My wife is from Eastern Europe, Slovakia to be exact. This, a country where in the old days the outcome of your driving test was governed not so much by whether you ‘mirror, signal, manoeuvre’ but rather if you can remember your pin number when you stop at the ATM on route. You see, driving licences there are dished out on a somewhat ‘pay to play’ basis.
If you wanted planning permission it was simple. There were no pesky local authority hoops to jump through, no committee meetings nor speeches to bored councillors. No, you just slipped the Chairman of the Housing Department an envelope full of highly inflationary currency – and Igor’s your uncle. This is why Eastern Europe’s beautiful medieval cities and their cobbled streets and gothic churches are blighted by Peckham style tower blocks scattered across the landscape. Building Control? You’re having a laugh.
This corrupt and dangerous culture where a bribe and a blind-eye are the predominant fulcrum from which everything regulatory pivots, was a consequence of a lack of transparency, scant accountability and a regime whereby those in power did what they wanted – and profited from it. See also Columbia, Mexico, Ghana, Myanmar, Guatemala… places that top the list of the world’s most corrupt countries and where Derek Trotter, speaking of Peckham, would be heralded as the most honest of men, comparatively.
The Transparency International organisation defines corruption as ‘the misuse of public power for private benefit’ and I mention this just as an interesting aside and without any intended reference to the rest of this piece, of course. There’s no connection whatsoever between tin-pot countries with ‘creative’ finances and the two leading regulators of the UK property industry. None at all.
I recently wrote a column for this publication that called-out NAEA Propertymark as an organisation that plays fast and loose with members’ money – trousering £5m in cash reserves and now paying a cart-load to two top executives to run the place rather than one but with little if any real justification for doing so except for it being a case of jobs for the boys. Not corrupt as such, but certainly greedy and self-serving.
Yet lo and behold there is seemingly another entity in our sector that is also being probed over its finances and where murmurings of fraud and corruption are front and centre of recent revelations.
Swagger in from stage left, the RICS – the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.
According to the Sunday Times as the publication that has undertaken a protracted investigation into the goings on there, the alarm was raised whereby there was concern amongst stakeholders that all was not well with the professional body’s finances as a consequence of an independent audit by accountants BDO that had apparently flagged concerns over treasury management and susceptibility to ‘unidentified’ fraud and misappropriation. Kind of awkward for an organisation that has as its website description ‘…delivers confidence through respected global standards…’ and bangs on about ‘transparency’ and tackling ‘conflicts of interest’ and cites its ‘commitments to honesty and integrity’ as cornerstones of its very existence.
So, alarm duly raised, four RICS non-executive directors ask to see said BDO report, as is their right and as is part of their oversight role. But permission is refused by the RICS hierarchy and which doesn’t stink at all, does it? I mean, a so-called harbinger of transparency hiding a report that condemns its handling of its books so that no-one is able to scrutinise or debate whether a problem exists as a global leader in accountancy has said it does? No, all sounds 100% legit here, right?
This, an organisation that reaps £93m in revenue each year, mostly from members’ subs and which, curiously, lost nearly £5m last year and saw revenue reserves swing £9m the wrong way. That’s a lot of red ink. This is also an entity that spends £13m each year, 14% of its income, on promoting ‘influence and brand profile’. That’s a big PR budget, take it from me.
Hey, perhaps the ‘Royal’ label actually inspires delusions of entitlement and infallibility in the RICS hierarchy just as it does among members of the monarchy everywhere. After all, it insists on headquartering in Parliament Square and on having an in-house Michelin starred chef making its execs lunch each day and so it definitely has a suitably high opinion of itself – and a very expensive one.
My question to you, its loyal subjects, therefore is ‘Is this ok?’ Is it ok that the RICS are losing millions of pounds a year, are subject to potential misappropriation of funds but insist upon keeping damning audits under wraps whilst firing the whistle-blowers that are attempting to shine a light on scrutiny and accountability? And at the same time as holding themselves up as setting and upholding the highest standards of credibility, honesty and transparency; all whilst scoffing foie gras amidst the most opulent of surroundings?
Instead, the property industry will surely be forgiven for believing that these so-called watchdogs, the NAEA and RICS both, that are supposed to exist to give confidence and trust to public and sector alike, are rapidly forging Sir Philip Green like reputations.
Why, given their cash-guzzling history they may even have similar sized yachts to the pint-sized pension snaffling irritant.
I crave the introduction of proper oversight and regulation of estate agency. Barriers to entry, regular knowledge tests, accountability to public, a regime with teeth. RoPA cannot come quick enough in order to raise and maintain standards and improve professionalism and, ultimately, our industry’s reputation.
But future policing needs new blood and cannot be left to the current bloated, ineffective, discredited and opaque cabals that have for too long been allowed to look after themselves before their members and public. RICS members in particular surely cannot stand by any longer as enablers – complicit in ensuring that our profession’s reputation is dragged firmly down to that of a disgraced Arcadian tax avoiding leech. And corrupt, Bratislava driving examiners.
This article is the personal opinion of its author. Property Industry Eye has offered NAEA Propertymark and RICS an opportunity to respond.
