Category:Surveyors - French Chartered

THERE ARE CHARTERED BUILDING SURVEYORS IN FRANCE!

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A lot of estate agents in France will say that "we don't do surveys here in France". Some will say there are no surveyors and/or they will suggest to you that a local builder or architect have a look at the premises for you.

Then of course there is the problem that any person may call themself a 'Surveyor' or 'Building Surveyor' and may offer a 'Surveying Service'.

Many exploit this free use of the word surveyor and mislead the public - and it is often at the expense of those purchasing a French property. To make things worse, there are several 'surveying organisations' operating in France claiming that they are members of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).

With technology as it is, the crooks see ways of taking advantage and there are a fair few websites (aimed at conning those who need a surveyor in France) that fraudulently use the RICS logo and describe the business proprietors as RICS members. Before engaging any 'RICS' member check direct with the RICS (email: ) and ask the RICS to verify the RICS membership number (that and RICS member must give to you if you ask them).

Then there are architects, semi-retired construction/property industry workers, carpenters, jobbing builders and even farmers all offering 'surveying services' in France so beware of comments such as "35 years of experience" because it may not be in building surveying!

These individuals may, of course, be knowledgeable about buildings and their problems. However, the chances are that many will have limited or no formal/accredited building surveying training and they will not have been assessed on their building surveying knowledge by a professional body specialising in building surveying.

SO HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT THE SURVEYOR IS APPROPRIATELY QUALIFIED?

Fortunately, not everyone may use the term 'Chartered Building Surveyor', as it is a title legally protected by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

Whilst there is no professional French institution quite like the RICS, the good news is that there are a number of bi-lingual, specialist RICS registered Chartered Building Surveyors resident and practicing in France.

As mentioned above, get their RICS number and verify it with the RICS. Also ask the RICS if they are Chartered Building Surveyors (see below). Check that they have a French telephone number and address. Speak to them in French! Ask them for their SIRET number and for their Code APE (these confirm they are a business registered in France and what type of business respectively - the French authorities designate Chartered Building Surveyors in the Code APE 742C - Engineers).

CHARTERED SURVEYOR OR CHARTERED BUILDING SURVEYOR - THE DIFFERENCE

Chartered Building Surveyors are fundamentally different from someone who calls themselves a 'surveyor' or a 'Chartered surveyor'.

There are just over 120,000 Chartered Surveyors worldwide and there are only about 9,000 with the specialist 'Chartered Building Surveyor' designation.

You will find RICS members involved in the construction of major public buildings, the management of agricultural estates, mine and waste management, surveying the sea bed, managing large property portfolios or auctioning antiques and much, much more!

Because of this diversity there are numerous specialist 'designations' of surveyors. RICS surveyor 'designations' must not be confused with the RICS 'Faculties'. The 'faculties' are more like RICS interest groups (see below).

Obviously managing an agricultural estate or surveying the sea bed is somewhat different to inspecting and advising on the structure and fabric of buildings and the RICS surveyor 'designations' reflect this.

Clearly a Chartered Building Surveyor should be appropriately qualified, trained and experienced and it is for this reason that the RICS rules protect the use of the title 'Chartered Building Surveyor'.

Unlike many other Chartered Surveyors and architects, Chartered Building Surveyors are specifically trained and qualified to inspect and report on buildings.

Chartered Building Surveyors are schooled in building pathology, building defect analysis and they have studied the mechanisms of failure; it is this specialist knowledge which sets them apart from many other Chartered Surveyors and other building professionals.

Before being able to call themselves a 'Chartered Building Surveyor' certain criteria have to be met. A surveyor must have...

...an appropriate RICS accredited university degree/diploma AND...

...satisfied the RICS Building Surveying Faculty Board that she/he has appropriate experience and has practiced its core (building surveying) competencies (over a period of years under professional supervision) AND...

...passed the RICS Building Surveying Faculty's exacting examination known as The Assessment of Professional Competence. Only when these stringent criteria have been met will a surveyor then be permitted to use the designation 'Chartered Building Surveyor'.

ABOUT THE RICS BUILDING SURVEYING FACULTY

There are many faculties within the RICS organisation ( such as Arts & antiques, Commercial property, Facilities management, Management consultancy, Project management, Rural, Building surveying, Environment, Machinery & business assets, Planning & development, Residential property, Building control, Dispute resolution, Geomatics, Minerals & waste management and Quantity Surveying & Construction Valuation).

Perhaps rather confusingly for the public, any student, technical or corporate member of the RICS may be a member of any of the numerous faculties listed above.

Membership of the Building Surveying Faculty does not mean that the person is a Chartered Building Surveyor nor that they are competent to undertake building surveys. There are nearly 28,000 Building Surveying Faculty members and only about 9,000 Chartered Building Surveyors.

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