You may already be aware that David Charles Property Consultants are regulated by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), but what does that actually mean?
Whilst you might assume that every company operating in our sector would be a member of the same professional body, this is by no means the case. RICS regulation is not compulsory but it is the gold standard for qualifications and standards in land, property and construction. By choosing a company like ours which is regulated by RICS, you can be confident that we will act in an ethical manner in all of our dealings with you.
Being regulated by RICS gives our clients – and potential clients – peace of mind that we are governed by certain regulations that are set down by RICS as best practice. This applies in particular when dealing with our clients’ money, but also any other interests for which we represent or advise you. RICS membership also affords us access to training and up-to-date information such as legislative updates, so you can be sure that we will always give you the most current advice available.
We recently underwent our periodic RICS inspection. These inspections, known as Regulatory Review Visits, are routine ‘spot-check’ visits which entail a detailed review of our practices to ensure that we are meeting their strict regulatory guidelines.
Although we are confident that we do carry out all of our functions diligently and within RICS guidelines, it was still a great feeling to pass with an “outstanding” rating.
The focus of a RICS inspection is two-fold: firstly it looks at our account handling practices, and secondly at our ‘general insurance mediation activities’ (GIMA). The “outstanding” pass demonstrates that:
- We are handling our clients’ money in a way that is beneficial to the clients to ensure their money is protected from the potential for fraud and with other benefits such as interest being credited to the client and not to us.
- We are acting within the guidelines of a company granted “Designated Professional Body” (DPB) status. It’s important to note that not all companies have DPB status and those that don’t should NOT be undertaking any insurance activities beyond invoicing the premium, so they shouldn’t be administering claims or undertaking similar activities. You should always check a company’s DPB status if they are carrying out insurance activities on your behalf, and verify it with the professional body in question if in any doubt.
All in all we are very happy that the outcome of the RICS inspection was so positive. We are very proud of our RICS membership and what it means in terms of demonstrating our commitment to protecting our clients’ interests and showing that our qualifications are of the very highest standard in our industry.
Naturally, we will be doing everything in our power to retain our outstanding rating next time!