Propertymark, RICS, Emoov. Remind me again, which one went down the pan? One always has to wonder if self-styled “experts” don’t have delusions of entitlement, too. That’s not to say I admire Propertymark or the RICS, rather that I put them in the same bracket as that quirky bloke who thinks he is important. Get over yourself, Russell. The rest of us have!
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Honestly, I hate seeing posts like this and typifies why the internet is a cesspool. You may not like Russell Quirk, although have probably never met him, but instead of contributing to the thread in a constructive way or just simply ignoring it if it carries no interest for you, instead you want to flag wave the villagers into chasing him out of town. Very sad.
Personally I found the article well written and actually quite eye opening, and in my experience of Propertymark for instance I’m still reeling at the fine of £50 for allegedly ignoring emails they sent.
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Well said Mr Q.
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Bypassed the article – just to write. Not Interested.
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This RICS this news doesn’t surprise me but angers me hugely! As a RICS member we have to abide by the strictest rules and a raft of bureaucracy, which is beyond a joke! The Clients accounts rules are severe as are the strict audits we have to have. The only reason I remain an RICS member is the need to be one, in order to do loan security / mortgage valutions. If you don’t do these there is generally no reason to be a member! The RICS is a joke, in the last couple of years they produced a document on “How to use the RICS logo” stating there would be sever penalties if the wrong RICS logo was used in the wrong place!! Is this really their biggest worry!! The RICS publications we receive as members give no meaningful industry insight, but are generally cosmopolitan woke / virtue signalling rubbish! I worked incredibly hard to become a RICS member, I do abide by the strictest procedures, but more and more they are becoming a laughing stock and the powers that be in the London HQ have no connection to grass routes practicing members! Alas, at least the RICS don’t make stupid claims of how a business is going to transform the industry, make millions and thus take peoples hard earned money on funding platforms before going bust….
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If you are valuers / surveyors look at joining RPSA much kinder and more relevant.
If an E.A. ditch them PRS is good alternative, the public are not aware of any of them so why deal with the stress.
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“I recently wrote a column for this publication that called-out NAEA Propertymark ………………… and now paying a cart-load to two top executives to run the place rather than one but with little if any real justification”
Perhaps the new CEO is not stupid – keeping Mark Haywood on to deal with the HMRC VAT investigation and subsequent fallout seems a very sensible move.
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Fair points by Headphones.
The irony is not lost .
£13m on PR and the majority of the public do not realise that many of their members are estate agents It’s left to people like Headphones to fill the void!
RICS fail to appear to address those issues which are at the cutting edge in today’s property industry .
They probably still have a schooner of Tio Pepe at 11.30 am as a sharpener .Probably still grumbling that those blighters at Gazump & Gazunder aren’t charging scale fees and even have the audacity to work at weekends
Remembering the day they failed young Simpkins in his TPC for referring to the RICS as an Institute rather than an Institution.
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I have been an RICS member for more years than I care to remember. I am also a member of their Irish partner SCSI.
I recently joined (dual membership) the competing Irish society IPAV who do their valuations under Blue Book (TEGOVA European Valuation Standards) rather than Red Book, but it is in essence the same from a lenders point of view.
The difference in attitude between the 2 organisations is astonishing; one seeming remote and entitled while the other seems much more of a “sleeves rolled up” type organisation. Certainly during the pandemic, IPAV has been much more direct in guidance, support and information and has liaised with our Regulator far more than SCSI. I and many like me, are seriously considering jumping ship on RICS/SCSI.
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Russell may be many things but at least he didn’t give us the EWS1 form. Take a bow RICS, you produced 2 sides of A4 which has heaped untold misery on tens of thousands of flat owners while those at the top of your organisation have been helping themselves to wholly unjustifiable salaries in the hundreds of thousands. Just follow the Sunday Times stories and it is plain that the RICS isn’t just incompetent, its corrupt as well.
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We really have to wonder who likes reading this twaddle!! I had to look up this Russell guy to see who exactly Russell is I have really no idea.. even though I have been about the block for the last 20 years myself and never really heard much about him. However the last year all Russell gives is so much negativity and bad mouthing most organisations that exist!..so I thought I would send some negativity his way!! SORRY.. I did have to laugh about his profile on Google stating that he was “the founder and CEO of one of the UK’s biggest and best known online estate agencies”… – what an overstatement, then it appears Russell is trying to become Richard Rawlings, Julian O’Dell and the famous Adam Walker with his wait for it Russell website…
Wake up, put some positivity in the property world, stop whinging and create some good in the property market if you dare to do something actually useful!!!…and the real reason I came on here wasn’t to write the above it was actually to say when you are writing an article Colombia is spelt Colombia not Columbia!! I rest my case!!…
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Finally an article that is written with the insight, style and eloquence that only a true professional of the given subject could master.
We were the only agents that operated by the code and proud NAEA members back in my day. We worked hard to promote this credential and instead ended up lugging this accolade around as none of the other agents in town were NAEA and had no code.
It was irrelevant to the public at that time and appears it, along with RICS will soon be confined to history. One can only hope Mr Q meets them there.
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