SoE Examples Flashcards
Can you have give an example of when you have adhered to the RICS rules of conduct.
Rule 1 of the RICS rules of conduct requires members and firms to be honest, act with integrity and comply with professional obligations.
In December 2024 I received a Christmas gift from one of my clients, in the form of a Hamper filled with wine, cheese etc. to thank me for the work I have done for them over the past year.
I determined that this gift was worth above the £25 limit under my firms Gifts and Hospitality policy. Therefore, remaining in line with this policy, I informed my line manager, declared it on our gifts register and advised it to be raffled off for charity.
To maintain transparency with my client, I thanked them for the kind gesture and informed them that under our policy, I was required to declare the gift.
Can you run me through a recent inspection undertook?
I manage a multi-let industrial site on the Ransomes Industrial estate in Ipswich. This is a service charge property that I am required to carry out an inspection at quarterly.
Prior to undertaking my September quarter inspection last year, I made my usual preparations. This involved, requesting access from the tenants, informing my line manager of my planned inspection, reviewing my inspection notes from my previous visit and ensuring that I had a fully charged work phone. This ensured I was adhering to my firms lone working policy.
During the inspection I identified that one of the tenant’s had stacked a pile of wooden pallets up against a gas bottle cage. This was quite concerning due to the potential fire risk. I took a photograph and made a note in my inspection report.
I highlighted this issue to the tenant and requested they move the pallets immediately. They understood the obvious risk and ensured my they’d move them that day, and send me a picture once done.
I documented the situation in my inspection report and shared this with my client, explaining what had happened and that I would be following up with a reinspection to make sure the tenant had complied.
Can you tell me about a break notice you have dealt with.
Yes, In august 2023 I received a notice from the tenant of an art gallery i manage, that it was their intention to activate the break in their lease.
To confirm the validity of this notice, I reviewed their lease to see if the notice had been served within the required time period and the format of the break clause, being a fixed date break, and the conditions that would need to be met.
I then notified my client, setting out clearly the requirements of the lease and confirming to them that the notice had adhered to the appropriate notice period of 6 months.
A few weeks prior to the break date, i undertook an inspection of the property, to assess the state of the property and whether the tenant had complied with the conditions of the break.
I determined that they had complied, advised my client, and vacant possession was achieved.
How did you manage the lease renewal at the property in Folkestone?
When reviewing the tenancy schedule for one of my clients portfolios, I noted that the lease for the tenant of a property I manage in Folkestone was due to expire within a year. Following a review of their lease, I found that the tenancy contracted inside the act and so had security of tenure, I also confirmed any time constraints.
I then notified my client of the upcoming lease expiry during a quarterly management meeting. I advised them it would be good to keep the tenant in occupation as they had looked after the property, and had good covenant strength. This advise was heeded by my client and they instructed me to serve a non-hostile section 25 notice.
Conflict of interest check, competence check, agreed terms of engagement and dispute resolution methods, inspect and measure, gather comparables and suggested
The notice included proposed terms for the new tenancy, being a 5 year lease term with a modest rent increase. £62,000 to £66,000.
I then requested my client’s solicitor to confirm its validity, draft it and then serve to the tenant.
Once the terms of the lease were agreed, I instructed the solicitors to to formalise the lease and arrange for both parties to sign.
lease end
wish to renew
instructed
inspect
measure
look at lease - different clauses - all can be negotiated
s25 in time
T must respond - if not respond - both can respond
Can you run me through the open market rent review the the property in Old Street?
I was notified by TRAMPS of an upcoming rent review for a tenancy at a property I manage in Old Street. I formally notified my client and received their written instruction to undertake the review.
In the first instance, I established my competence and carried out a conflict of interest check, in line with RICS standards. Once confirmed, I issued clear written terms of engagement to the client.
I then reviewed all relevant documentation including the lease, title plans, and licenses for alterations. On reviewing the lease, I noted this was an open market rent review with no ‘time of the essence’ provision. I also carefully reviewed the assumptions and disregards stated within the rent review clause to ensure they were correctly considered.
Following this, I inspected and accurately measured the property on a Net Internal Area (NIA) basis, in accordance with RICS Property Measurement Standards.
I gathered relevant comparable market evidence, analysed these comparables, and adjusted them accordingly. I then produced a clear written recommendation to my client, advising what I considered to be the appropriate revised market rent, providing justification through the comparable evidence gathered.
