A Chartered Building Surveyor is a specialist type of Chartered Surveyor involved in all aspects of property and construction, from supervising large mixed-use developments to planning domestic extensions and diagnosing building pathologies. Building surveying is one of the widest areas of surveying practice. It has a varied workload and can include everything from the conservation and restoration of historic buildings to contemporary new developments.
A Chartered building surveyor in the United Kingdom can only progress through the RICS membership route. A chartered building surveyor has completed an Assessment of Professional Competence (APC) with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. The RICS was founded in London in 1868 and has more than 120,000 members globally, although less than 10% of RICS members have the specialist (chartered building surveyor) designation. They work closely with professional organisations around the globe. A chartered status is regarded as an enhancement to a building surveyor's professional status. Building surveyors work in most real estate markets including residential, commercial, retail, industrial, leisure, education and health. Consequently, there is a variety of opportunities for chartered building surveyors to work in the commercial, private, and public sectors. Many Chartered building surveyors work for property consultancies, public sector organisations, real estate owning clients and contractors as well as in a number of specialist niche areas such as insurance, rights to light, party wall matters etc. As well as technical skills, building surveyors need to have strong people skills and high levels of integrity. Clients, whether a large corporation or an individual member of the public, need to have confidence in the impartial advice given by chartered building surveyors. Chartered building surveyors are differentiated from the rest of their market by their enhanced technical knowledge and professional standards.
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The largest employer of Chartered Building Surveyors is EC Harris followed by Jones Lang LaSalle. [1]
Construction is a general term meaning the art and science of forming objects, systems, or organizations. It comes from the Latin word constructio and Old French construction. To 'construct' is a verb: the act of building, and the noun is construction: how something is built or the nature of its structure.
An estate agent is a person or business that arranges the selling, renting, or managing of properties and other buildings. An agent that specialises in renting is often called a letting or management agent. Estate agents are mainly engaged in the marketing of property available for sale, and a solicitor or licensed conveyancer is used to prepare the legal documents. In Scotland, however, many solicitors also act as estate agents, a practice that is rare in England and Wales.
Real estate appraisal, property valuation or land valuation is the process of developing an opinion of value for real property. Real estate transactions often require appraisals because they occur infrequently and every property is unique, unlike corporate stocks, which are traded daily and are identical. The location also plays a key role in valuation. However, since property cannot change location, it is often the upgrades or improvements to the home that can change its value. Appraisal reports form the basis for mortgage loans, settling estates and divorces, taxation, and so on. Sometimes an appraisal report is used to establish a sale price for a property.
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) is a global professional body for those working in the Built Environment, Construction, Land, Property and Real Estate. The RICS was founded in London in 1868. It works at a cross-governmental level, and aims to promote and enforce the highest international standards in the valuation, management and development of land, real estate, construction and infrastructure.
A quantity surveyor (QS) is a construction industry professional with expert knowledge on construction costs and contracts. Qualified professional quantity surveyors are known as Chartered Surveyors in the UK and Certified Quantity Surveyors in Australia and other countries. In some countries such as Canada, South Africa, Kenya and Mauritius, qualified quantity surveyors are known as Professional Quantity Surveyors, a title protected by law.
The architectural technologist, also known as a building technologist, provides technical building design services and is trained in architectural technology, building technical design and construction.
A building control body is an organisation authorised to control building work that is subject to the Building Regulations in England and Wales (similar systems are provided in Northern Ireland, and in Scotland where the term 'building standards' is used. Such regulations or standards are also known as building codes in other parts of the world.
Propertymark is a membership organisation for estate agents. It is based in and covers the UK. It is the UK's leading professional body for estate agents. Its members practice across all aspects of property in the UK, including residential and commercial sales and letting, property management, business transfer, auctioneering and land.
Chartered Surveyor is the description of Professional Members and Fellows of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) entitled to use the designation in the (British) Commonwealth of Nations and Ireland. Chartered originates from the Royal Charter granted to the world's first professional body of surveyors. Chartered Surveyors are entitled to use "MRICS" or "FRICS" after their names as appropriate.
The Property Services Agency (PSA) was an agency of the United Kingdom government, in existence from 1972 to 1993. Its role was to "provide, manage, maintain, and furnish the property used by the government, including defence establishments, offices, courts, research laboratories, training centres and land".
Mouchel Group, originally known as L. G. Mouchel & Partners Ltd, was an infrastructure and business services company headquartered in Woking, United Kingdom. It provided advisory, design, project delivery and managed services associated with infrastructure and business services across the highways and transportation, local government, emergency services, property, health, education and utility markets across the world.
The Chartered Institution of Civil Engineering Surveyors or CICES is a professional association in the field of civil engineering surveying, headquartered in the United Kingdom. CICES members consist mainly of commercial managers, quantity surveyors, and geospatial engineers working and studying within civil engineering surveying. The institution began in 1969 as the Association of Surveyors in Civil Engineering, became a registered educational charity in 1992, and received a royal charter in 2009. The institution advocates for engineering projects and education.
Construction surveying or building surveying is to provide dimensional control for all stages of construction work, including the stake out of reference points and markers that will guide the construction of new structures such as roads, rail, or buildings. These markers are usually staked out according to a suitable coordinate system selected for the project.
Real estate development, or property development, is a business process, encompassing activities that range from the renovation and re-lease of existing buildings to the purchase of raw land and the sale of developed land or parcels to others. Real estate developers are the people and companies who coordinate all of these activities, converting ideas from paper to real property. Real estate development is different from construction or housebuilding, although many developers also manage the construction process or engage in housebuilding.
Isurv is an online information service for expertise in natural and built environments. It was launched in September 2003 by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and provides insight from verified legal experts and industry practitioners relating to construction.
King Sturge was an international property consultancy with over 210 offices and 4,200 staff in 45 countries. It operated throughout the UK and Europe and had associations and partners in Asia Pacific and North, Central and South America. The firm covered all property sectors and related services such as logistics, plant and machinery.
Environmental surveying is the title of a profession within the wider field of surveying, the practitioners of which are known as environmental surveyors. Environmental surveyors use surveying techniques to understand the potential impact of environmental factors on real estate and construction developments, and conversely the impact that real estate and construction developments will have on the environment.
The University College of Estate Management, formerly the College of Estate Management (CEM) is an independent UK-based higher education institution which provides courses by distance learning for people in the real estate development and construction industries throughout the world. UCEM is also one of eight original members of the Independent Universities Group, made up of universities not funded by the HEFCE. As of 2013, UCEM had educated over 150,000 students.
International Property Measurement Standard (IPMS) is a standardised and globally applicable method for measuring property. It aims to address current inconsistencies in the way property of all types is measured from one market to the next, improving property market data and providing greater transparency.
Jonathan David Harris, CBE, qualified as a chartered surveyor in the United Kingdom and went on to become President of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors in 2000/2001. He is Founder and Chairman of the Harris Foundation for Lifelong Learning, and has received honours for his services to surveying and to further education.