• Use of Energy efficient lighting (motion sensors)
• Energy efficient equipment (LED lamps, energy efficient monitors)
• All company cars are to EV’s by 2025
• Cycle to work scheme
• Reduce printing by using cloud based systems
• Charitable contributions (tree planting / environmental programmes)
• Sign up to Green initiatives and codes of practice (use office space with high EPC
/ BREEAM ratings)

Question 48

What is the Paris Agreement?

Answer 48

• The Paris Agreement is a legally binding international treaty concerning climate
change
• It was adopted by nearly every nation and came into affect in 2016
• The goal of the Paris Agreement is to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees
Celsius whilst targeting levels below 1.5 degrees Celsius when compared to preindustrial
levels
• The agreement commits all major emitting countries to cut their climate pollution
• It also creates a framework for the transparent monitoring and reporting of each
individual countries progress

Question 49

Name some sustainable building methods?

Answer 49

• Use of recycled materials such as reclaimed timber, recycled tiles and plastics
• Ground Source Heat Pumps
• Air Source Heat Pumps
• Solar Panels
• Wind Turbines
• Solar Shading
• Rain water harvesting
• Green Roofs
• Automates Building Systems (Lighting sensors)

Question 50

What regulations and codes of practice are you aware of that affect
sustainability in construction?

Answer 50

• Agricultural Land Act
• Building Act 1984
• Clean Air Act
• Climate Change Act 2008
• Energy Act 2011
• Environmental Protection Act
• Flood and Water Management Act
• Wildlife and Countryside Act