Topical Issues - October 2022 Flashcards
Legal/Statutory Update
UK Government Sanctions
- Wider sanctions have been issued in the light of the Ukraine conflict
- Be aware of how these sanctions could impact upon your work.
The Economic Crime (Transparency & Enforcement) Act 2022 includes measures for:
- A beneficial ownership register of overseas entities owning property in the UK
- Strengthening of investigation powers regarding unexplained wealth orders (UWOs), including of those who manage properties through overseas ownership arrangements
- Easier prosecution of those involved in sanctions-busting, including those unaware that they were involved in such activity
- [Note that the existing UK Sanctions List grows every day (it currently runs over 930 pages)]
PPE at Work Regulations 2022
- Extends employers’ duty to ensure provision of appropriate PPE for employees and contractors (“limb b” workers), even those in casual employment. This could include cleaning, security and construction workers
Professional Indemnity Insurance (PII) uninsured excess changes:
The maximum level of uninsured excess (the part of each claim the firm must pay itself):
* Turnover up to £10m the greater of 2.5% of the sum insured, or £10,000
* Turnover greater than £10m, no limit set
Fire Safety focus:
- RICS has published advice and information for the public, building owners, landlords, corporate occupiers and RICS professionals on fire safety in buildings with external wall systems
https://www.rics.org/uk/news-insight/latest-news/fire-safety/
RICS Valuation of Properties in multi-storey, multi-occupancy residential buildings with cladding, March 2022:
- This update was published to reflect new Government advice and the use of the updated EWS1 form
- RICS has begun a consultation to develop further guidance to support valuers and their lender clients when valuing properties with cladding, as reliance on EWS1 forms is likely to diminish given provisions of the Fire Safety Act 2021 and the Building Safety Act 2022
- The government has meanwhile backed a scheme to help professionals obtain Professional Indemnity Insurance (PII) to help expand the pool of surveyors and engineers able to undertake EWS1 safety checks on
high-rise buildings
Measurement: IPMS All-Buildings
The International Property Measurement Standards Coalition (IPMSC) has consulted on the latest version of the IPMS, an all-buildings version:
- IPMS 1 and IPMS 2 are external and internal measurements respectively for a whole or part of a building
- IPMS 3.1 and IPMS 3.2 are external and internal measurements respectively required for exclusive occupation
- IPMS 4.1 and IPMS 4.2 are internal measurements required for selected areas, including internal walls and columns and excluding walls and columns respectively
IPMSC will publish the finalised version in due course and RICS will consider how and when members will need to measure on the IPMS basis
The RICS Bichard Review
- The Review, published in June 2022, made 36 recommendations in seven key areas relating to the purpose and governance structure of RICS, providing advice on values, culture and strategy. RICS has accepted all the recommendations
RICS has begun to implement the Bichard recommendations, stating that:
- Governing Council will implement a new composition of Council to better reflect the geographic location and disciplines of members
- As many Council seats as possible will be directly elected by members: members will elect Governing Council seats covering the professional disciplines (7), geographic regions (13), and the community of younger members (1).
- Governing Council has asked the Nomination and Remuneration Committee to review the election process for Governing Council seats. This will see Governing Council elections reformed and simplified to encourage a broad and diverse range of applicants from across the profession.
- Finally, Governing Council has confirmed that the RICS President will also Chair the Governing Council for the duration of their one year presidential term, in line with Lord Bichard’s recommendations. Under the new arrangement, the current President, Clement Lau FRICS will serve until 31st December 2022 – extending his office by a few days – before being succeeded by President elect, Ann Gray FRICS on 1st January 2023
- RICS has made the first of its new governance appointments for an Interim Senior Independent Governor, to which Lord Michael Bichard has been appointed
Diversity and Inclusion:
- RICS has joined other key membership bodies in the built environment sector, such as the RIBA and RTPI, and signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in April 2022 to drive forward the creation of a more diverse, equitable and inclusive sector - ensuring it is more representative of the society it serves.
