All members of RICS standard and regulation board resign

A disagreement on new staff and resource changes at RICS has resulted in a mass resignation.

The chairman of the RICS Standard and Regulation Board (SRB), Dame Janet Paraskeva, was due to discuss the operational changes happening at RICS with the governing council but resigned instead, with nine other members following after. 

According to Property Industry Eye, these members are: 

• Bruce Haswell, director at Turner & Townsend. 
• Leigh Miller, EY partner. 
• Richard Waterhouse, surveyor.
• Dele Oyekanmi, Lionheart global ambassador.
• Plus, five independents.

RICS changes involved the creation of a Knowledge and Practice Committee, recommended by Lord Bichard in his independent review of the institution.

For this new committee, the council expects to reallocate some technical staff and responsibilities from the board to support the development of new standards.

RICS (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors) is an international body that develops standards and qualifications in land, real estate, construction and infrastructure. 

Full scope 

The Knowledge and Practice Committee now handles the development of technical standards at RICS, but the SRB has final approval on implementing those standards. 

Additionally, the SRB will continue to set, approve, and enforce standards among its broader regulation and qualification roles. 

The Bichard RICS review recommended that the SRB should be evaluated every three years and develop a framework where it focuses more on its regulatory operations. 

What happens now?

RICS is seeking a replacement chairman and four interim board members, to carry out the SRB’s transformation programme. 

In the meantime, the senior executive officer for standards and regulation, Chris Adler, and his team have assumed the responsibilities of the board. 

“Our activities remain in full operation, and there is no break in the continuity of regulatory functions,” said the governing council in its Q&A on the walkouts. 

The council maintains that there is no connection between the resignations and the institution’s new appointment of a new chief executive, former Knight Frank chief operating officer Justin Young.

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