RICS APC Ethics case studies

RICS APC Ethics · Put your knowledge to work in context.

The RICS APC (Assessment of Professional Competence) is the professional assessment route through which candidates work towards becoming chartered surveyors with RICS, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. It is aimed at people who are building a surveying career and who need to demonstrate professional competence before achieving chartered status, and it sits within RICS's broader careers and candidate-support framework alongside resources such as counsellor guidance, assessor guidance and the assessment platform. The RICS APC Ethics case studies are 5 cases and about 5,661 words.

The Undisclosed Referral Fee

You are a chartered surveyor employed as a senior asset manager by a regional property company. Over 18 months you have instructed a small building-surveying firm, Hartwell & Co, to carry out 27 condition surveys on your employer's industrial portfolio, with fees totalling about £140,000.

1,130 words, about 6 min 2

The Pressure to Sign Off

You are a building surveyor acting for a lender on a residential purchase. Your inspection found significant damp penetration to the rear elevation, a roof covering at the end of its serviceable life, and evidence of movement above two window openings.

1,146 words, about 6 min 3

The Former Client's Data

You have left a large consultancy and set up your own practice. Before leaving, you copied your contacts list, a database of 400 client contacts including names, emails, phone numbers and notes on fee sensitivity, and three template reports you had written during your employment.

1,034 words, about 5 min 4

The Conflict on a Valuation

You are a valuer instructed by a bank to provide a market valuation of a retail parade. The borrower is a long-standing client of your firm and has referred four instructions to you in the past two years, worth about £90,000 in fees.

1,170 words, about 6 min 5

The Whistleblower's Dilemma

You are a project manager on a £12m school refurbishment for a local authority. You discover that a subcontractor has been installing fire-stopping to a lower specification than the approved drawings, in areas that will be concealed behind new ceilings.

1,181 words, about 6 min