Report concerns about a RICS Member or RICS-Regulated Firm

If a concern is raised about the behaviour or competence of an RICS member or regulated firm, it is reviewed by a specialist team who ‘triage’ the information provided. If there is evidence of a breach of the Rules of Conduct, the matter will be referred to the Investigation team to undertake inquiries. The factors which are considered at this early stage include:

• whether the individual who is the subject of the concern, is an RICS member or regulated firm
• the apparent seriousness of what has been reported
• the credibility of the evidence provided
• whether the information is from a credible source
• previous regulatory/disciplinary history of the member or regulated firm, and
• whether there is a pattern of similar concerns raised

Referral to investigation at this stage means that we consider that more detailed information is required to fully understand the background and context to the allegation. This is established through reviewing the evidence, making relevant inquiries and seeking further evidence from the member / regulated firm and the person raising the concern. If necessary, the investigator will also potentially seek expert opinion (whether from Chartered Surveyors or other appropriate experts) and ask the member or regulated firm for an explanation/response to the allegations. Investigators may also seek legal advice from the Enforcement Team (the team within Regulation which includes lawyers and paralegals) where necessary.

If at conclusion of the investigation it is decided that there is sufficient evidence to support a realistic prospect of ‘a finding of liability to disciplinary action’ the Head of Regulation may decide to commence disciplinary proceedings. The Head of Regulation may decide to take no further action, advise further investigation, or refer the matter to the Regulatory Tribunal for consideration and determination.

RICS guidance on how to raise concerns about members or firms is available - Reporting Concerns (rics.org)

RICS guidance on how we investigate concerns is available - Investigations (rics.org)

RICS guidance for RICS members to explain their professional duty to report concerning behaviour or practices of other members is also available - Speaking Up (rics.org)

Information may be in many forms. You should send us what evidence you have, such as documents, emails and anything else that is relevant to the concerns you have raised. Once we have reviewed the information, we will consider what other evidence is likely to exist and whether we can reasonably obtain it. We will also look at any previous concerns raised about the Regulated Member.

We will use the information you provide to us, to consider whether we need to investigate the Regulated Member. We may also use the information you provide, to review trends and themes in the regulated community, to help inform us whether we need to provide training or guidance.

If you need any further information on how we collect personal data, and how we use it and who we might share it with, please read the RICS Privacy Policy.

Sometimes we might refer you to the Regulated Member's complaints handling procedure or to the alternative dispute resolution (for example an Ombudsman) referred to in that procedure. This is because the complaints about service failures or unsatisfactory work can sometimes be considered under these processes even though they do not meet our threshold for an investigation.

We understand that when reporting concerns about a Regulated Member, you may you may want to remain anonymous. You can do this in two ways, you can:

1. give us the information with your name and contact details so we can get more information from you if we need to, but we will try our best not to disclose you as the source of the information we have received, or
2. you can give us the information with complete anonymity; however, this may limit our ability to investigate if we need more information.

In some circumstances we may be required to disclose you as the source. We also cannot guarantee the Regulated Member will not know who provided us with the information.

As with all information we receive we will assess the seriousness and credibility of the concerns before deciding on whether to investigate further.

Regulated Members have a professional duty to promptly disclose the details of any fellow Regulated Member that they reasonably believe may have breached RICS Standards (see Bye-law B5.2.1). This duty to speak up is an important part of the profession's "moral compass", which acts towards maintaining the reputation of the Regulated Member’s profession by helping RICS to uphold the public interest and investigate those Members who have fallen short of the expected standards. For more guidance, please see Speaking Up (rics.org).