Chartered Surveyor is the description (protected by

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

in many countries) of Professional ''Members'' and ''Fellows'' of the

Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) is a global professional body for surveyors, founded in London in 1868. It works at a cross-governmental level, and aims to promote and enforce the highest international standards in the val ...

(RICS) entitled to use the designation (and a number of variations such as "

Chartered Building Surveyor A Chartered Building Surveyor is a type of Chartered Surveyor involved in all aspects of property and construction, from supervising large mixed-use developments to planning domestic extensions. Building surveying is one of the widest areas of surve ...

" or " Chartered Quantity Surveyor" or "Chartered Civil Engineering Surveyor" depending on their field of expertise) in the (British)

Commonwealth of Nations The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the Co ...

and

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. ''Chartered'' originates from the

Royal Charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, bu ...

granted to the world's first professional body of surveyors. Chartered Surveyors are entitled to use "MRICS" or "FRICS" after their names as appropriate. Chartered Surveyors are highly trained and experienced

property Property is a system of rights that gives people legal control of valuable things, and also refers to the valuable things themselves. Depending on the nature of the property, an owner of property may have the right to consume, alter, share, r ...

professionals. Surveyors offer impartial, specialist advice on a variety of property related issues and the services which they provide are diverse. Chartered Surveyors work in all fields of property and building consultancy. At the most basic level, their duties include valuing property and undertaking structural surveys of buildings. They also provide expert consultancy advice in property,

construction Construction is a general term meaning the art and science to form objects, systems, or organizations,"Construction" def. 1.a. 1.b. and 1.c. ''Oxford English Dictionary'' Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0) Oxford University Press 2009 and com ...

and related environmental issues.

United Kingdom

A Chartered surveyor in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

is a

surveyor Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the terrestrial two-dimensional or three-dimensional positions of points and the distances and angles between them. A land surveying professional is ca ...

who is a member of the

("RICS"). Until the end of the 20th century, some members were members of the ISVA ("Incorporated Society of Valuers and Auctioneers"), but this organisation merged into the RICS in 1999. In the reforms of the RICS in the 1990s, the former divisional structure of the institution was abolished and the use of the alternative designations retained solely for the use of members to retain clarification when informing clients of specialist areas of expertise. Despite the attempt to unify the profession under one title chartered surveyor there is very little in common across the whole range of disciplines that are within the grasp of all members. The core membership is based in the construction profession, and another large sector deal with property ownership and management. Beyond these cores there are marine, land, rural and antiques specialists. Chartered surveyors in the core of the profession may offer mortgage valuations, homebuyer's survey and valuations, full building surveys, building surveyors' services, quantity surveying, land surveying, auctioneering, estate management and other forms of survey and building-related advice. It is not usual for an individual member to have expertise in several areas, and hence partnerships or companies are established to create general practices able to offer a wider spectrum of surveying services. Heathrow Before World War II Map

Building surveying

As well as surveying, building surveyors in the UK give advice on design, construction, maintenance and repair. They may also assess damage or dilapidations on behalf of an

insurance company Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to hedge ...

. A Chartered Surveyor is one who attains MRICS professional membership via the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) by undergoing rigorous training and attaining key work experience across various technical competencies set out by the RICS who then in turn test, scrutinise, examine and assess such candidates before awarding them Chartered status (MRICS). It is therefore accurate to say that all Chartered Surveyors can be qualified building surveyors, but not all qualified building surveyors are necessarily Chartered Surveyors.

Quantity surveying

Quantity surveyors work for private and commercial clients, main contractors and

subcontractor A subcontractor is an individual or (in many cases) a business that signs a contract to perform part or all of the obligations of another's contract. Put simply the role of a subcontractor is to execute the job they are hired by the contractor f ...

s in the

industry. Their function is management of the commercial interfaces of construction: writing, negotiating, awarding and administering contracts, including variations and claims arising during the performance of a contract; cost control and

cost engineering Cost engineering is "the engineering practice devoted to the management of project cost, involving such activities as estimating, cost control, cost forecasting, investment appraisal and risk analysis". "Cost Engineers budget, plan and monitor inve ...

