THE ANSWER IS NO!
Our blog advises what to ask instead.
RICS permits AssocRICS, MRICS and FRICS members to carry out all home survey levels. What matters is experience with your property type.
The short version: no, your home surveyor does not have to be chartered. RICS permits members at all three grades of membership; AssocRICS, MRICS and FRICS to carry out Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3 home surveys. What RICS actually requires is that the individual surveyor has the competence and experience appropriate to the property in front of them. That is a different test, and it is the right one. This is partly why we do not automate quotes, as something very bespoke or an old thatched cottage for example are properties that differ from those commonly inspected.
“Chartered” is a membership grade, not a licence to inspect houses
The word “chartered” within RICS simply denotes a level of membership (MRICS). There are more than twenty routes to achieving MRICS. A surveyor can become chartered through quantity surveying, commercial property, planning, infrastructure or valuation without ever having lifted a loft hatch in a three-bed semi. They are entitled to call themselves a chartered surveyor. Does this automatically mean they are the right person to inspect your house!?
Equally, an AssocRICS surveyor who qualified through the residential pathway has been assessed specifically on residential inspection, defect diagnosis and reporting. That is a specialist qualification aimed squarely at the work a home survey involves.
Fellowship (FRICS) recognises contribution and seniority within the profession. It is not an additional technical examination, and it says nothing by itself about how recently, or how often, the holder has inspected houses.
What the RICS Home Survey Standard actually demands
The RICS Home Survey Standard, which has governed residential survey work across the UK since March 2021, does not reserve any survey level for any membership grade. Its requirement is that the surveyor must have the skills, knowledge and experience suited to the specific property being inspected. The surveyor and firm must decline the instruction if they do not.
That matters because houses are not interchangeable. A Victorian terrace built with lime mortar and solid walls behaves nothing like a 1970s estate house with cavity walls, and neither behaves like a barn conversion or a non-traditional post-war construction. The relevant question is not what letters the surveyor holds, but whether they have stood in front of a lot of buildings like yours and know what they tend to do wrong. This is why we quote manually, to ensure the property is suitable for the type of survey requested, we are competent, and the quotation itself is reasonable for the amount of time and work committed to the instruction.
Experience is a volume game
Diagnosing building defects can come from pattern recognition. A surveyor develops judgement by inspecting many properties, over many years. A newly qualified chartered surveyor and a newly qualified associate are, on day one, in much the same position. The surveyor carrying out your instruction will ultimately need to have the experience required, and an Associate may in fact have more experience and come from a residential background, rather than a chartered surveyor that qualified from a different route.
The advantage of knowing exactly who turns up
With a larger firm, a perfectly reasonable question to ask is: “Who will actually attend, and what is their experience with a property like mine?” Many firms allocate work internally, and some do it well. However, the work is typically allocated by the nearest surveyor to the property, thus you may not know who that is or their experience level.
This is where you are in safe hands with us! We quote at director level, and always ensure the surveyor is competent and experienced to perform the instruction.
How to check any surveyor’s credentials
“Surveyor” is not a protected title in the UK. Anyone can print it on a business card, and some do. Two free checks take a couple of minutes and settle the matter:
- Check the individual on the RICS “Find a Member” register, which confirms whether they genuinely hold the membership they claim, and at what grade.
- Check the firm on the RICS “Find a Surveyor” directory of regulated firms. A regulated firm must carry professional indemnity insurance, operate a formal complaints procedure and belong to an independent redress scheme, which is the protection that actually matters if something goes wrong.
The questions worth asking before you book
If you take nothing else from this article, take this list. Ask any surveying firm – including us:
A firm confident in its surveyors will answer all five without hesitation. A firm that responds by pointing at the letters after someone’s name is answering a question you did not ask.
The bottom line
Chartered status is a reasonable thing to look for, but it is neither necessary nor sufficient for a good home survey. What is both necessary and sufficient is an RICS-qualified surveyor, working within a regulated firm, with substantial hands-on experience of properties like yours, who you can actually talk to! Judge your surveyor on that, and you will choose well. That is where Eastern Surveyors stands out, as you will receive the benefit of a service rather than a product.
Eastern Surveyors is an award-winning independent RICS-regulated residential surveying practice, providing RICS Level 2 Home Surveys and Level 3 Building Surveys. If you would like to discuss a property before instructing a survey, speak to us as we are proud to have so many reviews based upon our customer service!
