So you’ve had a RICS survey and you're not happy?
We receive literally thousands of requests from folk who have had a RICS building survey, usually a Level 3, but sometimes Level 2 or Homebuyer – and come to us with questions afterwards.
Often you’ll say “Wish we had found you first - the survey is just standard phrases - some of the text doesnt even relate to the property."
Many of these RICS surveys tell you to get ‘another survey’ – usually a timber and damp survey by a PCA damp surveyor. The PCA is a fraudulent chemical industry organisation and their surveyors are not - they are just salesmen with no qualifications.
This is unprofessional behaviour by the RICS surveyor, and shows that the surveyor is clueless, and negligent. 98 percent of building defects are due to water. If the RICS surveyor doesn’t understand the science of water and has to refer the majority of the survey to an unqualified chemical salesman, what are you paying for?
The Heritage Survey team understand damp problems and NEVER have to refer to anyone else. Nearly all damp issues are easily diagnosed pre-purchase. Our team use scientific methods to measure moisture - thermo hygrometers, carbide test kit, and thermal imaging camers. Damp meters don't come into the equation. The only exception is timber frames totally covered with cement render inside and out.
If a RICS surveyor is pushing you to a PCA damp survey, they are feeding you to a chemical sales organisation that exists by fraudulently mis-selling damp proofing. This is proof positive the surveyor doesn’t have the basic knowledge to survey a dolls house.
It is also against RICS professional standards rules of Level 3 surveys to recommend secondary surveys. You just paid for their expertise – if they don’t understand the building, they should not take on the survey.
Complain To RICS!
If you found your survey was lacking, either for recommending a damp survey, or for just sheer negligence and missing things, can we suggest the following:
1: Complain to the RICS surveyor and demand answers.
Be very specific about what the problem is. Document, with photos.
Refer to the RICS survey guidance: Be warned - most of this is professional waffle. Everything is grey - there are a lot of 'may be', 'should', it is suggested that, 'best practise' etc. Nothing is mandatory, so it allows almost anything to be done, or not done, as the case may be. https://www.rics.org/profession-standards/rics-standards-and-guidance/sector-standards/building-surveying-standards/home-surveys/home-survey-standards
Why is the surveyor, with a Degree level education, recommending a PCA idiot with zero qualifications to wave a damp meter around and sell damp proofing?
Remember - a degree is meaningless. They are all supposed to have a building surveying degree. It doesnt mean they understand anything. EXPERIENCE is key here. As we've said elsewhere on the site - you have to be able to take a building apart and put it back together. If you dont know how to do that, then you cannot survey anything - because you don't know what you are looking at.
If this is a Valuation Survey on behalf of a bank or building society, then be aware that if they force you to use an unqualified salesman to sell damp proofing, the bank is technically guilty of fraudulent mis-selling. No damp proofing is ever needed.
Document with photos, your problem with them if they have missed something. Remember that you will need to prove that the fault was easily visible - and that they should have seen it with reasonable care during their survey. The surveyor is going to try to claim that the fault was not visible, or covered with furniture, or underneath the floorboards. So your approach needs to be to show that anyone with reasonable care and knowledge should have seen it. Dont forget you are employing someone who claims to have the required skills to 'survey' a house - and claims to be a RICS member, and therefore 'qualified and experienced'.
If unseen damp problems appear - for example a suspended floor turns out to have rampant damp and wood rot - the RICS surveyor should have the equipment to identify this. First they do the 'heel drop' test - sounding the timber floor to see if it is loose or soft. Then they SHOULD use a thermo-hygrometer to probe under the floor (we probe through air vents and down the side of central heating pipes, behind skirtings etc) to find excessive moisture. The trail of evidence should also tell them - blocked drains, blocked air vents, high ground levels, overflowing gutters, leaking / dripping gutters and downpipes - all of these are evidence that a suitably 'experienced and qualified' RICS chartered surveyor SHOULD BE EXPECTED to observe and make appropriate investigations or recommendations.
