Update from Justin Young, RICS CEO – August 2025

At the heart of our work at RICS, is our responsibility for regulating members in the public interest, which forms an integral part of our Royal Charter. We empower RICS members to deliver best practice, and we hold them to our high standards. I’m incredibly proud to be part of this mission, ensuring that we at RICS set a high bar, as demanded by our dedicated and highly skilled membership and the public we serve.

This truth, that we collectively exist to build a better world, is also a pillar of your offering to clients. Being an RICS member, supported and regulated by us, helps you to foster trust with clients and consumers.

So, of course, we are committed to constant evolution. Over the course of the coming weeks you’ll be invited to take part in three consultations to help shape our response to changes impacting our profession. We’re seeking your input into our Expert witness and Global construction standards, and from today you can complete our Home survey standard consultation to help us ensure it meets the evolving needs of the market and reflect development in modern surveying practices.

On the ground, we’re working alongside members to enhance our profession in a myriad of ways. In recent months we’ve seen our Valuation Assurance Committee (VAC) hold roundtables with valuation users and regulated firms in Dubai, gathering insights for a new valuation compliance framework. Our annual conference in collaboration with New York University welcomed around 100 members, candidates and students for discussions centred on the economy, sustainability and emerging technologies. RICS India convened 170 delegates at June’s Real Estate Investment Summit in Mumbai, and in the UK more than 200 students at the University of South Wales built environment GCSE taster day were introduced to the world of surveying through activities and workshops. You can read more activities like this in our Q2 report, which was published this month.

Meanwhile, applications to join Governing Council closed last week. We are verifying all applications, and I’m pleased to report that the level of interest has been high. I’m grateful to our members for their continued dedication to upholding standards at RICS. Voting will open next month, representing another way in which our entire membership can meaningfully influence the direction of our work.

RICS members participate in boards, committees, groups and panels spanning geographic regions and practice areas, as well as specialist governance bodies such as the Audit, Risk Assurance and Finance (ARAF) Committee and the Nominations and Remuneration Committee (NRC), representing all corners of our profession and keeping RICS truly member-centric. Thank you for your ongoing commitment to excellence, for your continued efforts to shape our standards and practices for an evolving profession, and for being part of our historic and influential organisation.