RICS receives a number of calls from members of the public who are looking to engage the services of a chartered surveyor. A common question is that of fees.

RICS used to publish recommended fee scales and guidance on fees but these were last published 20 years ago and have since been withdrawn at the request of the Office of Fair Trading. The setting of fees by professional or trade bodies was deemed to be anti-competitive at the time and therefore not in the public interest.

As a result there is no RICS documentation which gives information on fee levels. This means however that potential clients are free to discuss fee levels with two or three professionals and then negotiate a fee with their surveyor of their choice.

Chartered surveyors may on occasion, look at former RICS fee scales (now stored in the RICS library as historical information only) to assist them in the level of fees they suggest to their clients. These fee levels cannot be referred to as RICS fee scales, nor can there be any suggesting that the client must comply with these fee levels.

Under RICS Regulations, chartered surveyors are obliged to agree conditions of engagement before the client is committed to the service. These conditions of engagement must include the fee or a method for calculating the fee. There should, therefore, be no surprises for either client or surveyor with regard to fee levels and, therefore, disputes should be avoided.

RICS regulations also require chartered surveyors to have and operate a complaints handling procedure. It is recommended that in the event of a dispute you talk to your surveyor in the first instance. Misunderstandings or confusion can often be deflected by both parties communicating earlier rather than later. In the event of a communication breakdown, the complaints handling procedure can often bring parties back to the discussion table before they find themselves in the midst of a serious dispute.

This is a brief explanation of this subject. Further information can be obtained from the RICS Contact Centre contactrics@rics.org 
t +44(0) 870 333 1600.