RICS Rights of Light Professional Standard (2024)

At Century Associates, we are dedicated to upholding the professional standards set by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) in providing the highest standard of service to our clients. Our status as an RICS regulated firm provides our clients with confidence that we are suitably competent and held accountable for the advice that we give.

On 19th March 2024, the third edition Rights of Light Professional Standard for England and Wales was published by the RICS and the standard was effective from 1st June 2024. Prior to the publication of the new standard, the 2016 second edition made recommendations regarding the best practice of Rights of Light professionals but did not set out mandatory requirements. The new Professional Standard carries more weight than the previous guidance.

What is an RICS professional standard?

The RICS defines a professional standard document as:

“Set requirements or expectations for RICS members and regulated firms about how they provide services or the outcomes of their actions.

RICS professional standards are principles-based and focused on outcomes and good practice. Any requirements included set a baseline expectation for competent delivery or ethical behaviour.

They include practices and behaviours intended to protect clients and other stakeholders, as well as ensuring their reasonable expectations of ethics, integrity, technical competence and diligence are met. Members must comply with an RICS professional standard. They may include:

• mandatory requirements, which use the word ‘must’ and must be complied with, and/or

• recommended best practice, which uses the word ‘should’. It is recognised that there may be acceptable alternatives to best practice that achieve the same or a better outcome.

In regulatory or disciplinary proceedings, RICS will take into account relevant professional standards when deciding whether an RICS member or regulated firm acted appropriately and with reasonable competence. It is also likely that during any legal proceedings a judge, adjudicator or equivalent will take RICS professional standards into account.”

The document goes on to outline that the purpose of the Rights of Light Professional Standard is to assist RICS professionals to:

• Provide accurate and comprehensible information where misunderstanding is minimised;

• Ensure that facts are set out in a helpful manner in the case of Rights of Light disputes; and

• Safeguard the interests of clients (owners, investors, insurance providers and others) who rely on their advice.

It notes that the Professional Standard does not cover Daylight and Sunlight for planning, for which further information should be sought via the Building Research Establishment’s guidance.

What does the Rights of Light Professional Standard cover?

Areas of the subject covered by the document include:

• An update on the law of Rights of Light;

• The professional conduct expected of those advising on the subject, including professional competence, acting with integrity and conflicts of interest;

• The considerations necessary for a Rights of Light professional when taking on an instruction, including:

  • Scope of services;

  • Establishing the brief;

  • Client’s instructions;

  • Specific considerations that relate to the dominant or servient owner;

  • Part 36 offers under the Civil Procedure Rules;

  • Measurement (further information contained at Appendix B);

  • Preliminary reports;

  • Modelling and technical analysis; and

  • Analysis based on full measured survey (further information contained at Appendix A).

• The research necessary to inform the instruction (due diligence);

• The method of assessment, including discussion of the Waldram methodology and the meaning of “adequately lit”, with an emphasis on caution for Rights of Light surveyors when using the term “actionable”;

• Compensation and the calculation methods available;

• What should be included in Rights of Light agreements;

• The ways that Rights of Light can be lost, abandoned, extinguished or prevented, including Section 203 of the Housing and Planning Act (2016) and the Light Obstruction Notice process;

• The importance of seeking legal advice;

• The extent of Rights of Light insurance;

• Dispute resolution and a protocol for Rights of Light disputes (Rights of Light Protocol outlined in Appendix C); and

• The RICS Assessment of Professional Competence; a new, specialist route to chartership for Rights of Light professionals via a Land and Resources pathway.

Paragraph 3.1 summarises the importance of demonstrating competence, ethical behaviour and customer care for Rights of Light professionals:

“Where an RICS member is appointed as an RoL surveyor there should be a real benefit to the customer in terms of the requisite competence, ethical behaviour and customer care provided. RICS members must undertake their work with due skill, care, and diligence and with proper regard to the technical standards expected of them. The purpose of this professional standard is to assist RICS members in understanding those technical standards.”

How does this affect our practice?

The publication of the new Professional Standard has seen current industry professionals revisit their practices to ensure that they are acting in the manner that is expected of them by the RICS, and by the clients they advise. It also provides helpful advice for surveyors looking to specialise in the subject of Rights of Light in the future, with the introduction of the Rights of Light pathway to chartership.

Moving forward, the Professional Standard will offer comfort to clients that choosing an RICS regulated firm will ensure that their best interests are put first and that they can expect exemplary practice.

Please do not hesitate to contact us at enquiries@century-associates.co.uk, or on 07554 939 187, for advice.