RICS’ QS and construction material (previously known as the ‘Black Book’) is a collection of technical practice documents that cover all processes throughout the construction project life cycle. The documents are essential development tools for junior professionals working through their APC and are useful guides to best practice for experienced professionals.
A project is currently underway to replace the existing content with five UK practice guidance documents. Expected to publish in Q2 2027, the new material will contain enhanced and updated best practice content and will comprise the following titles:
- Strategic procurement
- Pre-construction cost management
- Tendering
- Construction project administration and
- Project completion.
The passing of the Building Safety Act 2022 (BSA) and the subsequent secondary legislation (which continues to be progressively issued by the UK government) has resulted in many of the original QS and construction suite titles becoming out of date or superseded by new rules or regulations. As the drafting of the practice guidance is well advanced, it has been decided that no interim update of the original content will take place to reflect the BSA (and continuing secondary legislation) before the new practice guidance documents are published. The affected documents have not been withdrawn, but it is recommended that users exercise caution and seek advice from a suitable expert where necessary.
For more information on the BSA, see RICS’ Building Safety Act FAQs, which are updated regularly.
In the meantime, and while work continues on the new practice guidance, interim updates (unrelated to the BSA) have been issued on the topics that appear below.
QS and construction notification
A project is currently underway to review and update RICS’ QS and construction material (previously known as the ‘Black Book’). While this revision is taking place, two guidance notes have been withdrawn that had become out of date by the publication of various forms of contract, legislation and case law (unrelated to the Building Safety Act). Although these documents cannot be relied on as guidance, they contain relevant principles of custom and practice and can be accessed from our archive for information purposes only:
Knowledge and Information Services
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