Demand details of their Professional Indemnity insurance - this is essential - you MUST get this. INSIST on their insurance details. RICS tells the public their surveyors are insured. We are now finding significant evidence that many are NOT insured, and there is no oversight by RICS to check if their surveyors or companies are actually covered. There is also ZERO oversight by RICS that the surveyor has the qualifications they claim. Many do not. Insist on seeing evidence of their qualifications.
The difference between Homebuyer, Level 2 and Level 3 surveys:
This is a constant source of problems. Our view is that you either do a proper building survey or you don't. the RICS have long tried to make a case for cheap, quick surveys (Homebuyer / Level 2) on the basis that the big companies (Connells, Countrywide, Homesurv) want to get in and out quickly. They force their surveyors to do at least 3 or 4 surveys a day. Clearly you cannot survey even a dog kennel if you are doing 4 a day - hence the constant referrals to PCA damp wally companies - its called arse covering. None of these surveys are worth the paper they are written on, but make the companies hundreds of millions a year in profits. The ONLY survey that there should be is Level 3. The trouble with this is quite simply that RICS cannot define what a survey should be - and there are no mandatory requirements, just 'it is suggested', 'the surveyor SHOULD check this and that'. Proving that they have missed something becomes a battle of 'Well it wasnt there, or there was too much furniture, or 'my survey ladder did not permit inspection as the hatch was over 2 metres high'.
Preparation for a complaint is vital. You need to forensically pick apart each paragraph. Analyse what the surveyor has said - or seen. Compare with what is there. You need to UNDERSTAND dampness and moisture - which is where the Warm Dry Home book comes in - we strongly suggest (and this isn't a sales pitch) that you get a copy, and read and understand - BEFORE putting a complaint together. That complaint will then be much better informed, and you will be in a strong position to argue with a RICS monkey who is clueless - having only used a damp meter, and has no idea of how to use a thermo-hygrometer or imaging camera.
2: If you are not completely satisfied, demand your money back – AND – tell surveyor that you are filing a formal complaint with RICS, and want to know the identity of their independent arbitration service – usually CEDR (Who we know are useless – but this tactic will probably get your money back).
Copy your email to complaints@rics.org
Here is the CEDR link:
https://www.cedr.com/consumer/rics/overview/
And specifically heres the complaints filtered to rics:
CEDR are useless - but going through their process will upset both RICS and the surveyor - who you paid a lot of money to. These are the Trustpilot reviews:
3: RICS will do nothing, CEDR will do nothing – they nearly always either ignore complaints or find for the surveyor.
This is the link for RICS complaints:
At the same time also copy it to this form:
https://www.rics.org/regulation/reporting-concerns/complaints-form-for-rics-products-or-services
Ignore the bit about having to complain to the firm first – you did that and were not happy. Have a look at Google reviews for RICS and Trustpilot – they are both shocking:
https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/rics.org
4: File a negative review with Google about RICS and the firm concerned.
4: File a negative review with Trustpilot
Let us have a copy of any rubbish RICS surveys. We maintain a database of thousands of incompetent surveys here, which build the case generally for their lack of expertise and professionalism.
If all else fails – ensure you have legal cover on your house insurance, you may be able to issue proceedings against the surveyor.
Researching your problems:
If you still have questions, the best place to start is to read Petes book – The Warm Dry Home. Most questions about houses, construction, problems related to dampness etc are covered in the book.
Most of our clients have a copy as part of their survey.
Here’s the book:
https://shop.heritage-house.org/product/book-the-warm-dry-home/
There is more information on Pete’s You-Tube channel here:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC55-NfrPh-SAT3wgwUFtruw
If you still have questions after reading this, we will be happy to arrange a telephone consultation (We change £200/hour, payable in advance) to discuss the issue, and can usually help find a solution if we are given enough information to work with.
We are also starting a private, unlisted linked-in group to work on RICS related issues. if you have a good case that illustrates serious problems with RICS, we can discuss with a view to adding you to the group.
We hope this helps with your enquiry! We will update this page with more help in time.