Certificate in Building Surveying Practice (2025)

Overview

As one of the largest areas in surveying practice, building surveying covers a wide range of professional roles. You will be asked to provide a variety of services related to the maintenance and care of buildings, and will work in areas such as building design, refurbishment or alteration, as well as other construction and property matters.

As such, grasping crucial knowledge of construction technology, contracts and building pathology is vital in order to demonstrate your ability in building surveying practice. In our course, you will learn the core principles of practice related to contract administration, construction and environmental services, design and specification, inspection and legal and regulatory compliance.

Training in these key areas will furnish you with important knowledge and techniques for this multi-disciplined industry and will give you a practical skill set with which to implement key building surveying techniques.

Method of study

This course is designed to be completed within 8 months. As you work through this course, you will be expected to study one module a month. Each module takes 10-15 hours and contains eLearning, reading, case study, and a quiz. You also have access to live consolidation sessions, where a tutor will take you through the module, case study, and any tricky elements of learning.

The course is designed to be flexible around your existing commitments. You are given a further two months to complete your exam and complete any further outstanding work. After this time, the course will end, and you will no longer have access to these materials. Please ensure you complete the course before the course end date.

What support do you recieve?

During the course, you will have access to a course discussion forum. If you have any technical questions about the subject, don’t hesitate to post for support from our tutors.

Should you encounter any difficulties with the course materials, whether it is a technical or content-related issue, please contact the eLearning team: trainingpd@rics.org.

Tutor

Danny Medcalf FRICS

Danny has over 30 years of first class experience in a broad range of property, construction and management roles. In addition to his previous experience as a senior manager within a large national property holdings company, Danny also works in private practice. Danny is an RICS APC Chairman/Assessor for both Building Surveying and Project Management panels. Danny also lectures at Loughborough and Nottingham Trent Universities covering a wide range of property, construction and project management themes.

Learning outcomes

• Evaluate the different stages and process of design and construction works from inception to completion.
• Recognise the functional requirements and performance of building materials and components, including typical defects, causes of failure, likely results, and appropriate remedial measures.
• Identify the roles and responsibilities of the contract administrator and implement necessary procedures.
• Establish relevant requirements and techniques for carrying out property inspections.
• Recognise the legal/regulatory requirements for surveying, including regulations and guidance for health and safety.
• Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the consequences of fire in a building.
• Interpret how fire is modified by the enclosure and how the impact may be controlled.
• Apply fire safety principles to practical situations so as to minimise the risk.