The Residential Property Surveyors Association (RPSA) is the U.K.’s only professional body whose sole function is to focus on the interests of specialist independent residential property surveyors. It is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to promoting the services of independent surveyors.

It exists to promote, protect and support the interests of its members, and to encourage the highest standards of service and quality to consumers. It also supports the development of the industry through training and education.

The RPSA works closely with other representative organisations and is complimentary to their own core activities. So, for example, whereas the RICS offers surveyors a regulatory framework, the RPSA puts more emphasis on the marketing and promotion of those surveyors’ services whilst fully supporting activities designed to raise quality standards throughout the industry. And beyond that we operate at a strategic level, and with all industry stakeholders, such as lenders, lawyers, insurers and panel managers, to ensure that consumers are treated fairly and given best advice in respect of surveys throughout their house buying experience.

Most members of the RPSA hold the Diploma of Home Inspection, or the Diploma in Residential Surveying & Valuation which are qualifications for surveyors who focus only on residential property. As such, members are ideally placed to help home buyers when making some of the most important decisions of their lives. The RPSA also welcomes membership from the existing Chartered Surveyor community, who can benefit from the effective industrywide promotional activities we carry out.

For most property types, members will offer their clients a Home Condition Survey which provides a thorough and complete inspection (typically taking around 3 hours for a standard three bedroom semi-detached property) of the house, with a report written in jargon-free plain English and supported with multiple photographs to highlight features or defects. The surveyor follows a trail of suspicion to identify the cause of any defects, as far as can be determined, to ensure that the report provides as much useful information as possible.

The Home Condition Survey is supported by a comprehensive quality assurance process involving regular auditing of surveyors work, and is the only survey of its type to have indemnity insurance linked directly to the survey, rather than to the individual surveyor. This gives a greater level of security to the client by protecting the survey no matter what happens to the surveyor in the future.

Members of the RPSA may sometimes offer other survey products, such as full Building Surveys, which are carried out to the rigorous standards specified by RICS, and which may be more appropriate, particularly for unusual or historic properties. The focus for RPSA members is to provide their clients with a high quality, value for money and reliable service and to support them through what is often a stressful and confusing process. As Chairman of the RPSA, I believe that our members offer home buyers the best products and the best service in the market today. I want to ensure that as many buyers as possible get the benefit of good professional advice at competitive fees.

Alan Milstein
Chairman - Residential Property Surveyors Association

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