Professional Ethics Decision Framework & Cs

Section 1

Purpose

Ethics sits at the core of RICS regulation. The five RICS Rules of Conduct (October 2021, effective 2 February 2022) translate the Royal Charter's "public benefit" purpose into day-to-day practitioner behaviour. The Ethics Decision Tree and the twelve published Case Studies (CS) together form the applied framework — supplying both a structured method for resolving ethical judgement calls and authoritative worked examples of how the Rules will be applied by RICS in investigations.

For QS firms, ethical decisions most commonly arise at appointment (conflicts, gifts/hospitality), in procurement and tendering (collusion, confidentiality), in valuations and certifications (independence, pressure), and in disputes (duty to the Client vs. duty to the tribunal).

A robust ethics framework is a compliance obligation, not an optional extra: RICS inspectors review ethics-related records at every Firm Regulation visit, and breaches are enforced through the Sanctions Policy (2019) ranging from recorded caution to removal from the register.

Section 2

Key Principles

The five Rules of Conduct 2021 — (1) Honesty and integrity; (2) Competence; (3) Good service; (4) Trust in the profession; (5) Respect — apply to all members and RICS-regulated firms worldwide.
The Ethics Decision Tree (RICS, 2022) sets a six-step method: (a) identify your duty; (b) gather the facts; (c) identify options; (d) test outcomes against the Rules; (e) decide; (f) record the reasoning.
RICS has published twelve Case Studies (2022–2023) covering situations such as conflicts of interest, confidential data breaches, client pressure on certifications, and gifts from contractors. These are authoritative guidance, not merely illustrative.
Rule 1 example behaviour 1.5 imposes a positive duty to act openly with regulators, including reporting serious misconduct by fellow members where reasonable grounds exist.
Sanctions under the RICS Sanctions Policy (2019) range from recorded caution and fines to suspension and removal from the register. Appeals are limited to procedural/evidential grounds and must be lodged within 28 days.
Contemporaneous recording of ethics decisions — in a project ethics log or firm Ethics Register — is essential evidence in any subsequent RICS audit or regulatory investigation.
Conflicts of Interest Global Professional Statement (1st edition, December 2017) remains the authoritative rulebook for Party Conflicts and Own Interest Conflicts across all sectors.

Section 3

Practical Application

Step 1

Maintain a firm-level Ethics Register — a single log covering declared conflicts, gifts, hospitality, and difficult judgement calls — accessible to all fee-earners.

Step 2

At each new appointment, run the six-step Ethics Decision Tree before accepting instructions. Record the outcome even if the conclusion is "no issue identified".

Step 3

Where a conflict of interest is identified, apply the Conflicts of Interest Professional Statement (2017) — obtain written informed consent from all affected parties, or decline the appointment.

Step 4

Log all gifts and hospitality of value exceeding £50 in the Ethics Register. Items over £100 require principal approval before acceptance.

Step 5

If a client instruction tests Rule 1 (integrity) — for example, pressure on a valuation or certification — document the instruction, your response, and the client's final decision in writing. Escalate to a principal if the instruction remains improper.

Step 6

Deliver annual Rules of Conduct training to all staff, including review of the twelve published Case Studies. Record attendance and content — RICS audit will request evidence.

Step 7

For any matter involving suspected misconduct by another RICS member, apply Rule 1.5 — assess whether there is a duty to report the conduct to RICS.

Section 4

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Treating "no conflict" as the default without running the Decision Tree — no audit trail is the worst possible position in a regulatory review.

Reference: RICS Ethics Decision Tree — https://www.rics.org/content/dam/ricsglobal/documents/standards/ethics_decision_tree2.pdf

Accepting verbal conflict-waivers from clients. Rule 3 and the 2017 Conflicts PS require written informed consent from all affected parties.

Reference: Firm template: Conflict of Interest Waiver Form.docx (in this folder's Templates sub-folder)

Gift and hospitality registers not maintained — consistently flagged at RICS Firm Regulation review visits and a frequent sanctions trigger.

Reference: Firm template: Gifts and Hospitality Register.docx / .xlsx (in this folder's Templates sub-folder)

Silence when a colleague or fellow RICS member appears to breach the Rules — Rule 1.5 creates a positive duty to report serious misconduct.
Treating the twelve Case Studies as illustrative only — they are authoritative guidance on how the Rules will be applied in sanctions decisions.

Reference: RICS Rules of Conduct Case Studies (12) — https://www.rics.org/profession-standards/rics-standards-and-guidance/conduct-competence/rules-of-conduct

Failing to escalate improper client pressure internally — isolated handling exposes the member to both regulatory and PII risk.

Section 5

APC Competency & Quick Reference

This topic is relevant to: Conduct Rules, Ethics and Professional Practice (Level 3 mandatory to Final Assessment); Client Care (Level 2); Conflict Avoidance, Management and Dispute Resolution Procedures (Level 2).

What are the five RICS Rules of Conduct 2021?

(1) Honesty and integrity; (2) Maintain professional competence; (3) Provide good service; (4) Act in a way that promotes trust in the profession; (5) Treat others with respect and encourage diversity and inclusion. Effective 2 February 2022, applicable to all members and RICS-regulated firms globally. Source: RICS Rules of Conduct (October 2021 edition) — https://www.rics.org/content/dam/ricsglobal/documents/standards/2021_roc_en.pdf

How does the Ethics Decision Tree work?

Six steps — identify your duty, gather the facts, identify options, test outcomes against the five Rules, decide, and record the reasoning. Used whenever an ethical judgement call arises. The record is the audit trail that RICS inspectors will expect to see. Source: RICS Ethics Decision Tree (2022) — https://www.rics.org/content/dam/ricsglobal/documents/standards/ethics_decision_tree2.pdf

When must you report another RICS member's misconduct?

Under Rule 1 example behaviour 1.5, members must act openly with regulators. Where a member has reasonable grounds to believe another RICS member has committed a serious breach of the Rules, there is a positive duty to report the matter to RICS — client confidentiality does not override this obligation. Source: RICS Rules of Conduct (October 2021), Rule 1 example behaviour 1.5 — https://www.rics.org/content/dam/ricsglobal/documents/standards/2021_roc_en.pdf

Section 6

Pre-Appointment Checklist

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Firm-wide Ethics Register established and accessible to all fee-earners

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Rules of Conduct 2021 training completed and logged within the last 12 months

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Conflicts check run and documented via the Decision Tree before each new appointment

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Gift and hospitality items over £50 logged; items over £100 approved by a principal

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Twelve published RICS Case Studies reviewed at the most recent ethics training session

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Written informed consent held on file for any conflict-of-interest waivers

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Process in place for reporting suspected RICS-member misconduct under Rule 1.5

Section 7

CPD Learning Outcomes

Identify each of the five Rules of Conduct 2021 and the situations in which they apply.
Apply the Ethics Decision Tree to resolve an ambiguous ethical scenario and produce a defensible audit record.
Demonstrate documentation practices that evidence ethics compliance to an RICS Firm Regulation audit.

Section 8