Document downloads - Boundary matters
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Use of GNSS in land surveying and mapping
Published: May 2023
Effective from: 18 June 2023
This standard forms part of a series of specifications and guidelines intended to assist those connected with the requesting, purchasing and production of surveys and mapping material at all scales, by spreading good practice and seeking to avoid duplication of effort.
This document has been written primarily to provide:
- the surveyor with a set of practical operational guidelines, which can be used when undertaking any survey that includes GNSS techniques; sufficient information is also included to allow the surveyor to generate a set of GNSS survey procedures applicable to a survey task required by the client, and
- the client, or purchaser of spatial information generated from a GNSS survey, with sufficient information to write a task-specific specification for a GNSS survey, which sets out the accuracy requirements, products and a scope of work from which the surveyor can accurately produce a bid for the survey. -
Surveyors acting as expert witnesses
Published April 2014
Effective from 2 July 2014
Reissued February 2023
Surveyors acting as expert witnesses, 4th edition, applies to surveyors when providing expert evidence, whether oral or written, before a range of courts and tribunals in the UK,
The practice statement sets out the mandatory duties of a surveyor in providing evidence, while the guidance note provides further information on good practice, including: the need for clear instructions and terms of engagement; fees; guidance on what to do in situations of conflict of interest; an outline of the written report format; clarification of the differences between the roles of expert witness and advocate; and the immunity of the expert witness.
A stand-alone electronic version of this practice statement (without the guidance note) is also available for potential use with clients in connection with the particular requirement of PS 3.3.
This document was amended in February 2023 to remove wording from PS10 and GN19 which could be read as prohibiting expert witnesses from taking instructions from solicitors who are engaged on a conditional fee, even if the expert is instructed on an unconditional fee basis. This was not the intention of RICS and has therefore been amended for clarity. -
Boundaries: procedures for boundary identification, demarcation and dispute resolution
Published February 2021
Effective from 1 May 2021
Reissued October 2022
Disputes about boundaries, and related neighbour disputes, are never far from the news and have been increasing steadily during the COVID-19 period in England and Wales. Boundary disputes can be costly, traumatic and time-consuming for all concerned; they can end up in expensive legal cases, leave a lingering mistrust and ill-feeling between neighbours, result in delayed development and additional costs, and cause confusion between professionals. They never fail to light up the letter pages of the tabloids, and the constituency postbags of MPs.
It is critical that RICS members, and other professionals working within this sector, are up to date with the latest best practice advice and guidance. This new 4th edition encompasses all that was best from the seminal 3rd edition, with a new emphasis on mediation, and has been reformatted and edited to include several new and expanded sections.
This document was reissued in October 2022 as a professional standard. It had previously been published in February 2021 as a guidance note. The regulatory requirements remain the same and no material changes have been made to the document. -
Insights into real estate registration and cadastre
Published 1 November 2021
Reissued October 2022
Effective land administration and real estate registration is a key governance, social justice and economic requisite for any developed or developing country. It forms the basis of any functioning land and property market and, when ineffective (or non-existent), is the source of almost insurmountable problems, including a lack of land and property taxation revenue, non-functioning land/property markets, insecure tenure (and all that entails, including the inability to issue mortgages or invest), decreased public health intervention, lower infrastructure development, increased conflicts and disputes, and much more besides.
So how does a nation move towards a functioning real estate and cadastral system that benefits the public and enables economic development? After all, over 70% of global land and property is unregistered – putting a brake on any hope of economic and social development in many nations.
This practice information focuses less on the academic and more on the practical and technical needs of any land initiative, from tech innovation to governance and capacity-building and the role of licensed surveyors. The expert authors draw on their own professional experience during decades of working at the sharp end of land administration and registration practice in numerous countries.
This document was reissued in October 2022 as practice information. It had previously been published in November 2021 as an insight paper entitled Real estate registration and cadastre. No material changes have been made to the document.