Strengthening RICS’ regulatory operations

During February 2024, a Disciplinary Panel of the RICS Regulatory Tribunal considered allegations against Ms Emma Walker and her firm EW Estates Ltd, resulting in the strongest possible regulatory sanction – expulsion of Ms Walker and de-registration of the firm from RICS membership. Ms Walker appealed the Disciplinary decision which was heard by an Appeal Panel on 09 July 2024 and dismissed.

This case highlighted that RICS is not immune from those who act fraudulently. It brought into focus the numerous checks and balances which were in place, but did not identify the false assertions made on this occasion.

Following this decision, the Standards and Regulation Board (SRB) committed to a detailed review of the case and the relevant regulatory functions. The SRB’s review focussed on the RICS’ operational regulatory activities, whether they are effective and fit for purpose, and any further improvements needed to strengthen trust in the profession. This was a necessary step to assure the wider profession and other stakeholders that RICS is undertaking its regulatory functions effectively.

The review acknowledged the actions already taken, and made the following recommendations to enhance the rigour of RICS’ assurance processes:

1.    Enhance the understanding of the role of SRB

• RICS should undertake a communication and education campaign to inform its members, stakeholders and the public about the role of the SRB and professional regulation within RICS.  
• The case highlighted the negative consequences of misleading information being shared on social media, amplifying the detrimental effect of the former member’s behaviour on consumers.  RICS should review how it uses communications channels to respond to misinformation in the public domain.  
• Funding and resourcing for the implementation of the Entry and Assessment Review recommendations and the investigations functions will need to be considered carefully, alongside its implementation timetable.   
• RICS should review regulatory requirements for Regulated Firms (including the requirement to maintain professional indemnity insurance and appropriate run-off cover) to ensure their effectiveness and clarity.  
• The newly created Pilot Consumer Working Group should consider the wider consumer protection framework and report to SRB on areas to be enhanced. This should include reviewing RICS’ existing consumer protections.

2.    Data quality

• RICS should prioritise ongoing data verification and updating exercises to ensure that all member data is correct and verifiable.
• The Entry and Assessment teams should continue to review and seek to broaden and strengthen quality assurance mechanisms for enrolments and applications, to ensure that applicant information undergoes increasingly robust verification.
• The Education and Qualifications Standards and Regulation Assurance and Operations teams should ensure they have seamless access to enrolment, assessment and election data in order to check and verify information independently.
• RICS should ensure that its public-facing member register and its data undergo robust verification, with IT systems in place to support it.
  

3.    Guidance for counsellors and assessors

• The review of the current requirements, processes and guidance for counsellors and assessors should continue at pace.

Since SRB became responsible for entry and assessment processes in 2021, additional controls have been implemented and undergone rigorous review by an external specialist audit company.  Further changes to these processes will go in tandem with proposed changes to post-qualification Continuing Professional Development (CPD).

Although the Institution has received harsh criticism regarding this case, the review highlights that professional regulation within RICS has functioned independently, appropriately and with integrity. Importantly, when credible and actionable evidence was available an active investigation was pursued quickly, effectively and with the outcome transparently published.

RICS has also published two practice alerts, reminding all RICS members who undertake Home Surveys for consumers of their professional and regulatory obligations, and setting out the risks associated with the volume of complaints to RICS regarding the quality of Home Surveys:

Click here to find out more on how we handle complaints and concerns at RICS.