Royal Charter and Bye-Laws

Following the 2008 AGM Privy Council has approved changes to the Royal Charter and a new set of Bye-Laws to establish a new governance model for RICS. Governing Council has also approved new Regulations to support the Bye-Laws.

RICS is incorporated by Royal Charter, which sets out the objects of the Institution and requires it to:

Promote the usefulness of the profession for the public advantage in the UK and in any other part of the world.

In practice, the Charter means that important changes to the RICS constitution - its Bye-Laws - have to be ratified by the UK government, through the Privy Council, even after they have been approved by a majority of RICS members voting at a General Meeting.

The continued demand for Royal Charters, which may seem an antiquated concept, shows that they retain their cachet in the modern professional world as a "gold standard" of excellence and integrity.

Governing Council has agreed some changes to the Regulations recently in areas such as offering RICS membership to groups of individuals, Boards or Committees taking decisions by correspondence, giving authority to the Management Board to establish new accreditation or registration schemes, and changes to the composition of the Nominations Committee and the Independent Appointments Selection Board.

• View RICS Regulations

Better Regulation

RICS is one of a number of professions that operate under a self-regulation model.  In other words Chartered Surveyors are not regulated by government but are monitored and inspected by their professional body RICS. 

Why not? you may ask. Well in the case of RICS members - Chartered Surveyors - our self-established standards of regulation already meet, and in some cases surpass, the UK Government's own better regulation principles.

Consumer protection and the development of the profession for the public advantage are very much at our core and are the reason we have retained our Royal Charter status for over 127 years.

We are very proud of this position and recognize the responsibility placed upon us.  That is why we are consistently working to ensure we set the standards for professional regulation not just in the UK but around the world.

Introducing legislation to regulate a sector of industry which is already applying modern practices, regulating at arms-length and operating in a business-like manner would be costly, time-consuming and unnecessary.

Legislation should only be applied if a self-regulation system is not working - if it is not transparent, proportional, accountable, consistent and targeted.

These are the five principles of better regulation determined by the Better Regulation Commission, a division of the UK Cabinet Office, on which RICS has based its own regulatory model.

Effective and efficient regulation of the sector is vital to the profession's success. 

Whilst the UK Government regularly reviews the approval it bestows on professional self-regulators, we aim to continuously demonstrate that we maintain a regulatory regime that is leading at the front and fit for purpose.