Hypothetical term - 15 years
check competent
request copy of the lease and looked at the (rr clause, assumptions disregards, time of the essence, mechanism, dispute resolution method.
inspect
measure
Gathered comparables
Recommendation to the client
Served Trigger Notice
Assumptions
Disregards
My client agreed with my recommendation, and I instructed the solicitor issue a trigger notice with this proposed rent.
The tenant responded, accepting the proposed rental uplift. I then instructed the solicitor to document this via a rent review memorandum. This was issued to the tenant for their signature.
Run through the PPM Schedule you instructed in Leicester?
After assuming management of the property in Leicester, I undertook an inspection to familiarise myself with the site.
During this inspection I noted that the general condition was pretty poor. The pavement was deteriorating, walls were damaged, and the signage was in need to updating.
After the inspection I noted that I noted that there was no Planned Preventative Maintenance (PPM) schedule in place. I reported my concerns regarding the sites condition to the client and recommended that we appoint a Building surveyor to undertake a survey of the property and to pull together a PPM schedule.
I then reviewed this schedule with my client and prioritised the more urgent repairs.
Once the PPM was finalised, i held an on site meeting with the tenants, outlining the planned works, timescales and costs. I also ensured they were aware of the importance of this maintenance to maintain both the safety and condition of the site.
Run me through the Licence to Alter request you received for the property in Ipswich?
I received a request from one of the tenant’s of an industrial estate i manage in Ipswich to install a mezzanine floor to their unit and a new ground floor meeting room.
Firstly, I reviewed the tenant’s lease to confirm their rights regarding alterations and established that landlord consent was required but could not be unreasonably withheld or delayed, in line with section 19(2) of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1927.
I then requested detailed plans, specifications, and risk assessments from the tenant and presented these to my client for approval. Following a review of this information, my client agreed in principle to the works, subject to suitable protections and compliance checks being put in place.
I obtained an undertaking from the tenant to cover my firm’s professional fees for managing this Licence to Alter.
I then instructed a Building surveyor to review the proposed works, particularly their impact on fire safety and compliance with electrical and building regulations.
The Building Surveyor identified additional fire safety measures required, including the installation of extra smoke detectors. I communicated these findings to the tenant and required that they incorporate these measures within their scope of works.
After completion of the works myself and the Building Surveyor undertook a final inspection to ensure the works complied with what was agreed under the LtA complied with the h&s requirements.
You undertook a redevelopment valuation of a property in Ipswich, can you run me through this.
I was instructed by my client to determine the redevelopment value of an industrial unit i manage in Ipswich. For this i used the residual method of valuation.
Initially, I confirmed my competence to carry out this valuation and undertook a conflict of interest check in accordance with RICS ethical standards. Once I confirmed there were no conflicts and that I was suitably competent, I clearly documented and agreed the terms of engagement with my client.
Following this, i calculated the gross development value of the completed development, deducted the total anticipated development costs, allowed for developers profit, deducted acquisition costs, and arrived at the residual valuation of £334,000 for the site.
You were instructed to determine the Market Rent and Market Value of a property in Haverhill, how did you go about this?
I was instructed by my client to assess both the market rent and market value of a warehouse unit I manage for them in Haverhill.
Initially, I confirmed my competence to carry out this valuation and undertook a conflict of interest check in accordance with RICS ethical standards. Once I confirmed there were no conflicts and that I was suitably competent, I clearly documented and agreed the terms of engagement with my client.
To determine the market rent, I applied the comparable method. I gathered comparable evidence from EG Radius, co star and from our internal databases. I then ranked these on account of their similarity to the subject property. by weighting these comparables i was able to determine a market rent for the property.
I also used these comparables to estimate an appropriate all risks yield that i could use to calculate the market value. For this calculation i used the term and reversion method.
firstly i determined the value of the 2 years remaining of the lease by capitalising the passing rent using the years purchase multiplier at a reduced ARY, to reflect the more secure nature of the income stream. this gave me the value of the term.
then to calculate the value of the reversion, i applied the estimated market rent and capitalised it using the years purchaser multiplier at a higher ARY, into perpetuity and applied a present value of £1 mutliplier.
I then added the value of the term to the reversion to give me the estimated market value of £313,000
