The Great Landlord Exodus: A Surveyor’s View on the Renters’ Rights Act
As an RICS Surveyor working across the residential and commercial sector, I fully support the spirit of the Renters’ Rights Act (RRA) to improve standards and security for residential tenants. However, the reality of recent legislation—including the RRA and previous tax changes—is creating a profound and damaging shift in the market. My most frequent conversations […]
Let’s Not Repeat the Mistakes of 2007: Have Your Say on Home Buying Reform
As an RICS Surveyor operating across London and the South East, I see the financial and emotional damage caused by transaction inefficiency every single week. We frequently reach the point of survey, only for a critical issue—structural, legal, or environmental—to emerge, causing the sale to collapse. The current system relies on late-stage due diligence, which […]
A Foundation of Quality: Celebrating UK Housing Standards This World Habitat Day.
This World Habitat Day, kicking off Urban October, Conway Chartered Surveyors is taking a moment to recognise a significant privilege: the inherent security and quality afforded by robust UK housing standards. In our work across London and the UK, we often take for granted the incredible benefits of our built environment. While no system is […]
Secure Your Future: How a RICS Surveyor Protects Landlords and Tenants During Rent Review
As a RICS surveyors we play a crucial role in commercial lease negotiations and rent reviews by providing expert, impartial advice and acting as a skilled negotiator. Their value comes from our deep understanding of market data, legal frameworks, and technical property issues. Lease Negotiations We add significant value to a new commercial lease negotiation […]
A new Housing Secretary, same old targets. But is 1.5 million new homes truly achievable?
As a RICS surveyor, I welcome Steve Reed MP to his new role as Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government. His appointment comes at a critical time for our built environment, and I hope it signals a new, pragmatic approach to the housing crisis. We’ve all heard the ambition: 1.5 million new […]
Behind the scenes of quality craftsmanship
It was a pleasure to visit The Sash Window Workshop’s manufacturing plant in Bracknell this week, alongside Sukh from the Landmark Group. Seeing a successful, multi-million turnover UK company firsthand was inspiring, especially hearing about the journey from the Managing Director, Richard Dollar. The tour was a masterclass in craftsmanship and technology. We saw the […]
Flat Roofs, what to look out for?
Although difficult to determine, it is estimated that approximately 75% of properties in the UK have some form of flat roof, whether that is the whole of the property, (many of the high-rise flats and commercial blocks in city areas will have flat roofs, they are needed to house all of the air con, telecoms, […]
‘12-month workload expectations remain positive but slightly softer’, one of the headlines from the RICS UK Construction Monitor released in early May
Considering some of the economic shock waves the Global markets have had to sustain over the past weeks, I am encouraged that my industry is experiencing a positive outlook. This is supported by growth in infrastructure investment, with investments in sustainable energy projects driving those numbers as well as a continued upbeat sentiment in employment […]
Getting your buildings to become more sustainable.
As part of the Impact Report from the RICS for 2024, Sustainability and decarbonisation are top priorities. In my last post I mentioned driving recruitment from diverse backgrounds, an enormously important part of the future of surveying, but getting the built environment to produce less carbon must be one the most important. The RICS is […]
Putting your property into the right frame.
Have you considered taking equity out of your property? Equity release or retirement mortgages are becoming more commonplace for later-life lending and the market is beginning to open for Surveyors. So how is a surveyor going to help in that journey? There was a recent article in Mortgage Solutions online publication that reported on research […]
