Residential retrofit standard

Creating low-carbon, energy-efficient homes is essential to meeting our net-zero obligation. Lenders, government and consumers are increasingly turning to professional, impartial and holistic advice for retrofitting homes.

PAS 2035 supports this to an extent but is not a suitable tool in many retrofit cases – especially when it comes to privately-funded works and publicly-funded schemes simply requiring retrofit assessment and advice.

An estimated 25 million homes require a form of energy improvement and professional advice. This standard will be essential to supporting this work and helping to address one of the biggest challenges facing the built environment while creating new opportunities for surveyors.

There is a need for a standard that provides guidance and mandatory requirements when delivering retrofit-related services that RICS members can be regulated against.

The RICS retrofit standard is more widely applicable to RICS members than PAS 2035. This standard is a framework that provides guidance on conduct and professionalism as well as an overview of the roles that RICS members may be involved in when providing retrofit services and what needs to be considered at each stage of the service. This standard is not intended to replicate or replace PAS 2035 and is intended to be complimentary to it.

We have heard from the financial sector, consumer groups and several public bodies that PAS 2035 is not always the best option for them when they require a simple assessment.

To ensure that the most cost-effective and efficient measures are installed and reduce unintended consequences, a physical survey is essential. Simply relying on a virtual retrofit assessment can risk incorrect or inefficient measures being installed, which can risk performance, energy costs and increase damp and mould.

The RICS retrofit standard is a framework within which RICS members can provide professional advice. Importantly, RICS members can deliver bespoke services to clients to suit their needs rather than following a rigorous process. If clients just require a survey and report, they can have that. If they require a more in-depth service, that is fine too. The RICS retrofit standard must also be delivered by a suitably qualified individual and can take a holistic and impartial approach towards the assessment.

RICS members with expertise in surveying residential properties understand construction types and associated defects. It is critical that defects are identified and resolved prior to the installation of energy efficiency measures to avoid the property deteriorating further or negating the benefit of retrofit. In many cases, defects or incorrectly specified measures will create damp, mould and other negative impacts on a home. In extreme circumstances, badly advised retrofit assessments can impact value and even reduce the EPC rating.

A suite of supporting material including training will be available for RICS members ahead of the standard’s implementation on 31 October 2024.