The RICS Professional Statement on Service Charges in
Commercial Property (the Professional Statement) comes into
force for service charge periods commencing on or after 1 April
2019. What is it and why should we take notice?
Unlike previous codes of practice on service charges, this one
has been published as a professional statement, meaning it contains
mandatory requirements or rules that a member or firm is expected
to adhere to. Only if there is a justifiable good reason for not
following it can it be avoided, and in that case the surveyor's
clients must be specifically informed in writing. As such it is
hoped that it will have the teeth that previous codes have perhaps
lacked, in order to tackle the lack of transparency that still
plagues this area of commercial property practice. It aims to
promote best practice, uniformity and fairness and to improve
professional standards.