, i.e. to document and estimate costs, progress, and risks. In the UK, not all quantity surveyors are necessarily chartered surveyors; some may be chartered through the Chartered Institute of Building ("CIOB").Salford University
/ref> Albeit, the title of 'Chartered Quantity Surveyor' can only be used by Members of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. Additional duties may include performing feasibility studies, preparing tenders, procuring materials, managing subcontractors, and even advice on taxation or building management. Surveyors may also be involved in dispute resolution. Quantity surveyors sometimes act as

project manager A project manager is a professional in the field of project management. Project managers have the responsibility of the planning, procurement and execution of a project, in any undertaking that has a defined scope, defined start and a defined f ...

s of a construction site.

Land surveying

Essentially, land surveying is making accurate maps and plans.Our property
website Land surveying encompasses

cadastral surveying Cadastral surveying is the sub-field of cadastre and surveying that specialises in the establishment and re-establishment of real property boundaries. It involves the physical delineation of property boundaries and determination of dimensions, a ...

cartography Cartography (; from grc, χάρτης , "papyrus, sheet of paper, map"; and , "write") is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an im ...

, engineering surveying,

hydrographic surveying Hydrographic survey is the science of measurement and description of features which affect maritime navigation, marine construction, dredging, Hydrocarbon exploration, offshore oil exploration/offshore oil drilling and related activities. Str ...

and

oceanographic surveying Oceanography (), also known as oceanology and ocean science, is the scientific study of the oceans. It is an Earth science, which covers a wide range of topics, including ecosystem dynamics; ocean currents, waves, and geophysical fluid dynamic ...

. Land surveyors may be accredited by the RICS, Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB), or the

Chartered Institution of Civil Engineering Surveyors The Chartered Institution of Civil Engineering Surveyors or CICES is a professional association in the field of civil engineering surveying. CICES is recognised as a leading chartered professional body for civil engineering surveyors. CICES memb ...

(CICES), but only RICS members can call themselves "chartered land surveyors". Members and Fellows of CICES are eligible to attain Chartered Engineer status through the

Engineering Council The Engineering Council (formerly Engineering Council UK; colloquially known as EngC) is the UK's regulatory authority for registration of Chartered and Incorporated engineers and engineering technician, holding a register of these and providing ...

Auctioneering

Firms of chartered surveyors sometimes act in property auctions.

Other aspects of surveying practice

As well as the services mentioned above, UK chartered surveyors may offer advice in boundary disputes, business rates,

compulsory purchase Compulsion may refer to: * Compulsive behavior, a psychological condition in which a person does a behavior compulsively, having an overwhelming feeling that they must do so. * Obsessive–compulsive disorder, a mental disorder characterized by i ...

matters and

party wall A party wall (occasionally parti-wall or parting wall, also known as common wall or as a demising wall) is a dividing partition between two adjoining buildings that is shared by the occupants of each residence or business. Typically, the builder ...

s. ("Party walls" in the UK are walls on your property shared with your neighbours.)

Employers

The largest employer of Chartered Surveyors is

Turner & Townsend Turner & Townsend (officially Turner & Townsend Partners LLP) is a multinational professional services company headquartered in Leeds, United Kingdom specialising in programme management, project management, cost management and consulting across ...

Becoming a Chartered Surveyor

In order to become a Chartered Surveyor, trainees must undertake a degree accredited by the RICS and pass the Assessment of Professional Competence. Occasionally RICS withdraws accreditation of degree courses.

Notable Chartered Surveyors

* Andy Irvine - retired rugby union footballer who played for Scotland national rugby union team, Scotland is a Chartered Valuation Surveyor. *Gavin Kerr - retired rugby union footballer who played prop for Scotland national rugby union team, Scotland is a Chartered Building Surveyor. *Paul Morrell - a Chartered Quantity Surveyor. *Tim Wonnacott is a Chartered Valuation Surveyor and television presenter. *Marianne Suhr - writer, expert on historic buildings and co-presenter of the television series ''Restoration (TV series), Restoration'' is a Chartered Building Surveyor. *Ewen Cameron, Baron Cameron of Dillington - a landowner and life peer who sits as a crossbench member of the House of Lords. *Philip Serrell - Television presenter, chartered valuation surveyor and racing driver.

References

{{Construction overview Real estate valuation Quantity surveyors, Mortgage industry of the United Kingdom Property law of the United Kingdom Chartered Surveyors,