Residential retrofit standard
Published 19 March 2024
Effective from 31 October 2024
RICS’ first residential retrofit standard has been created in response to growing demand for retrofit services. It ensures that consumers carrying out retrofit upgrades to a residential property receive advice from skilled, regulated professionals, and protects the public interest by upholding high standards in a growing market.
This UK professional standard sets out a series of concise mandatory and recommended requirements and is effective from 31 October 2024, establishing benchmarks that guide RICS members in delivering residential retrofit services tailored to their clients' evolving needs.
The implementation of this standard represents an opportunity for RICS residential property surveyors to both upskill and embrace sustainable working practices in response to the growing demand. According to UK government statistics, residential retrofits need to increase to a rate of 500,000 per year by 2025, and one million per year by 2030 to meet the decarbonisation target. Hence, there is a market need for a standard that facilitates reliability and consistency and provides a foundation for professional indemnity.