Valuation of rural property, 3rd edition

This Professional Standard applies to rural property in the UK only. For the purposes of this guidance, rural property means commercial farms and farmland, all forms of rural landed estates and residential property in the countryside with land attached.

Please note, this was reissued in October 2022 as a Professional Standard. It was previously published in July 2019 as a Guidance Note. The regulatory requirements remain the same. For more information on the document category changes, see the text part way down on this page.

This Professional Standard is primarily intended to remind registered valuers of matters that should be considered when completing a valuation of rural property. It is not intended as a substitute for training and experience or a short cut to meeting the requirements of the various applicable RICS professional standards. It may also be of use to clients in understanding the work and role of the rural property valuer and assist in arriving at properly agreed instructions.

The client base for rural property valuations can include:

• farmers
• landowners (private and public)
• estates
• lenders and other institutional clients
• developers
• investors

Some will have intimate knowledge of the industry and others less so. While the requirements of the Red Book will need to be met in every case, valuers will need to consider the individual requirements of each client carefully, both in terms of settling instructions and the level of detail and advice they include in their reports.