Housing

RICS supports expanding housing supply across all tenures by:

• Utilising modern construction methods to enhance efficiency and also optimisation of existing stock – especially the repurposing of non-domestic properties for housing where suitable and ensures adequate quality standards.
  
• Reforming the planning system by properly resourcing and funding authorities, creating prescribed timeframes, embedding quality measures, and intervening to unlock the backlog of applications caused by recent nutrient and phosphate level guidance. RICS is also pushing for government to clarify reforms to Section 106 payments and the Community Infrastructure Levy.
  
• Supporting those in the PRS by calling on government to work with landlords on new regulations, ensuring sufficient timing, funding and resource is available.

RICS supports the UK target to achieve net zero carbon by 2050. While the UK Government clearly recognises the importance of retrofitting published in the Net Zero Strategy and Heat & Buildings Strategy, we believe that a comprehensive policy roadmap for achieving a ‘retrofitting revolution’ has not yet been fully articulated. The RICS policy paper, published in 2020 sets out the urgent need for significant retrofitting of the UK’s existing housing stock advocating for ‘re-use’ over ‘re-build’.  

Among our recent calls and work to create greener, more energy efficient homes include:

• Calling for reform in energy measurements and EPCs to create a more accurate framework for tracking and targeting energy usage and emission reduction.
  
• Commissioning research to understand how the cost of living crisis is impacting consumers thinking towards energy efficiency and how the need to decarbonise can still be a priority. 
  
• Urging the UK Government to reduce VAT on improvement works to increase energy efficiency in homes.
  
• Working in collaboration with UK Government on a two- and half-year project to investigate the relationship between sustainability, property values and green financing – working with financial institutions to analyse and develop green lending services.
  
• Putting RICS members and services at the forefront of the need to advise on retrofitting and energy efficiency – this includes expanding the role and importance of RICS Home Surveys, upskilling professionals, and calling for an increase in retrofit surveys to accompany schemes such as the Heat Pump Grant.
  
• Supporting governments with proposals to expand the role of Building Passports/Logbooks as a method to track energy improvement works.
   

RICS has worked constructively with the Government and all stakeholders on solutions to this critical issue in the public interest ever since the Grenfell Tower fire in June 2017. We welcomed the Secretary of State’s planned steps (announced in Jan 2022) to ensure that leaseholders should not have to bear the costs of remediation and the importance that is being placed on a proportionate approach to fire safety.

We will continue to work with stakeholders and the Secretary of State to identify ways to further reduce the situations where EWS1 is applied, as funding arrangements for remediation of buildings between 11-18 metres are put in place. In time, we anticipate the need for EWS1 to fall away completely. We also continue our essential work, in support of Government, to increase the supply of competent professionals to undertake external wall system (EWS) assessments through our Govt funded EWS Training programme.  

RICS is investing significant resource into addressing building safety, especially since the tragic events as Grenfell Tower in June 2017. Daily we are working with governments, leaseholders, and industry partners to tackle some of the biggest challenges, and in recent times have:

• Worked with government and industry to develop the EWS1 process – developing further guidance to unlock those homes effected by combustible cladding.
  
• Developing, in partnership with UK Government, the EWS Training Programme to create further capacity to undertake safety inspections and to come to a resolution about the challenges in accessing sufficient Professional Indemnity Insurance.

RICS supports the introduction of a Building Safety Bill when it became clear that there was a need for government to step in and change legislation for high-risk buildings (HRBs). RICS has advised government on necessary changes including the higher level of competency required for the originally proposed three new regulated roles.

Since the Grenfell Tower tragedy RICS has worked intensively with all stakeholders across many areas of building safety reform, while leading the implementation of solutions to increase capacity and keep the UK housing market operating, in the face of acute stresses arising from the loss of confidence in building safety, particularly fire safety.

We welcome the steps that the Government is taking to create a safer built environment in the form of the Building Safety Bill, and we provided extensive input into the Fire Safety Bill (now the Fire Safety Act 2021 being implemented imminently) & Building Safety Bill proposals. We continue our work with Government, the shadow Building Safety Regulator (BSR within HSE), BSI and industry to enable these measures to be brought into force swiftly.

• We are supportive of, and welcome, the steps that are being taken to improve competency across key built environment professional disciplines to ensure safety in high-risk buildings especially.
  
• There will be considerable challenges in ensuring sufficient supply of competent professionals to undertake the new regulated roles, especially considering constraints in professional indemnity insurance (PII) availability. We therefore encourage the Building Safety Regulator to recognise and work with existing professional regulatory structures as far as possible.  

• RICS supports the government’s plans for leasehold and common hold reform, especially the proposals to create 999-year leases. RICS also backs the abolition of ground rents. RICS encourages the government to adopt the RICS Block Management Sector Code and create a Commonhold Charges Code to offer greater transparency and protection for all parties.
  
• The RICS Service Charge Residential Management Code has also been created to create a transparent, consistent approach towards leaseholder management and relationships – working with government and industry to shape the Code and adopt it.  

• RICS welcomes measures proposed in the Renters Reform Bill that aim to increase the level of security for landlords and tenants in the private rental sector including the potential introduction of a national landlord register and the scrapping of Section 21 no fault evictions. RICS is working with government to ensure member expertise can be utilised to support landlords and tenants where disputes and notice periods are served.
  
• RICS is pressing the government to confirm when planned changes to the PRS will occur, including any dates for the implementation of the Renters Reform Bill and the Decent Homes Standard.
  
• With sustainability and energy efficiency critical to meeting out net zero aims, the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards will also have a significant influence over the sector. RICS is calling on the government to give confidence to the sector by providing clarity over when future MEES standards are expected to be introduced, such as the requirement to meet EPC C – and to support those landlords in advice and financial help to achieve it.
  
• While rent controls may seem like an attractive option to control housing costs, RICS are keen to avoid unintended consequences and oppose rent caps or significant rent controls being imposed. Such policies could ultimately result in landlords exiting the market. This in turn could lead to reduced housing stock for the private rented sector, further exacerbating issues around supply.  

Following RICS' contribution to Lord Best’s report on the regulation of property agency, we have worked with The Property Ombudsman and an expert steering group, chaired by Baroness Hayter to develop on overarching code for property agents, based on the Lord Best’s recommendations.  

RICS is working to obtain recognition for the relevant RICS professional membership grades (chartered and associate), within the new regime. RICS is also developing a range of RICS vocational qualifications to meet the new licensing requirements and to provide a stepping-stone to gaining globally recognised RICS professional status.

With minimal progress on ROPA occurring since the commencement of the Covid-19 pandemic, the government need to give clarity on when the new regulation will come into effect and the implementation of Lord Best’s recommendations.  
 

RICS is supporting the expansion of upfront information to inform consumers and assist with the property buying and selling process as highlighted in the UK Government’s recent Levelling Up Whitepaper and reforms planned as part of the Trading Standards proposals for property listing information.  

Upfront information, including Home Surveys, will inform potential homeowners about the associated risks with the property.  This will have a significant role as energy efficiency improvements increase in importance for consumers. RICS is urging government that any creation of the requirement for upfront information to potential buyers must include a form of Home Survey which will give consumers the confidence of a potential purchase.