VALUER REGISTRATION SCHEME - Local authority valuers and the valuer registration scheme

Donna Best

Donna has some 30 years of experience in the property industry, both in private practice and local government. Her experience is currently being utilised within the profession support and assurance (valuation) team at RICS where her role is to support, coach and regulate Registered Valuers into compliance with RICS professional rules and standards.

For colleagues involved in valuation, Donna gives you some advice on the VRS and registration scheme options.

Are you a Registered Valuer working within a local authority with responsibility for undertaking Red Book valuations? If yes, then this article may be of interest to you.

When the Valuer Registration Scheme (VRS) first came into effect, I was working in a local authority and like so many, assumed that we needed to register the council as a registered firm. After a year working at RICS, it has become clear that this assumption was incorrect. I have drafted this article to assist anyone else who may be under this misapprehension.

Does Valuer Registration apply to me?

If you are a member of RICS and undertake Red Book valuations, then you must also register as an individual under the RICS Valuers Registration Scheme.

Where there are Registered Valuers working for a local authority, does the local authority need to become a ‘registered firm’?

Not necessarily. Most councils fall into the category of Not for Profit Sponsoring Non-Regulated Organisations (SPONROs). This applies to local authorities that do not offer valuation services to fee paying clients. These authorities can register with RICS as SPONRO firms and ‘sponsor’ their Registered Valuers employees. They are not RICS Regulated firms.

What are the benefits of being a Sponsoring Non-Regulated Organisation?

• Payment of sponsored valuer registration subscriptions and application fees directly to RICS on behalf of Registered Valuer employees

• The same discounted fee structure offered to RICS Regulated Firms, reducing the overall cost of registering multiple valuers.

What are the obligations of being a Sponsoring Non-Regulated Organisation?

Sponsoring Non-Regulated Organisations are required to provide any information which is ‘reasonably requested’ by RICS to support registration applications and ongoing regulatory compliance monitoring on behalf of sponsored valuers.

This translates to the submission of an annual application form. Although the title of the form is ‘Application for Firm Registration,’ it does not mean a ‘Registered Firm’ in the regulatory scheme sense.

This form requires the follow information:

• A regulatory contact, usually one of the Registered Valuers or RICS members working for the authority

• The name and address of the authority

• Details of the council’s PII underwriters. If the authority says that that the corporate insurance is adequate and appropriate for the work undertaken by their valuers, that will be sufficient to meet requirements. The insurance policy does not have to comply with RICS requirements

• Details of the complaints handling procedure. Here, the corporate arrangements will be deemed sufficient. In practice, most authorities will refer to the Local Government Ombudsman for local and central government departments only.

How do I register my authority as a SPONRO?

RICS professionals can register via your account here Your account - RICS. On the regulation tab, apply for firm regulation and the option will be given to be a SPONRO. As part of the registration process the applicant will be asked to select the number of Registered Valuers they wish to sponsor.

Once registration is complete, the applicant can access a unique Sponsorship Code which must be provided to all sponsored individuals. The Sponsorship Code can be used multiple times based on the number of sponsorships requested during the application process. Additional sponsorships can be purchased as required.

Sponsored Registered Valuers will need to enter the Sponsorship Code as part of their individual registration application and at each annual renewal.

A new Sponsorship Code will be provided to each Sponsoring Non-Regulated Organisation as part of the registration renewal process each year. It is important that renewal is completed on time to ensure valid Sponsorship Codes are available to the sponsored Registered Valuers.

For further information, please see Guide to Sponsoring Non-Regulated Organisations

What am I required to do as an Individual Registered Valuer?

Each individual Registered Valuer working within a local authority needs to complete an annual renewal form application for RICS Valuer Registration. This form requires the follow information:

• The firm sponsorship code

• Professional indemnity arrangements - here, for the Scheme purposes, the council’s blanket policy will usually suffice where the valuer is only providing valuation advice for the use of the authority

• Complaints handling procedures - the scheme rules require that individual Register Valuers need to have an appropriate complaints handling procedure with alternative dispute provision. However, if the valuer is only providing valuation advice for the use of the authority, their client, then it would be deemed appropriate that a separate complaints handling procedure would not be required in addition to the council’s corporate procedures

• Valuer Registration (Individuals) Answers - information relating to the valuation work undertaken by the valuer over the previous 12 months

• Eligibility Conditions - confirmation from the valuer that they have achieved the required valuation competency requirements or have jointed through an approved direct entry route.

Where can I get further information?

For further information, please contact regulation@rics.org.