HONG KONG--(BUSINESS WIRE)--A new international measurement standard has been launched to offer more clarity and consistency to users of residential property services, whether they’re buying, selling, renting or investing, according to RICS (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors).
The International Property Measurement Standards (IPMS): Residential Buildings will provide a uniform global method to determine the size and dimension of floor space measures that can be used anywhere in the world.
Currently, the way residential property is measured can vary significantly from one market to the next. As a consequence, owners, occupiers and investors in domestic property are often left confused or misinformed when it comes to the reported floor space. This causes substantial issues when property is listed off-plan or bought by investors, but it has also led to disputes where rental calculations and service charges have relied on erroneous measurement information.
Published by a Coalition of more than 80 property organisations around the world, and drafted by an independent group of 18 experts from 11 countries, IPMS: Residential Buildings is the second in a series of global open-source standards aimed at creating a uniform approach to measuring buildings. Representing many hundreds of thousands of property professionals globally, the IPMS Coalition conducted a public consultation giving property professionals everywhere a chance to have their say on this landmark residential standard.
Evidence of the variance in residential measurements is also highlighted in a new RICS Research report "Residential Property Measurement Practice” (September 2016), written by Dr Lesley Hemphill and Dr Jasmine Lay Cheng Lim of Ulster University. The report investigated local measurement practice in locations across the world and compared the variance to using the new globally benchmarked IPMS: Residential Buildings. The difference in measurement for residential apartments, for example, varied by as much as 27% while measuring residential homes can vary by up to 58%.
Earlier this year, RICS Property Measurement, 1st edition, which incorporates IPMS: Office Buildings, became the mandated standard to use for all RICS Professionals who perform measurements con commercial properties. A number of governments, corporate occupiers and employers of property professionals are adopting IPMS to benchmark their property measurements around the world.
“We anticipate this international measurement standard to be adopted extensively globally. To facilitate global investors and occupiers, RICS is developing a free converter tool for its professionals to inter-convert IPMS measurement with local measurement codes. We urge all built environment practitioners to explore this new international benchmark and incorporate IPMS into their work,” Mr Clement Lau FRICS, Chair of RICS Hong Kong Board aspired.
Over the coming months RICS Professionals will be encouraged to share their expertise and shape the Professional Statement to include IPMS: Residential Buildings as an update to the Code of Measuring Practice.
About RICS
Confidence through Professional Standards
RICS promotes and enforces the highest professional qualifications and standards in the development and management of land, real estate, construction and infrastructure. Our name promises the consistent delivery of standards – bringing confidence to the markets we serve.
We accredit 125,000 professionals and any individual or firm registered with RICS is subject to our quality assurance. Their expertise covers property, asset valuation, real estate management; the development of infrastructure; and the management of natural resources, such as mining, farms and woodland. From environmental assessments and building controls to negotiating land rights in an emerging economy; if our members are involved the same professional standards and ethics apply.
We believe that standards underpin effective markets. With up to seventy per cent of the world’s wealth bound up in land and real estate, our sector is vital to economic development, helping to support stable, sustainable investment and growth around the globe.
With offices covering the major political and financial centres of the world, our market presence means we are ideally placed to influence policy and embed professional standards. We work at a cross-governmental level, delivering international standards that will support a safe and vibrant marketplace in land, real estate, construction and infrastructure, for the benefit of all.
We are proud of our reputation and work hard to protect it, so clients who work with an RICS professional can have confidence in the quality and ethics of the services they receive.
About RICS Asia
RICS Asia supports a network of over 20,000 individual professionals across the Asia region with an objective to help develop the land, property and construction markets in these countries, by introducing professional standards, best practice education and training. We promote RICS and our members as the natural advisors on all property matters. We also ensure that services and career development opportunities are provided to members.
RICS Asia region serves local member associations locating in Brunei, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, The People’s Republic of China, Hong Kong SAR, Taiwan and South Korea. It also has members working across the region such as Bangladesh, Bhutan, Burma/Myanmar, Cambodia, Indonesia, Kiribati, Laos PDR, Macao SAR, Mongolia, Nepal, North Korea, The Maldives, The Philippines, Timor East and Vietnam. For more information, please visit: rics.org.