Standards and Ethics
Standards and Ethics tests how you apply the NZIV Code of Ethics, the Valuers Act 1948 registration regime and professional standards to real instructions. It examines independence, objectivity, confidentiality, competence, conflicts of interest and the duty not to mislead.
Core duties
A registered valuer must act with integrity and professional competence, disclose conflicts, keep client information confidential and decline work outside competence. Independence means the fee, the client relationship or a future transaction must not influence the opinion. A contingent fee based on the valuation outcome is incompatible with objective evidence. Where an instruction would mislead a lender or court, the valuer must correct it or withdraw.
Worked example
A borrower asks you to value a townhouse at $1.1 million so finance can be approved; your comparable evidence indicates $940,000. You should not adopt the requested figure. Inspect, analyse the best three sales, state the valuation date and explain adjustments. If the client insists on a predetermined figure, decline or withdraw and retain a file note. The reasoned $940,000 opinion is defensible; a negotiated figure is not.
Traps
- Accepting an engagement where you have a direct financial interest in the outcome.
- Relying on client-supplied rent rolls without checking leases.
- Omitting limiting conditions that materially affect the opinion.
- Discussing a client's affairs without authority.
- Failing to record advice and instructions.