Explore the key standards which our professionals work to in the land sector.

Our professionals provide many services across the land sector and we collaborate globally on standards.

Land Standards

Defra / Industry Farm Tenancy Forum (2024) Agricultural Landlord and Tenant Code of Practice for England.

View the code here.

This Professional Standard is intended to help professionals working in planning and development to apply the government’s national planning policy for England, which is currently focused on delivering 300,000 dwellings per annum.


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Disputes about boundaries, and related neighbour disputes are never far from the news and have been increasing steadily during the covid 19 period in England & Wales. This new 4th edition encompasses all that was best from the seminal 3rd edition, with a new emphasis on mediation and has been reformatted and edited to include several new and expanded sections.


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This Professional Standard provides mandatory requirements and guidance for RICS firms acting as livestock auctioneers.


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Compulsory purchase is a process which allows certain bodies ( ‘acquiring authorities’) to buy land or acquire third party rights to it without the consent of the owner.


Learn more here.

This professional standard is about daylight, sunlight and shading and, to a lesser extent, how it is dealt with in the design, planning, and environmental impact assessment of developments.


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This professional standard is intended for use by land, sea, engineering and environmental professionals who are acting in an advisory capacity, and by survey-knowledgeable clients who specify their own surveys. It is also intended to be used by earth observation and aerial survey specialists.


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Both in real terms and in the growth of legislation, environmental considerations affect real estate in all sectors. This standard is aimed principally at the land and property acquisition, disposal and asset management stages of the property life cycle.


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This professional standard sets out mandatory requirements that inform the practitioner on what must be included within financial viability assessments and how the process must be conducted.


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ILMS is an international principle-based standard for land and property information. Its adoption will reduce risk in land and real property surveying and promote better land governance, robust conveyancing, secure lending and land registration.

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RICS' Land measurement for planning and development purposes is an important piece of guidance for surveyors engaged in preparing land for development, and is intended to bring consistency in the use of the terminology applied to different areas of land for this purpose.

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This standard is designed for use by land, engineering and measured building surveyors who are acting in an advisory capacity and by survey knowledgeable clients who specify their own surveys.

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Intended for use within the UK, the standard is essential reading for all members who are asked to advise in relation to renewable energy schemes.

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By analysing five case studies, this paper aims to understand the relationship between the various design features and delivery mechanisms of a large residential scheme, and the end-sales achieved.

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This document provides guidance for property professionals on how to make more efficient and effective use of buildings and their support services; manage resources more effectively and reduce waste.

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Produced by a cross-professional group specialist panel of associate and chartered surveyors, this guidance deals with easements known as rights of light and outlines current best practice for surveyors in this field.


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This professional statement applies when you provide advice regarding property interests in the UK that relates to the seeking or use of compulsory purchase or other statutory powers by or against your client, or where the seeking or use of such powers is contemplated.


View the professional statement here.

The government enacted the Electronic Communications Code at the end of 2017, as part of the Digital Economy Act 2017, to facilitate the delivery and maintenance of high quality digital electronic communications infrastructure and to accommodate future technological development.


View the code here.

RICS is a member of the Tenancy Reform Industry Group (TRIG) which advises Defra on matters relating to agricultural tenancy legislation. To coincide with the introduction of The Agricultural Holdings (Tenants’ Request for Landlord’s Consent or Variation of Terms and the Suitability Test) (England) Regulations 2021 SI 619, Defra asked TRIG to update the 2004 TRIG Code of good practice for agri-environment schemes and diversification projects within agricultural tenancies to make it relevant to the new statutory procedures.

View the code here.

This guidance note explains matters which should be considered by the agent and the client in order to complete the model agreement for the provision of rural estate management services.


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GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite Systems) have been used extensively by land surveyors since the late 1980s, primarily for geodetic control networks and for photogrammetric control. This standard forms part of a series of standards and best practice intended to assist all those connected with the requesting, purchase and production of surveys and mapping data at all scales, by spreading good practice and seeking to avoid duplication of effort.


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This guidance note aims to assist practitioners in the approach to the valuation of affordable housing development land. The focus is on the valuation of land for housing and flats but the principles are broadly adaptable for other types of affordable housing, such as special needs and sheltered housing accommodation.

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Valuation of woodlands and forests 2nd edition empowers professionals undertaking valuations of these assets to consider the continuously evolving array of complex factors which can impact their value.


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Email us at standards@rics.org