Recent publications

Citation

(2009), "Recent publications", Structural Survey, Vol. 27 No. 5. https://doi.org/10.1108/ss.2009.11027eae.001

Recent publications

Article Type: Recent publications From: Structural Survey, Volume 27, Issue 5

Doing Well by Doing Good? An analysis of the financial performance of green office buildings in the USA

A recently published RICS research report analyses the financial performance of “green” office buildings in the USA. Carried out by Piet Eichholtz and Nils Kok of the University of Maastricht and John Quigley of the University of California, Berkeley, this report seeks to identify the premium in rental and capital values that accrue to “green” buildings. The full report can be found at: www.rics.org/RICSWEB/getpage.aspx?p=EftHTXEDY0SW9VO_UVCwsg

Building Services Handbook

Written by Hall and Greeno this 5th edition summarises the application of all common elements of building services practice, technique and procedure, to provide an essential information resource for students as well as practitioners working in building services, building management and the facilities administration and maintenance sectors of the construction industry. Information is presented in the highly illustrated and accessible style of the best-selling companion title Building Construction Handbook. This new edition contains extended information on water system components, control systems for hot water and heating, ventilation and air conditioning, drainage, gas appliance flues and further examples of design calculations. It has been revised and expanded to take into account recent amendments to the Building Regulations Approved Documents and guidance from British and European Standards. Online lecture facilities include PowerPoint slides illustrating a selection of services areas, providing key diagrams for use with presentations and handouts. It is published by Butterworth Heinemann in paperback (ISBN: 9781856176262) at £21.99.

Green design doesn’t have to cost the earth

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors in Scotland (RICS Scotland) has undertaken research on the life cycle costing of sustainable design with the aim of establishing a method to determine the real cost of going green. The research was undertaken by Glasgow Caledonian University, with additional funding provided by the RICS Education Trust, in a bid to evolve a standardised method of life cycle costing the sustainable design of buildings. The research concluded that green design solutions do not necessarily imply greater cost. In fact, it is a gross oversimplification to state that a sustainable design will add 10 per cent or 15 per cent to the cost of the building, as this theory is based on how much it would cost to modify a given building design to add for example a convection powered ventilation system. The research may be viewed at: www.rics.org/NR/rdonlyres/45EB0658-EE89-4848-BF76-A1F412BE2B8B/0/Lifecyclecostingofsustainabledesign.pdf

The New Planning System – Questions and Answers

Written by Ian Butter and published by RICS Books (ISBN: 9781842194713) at £29.99 this new book has collated hundreds of real-life FAQs, answering each in his jovial, down-to-earth style. The author covers many of the questions likely to be asked about today’s planning world, including:

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  What changes have been made to permitted development rights?

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  What will happen to Local Plans?

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  Why is the new validation process required?

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  Should I appeal?

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  What constitutes a “significant effect on the environment”?

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  What are Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects?

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  Should I CLUED or CLOPUD?

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  How has the Planning Act 2008 altered the process? and

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  What about the future?

Town Planning 2009 – A Practical Guide

All parts of planning law are considered by this all-in-one guide to the Planning Act 2008. The Planning Act came into force at the end of 2008, marking the culmination of a series of wide-ranging reforms which are dramatically changing the way planners work. Town Planning 2009 – A Practical Guide is the essential guide to the new planning system. It explains the practical implications of the key areas of change: application fees; permitted development rights; standard planning applications; design and access statements; and the new Planning Act 2008. The guide is written by Alan Gunne-Jones, published in paperback by RICS Books (ISBN: 9781842194317) and priced at £45.00 or at £22.50; €26.23; US$37.15; ¥3526.96 for single orders by students.

Valuing Heritage Assets – Final Report

This report summarises the results of the research carried out by Kingston University on behalf of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and HM Treasury. This unique funding partnership reflects the importance of heritage assets from both a valuation perspective and also a public sector financial reporting perspective. The report seeks to explore issues surrounding the valuation of assets within the balance sheets of both public and private sector organisations. It does not consider the valuation of assets for other purposes, except insofar as these might relate to asset valuations. To download the report go to: www.rics.org/NR/rdonlyres/BA9C3A3B-A2D5-4AE8-825F-4506DAD9A2E9/0/543_Valuing_HeritageFinalversion.pdf

Understanding Subsidence, Heave and Landslip

The RICS have posted a series of guides to common property problems on their website for members of the public to access. Alan Cripps, Acting Director of Built Environment at RICS, offers advice on how to spot potential issues with these soil related structural problems. The guide can be viewed at: www.rics.org/Services/Usefulguides/Consumerguides/subsidence.htm

RICS guidance note: the valuation of individual new-build homes

All aspects of the increasingly challenging process of valuing new-build homes have been drawn together for the first time and published as a guidance note, which came into effect on 1 May 2009. It does not modify the current Red Book requirements in UK Appendix 3.2 and adopts the same definition for new-build as the Disclosure of Incentives Form, which was incorporated into the new-build valuation process in 2008. The guidance note starts from first principles and includes much which will be familiar to many valuers but it is intended to be of relevance to recently qualified valuers as well as experienced practitioners. It stresses the need to differentiate between the “new build premium” and those value-adding factors which are intrinsic to a new property and which will remain as value-added items when the home is sold after having been lived in. The guidance note warns against the selective use of comparable evidence to simply substantiate a purchase price or, alternatively, of simply valuing in line with the lowest comparable in the range of available market evidence. It considers the context of valuations in the wider economic environment but it is more than a simple knee-jerk reaction to the recent upheavals, emphasising that this is guidance for all market conditions, equally relevant in the heady days of a boom or the gloomy days of a recession. The note may be accessed at: www.rics.org/NR/rdonlyres/A805B4BA-D727-49F9-B2E3-C299E04D7703/0/Valuationofindividualnewbuildhomesweb.pdf

5th Edition of the Dilapidations RICS Guidance Note

The fifth edition of the Dilapidations RICS Guidance Note includes all the latest information required to undertake a successful schedule of dilapidations. This essential guidance includes direction on: best practice in dilapidations instructions; constraints on surveyors; differing claims at the end of and during the term; types of schedule and problem areas; damages and other remedies; the correct layout and content of the schedule; effective dialogue between parties; and resolving disputes.

New edition ACE Agreements

New standard appointment agreements for consultants and engineers, the ACE Agreements 2009 editions have been issued. The new range of ACE Agreements, packaged in a new easy-to-use tear-off form format and sold in packs of five, have been developed following extensive discussions and collaboration with legal experts and users of the existing agreements, which have been the industry standard for decades. The original agreements have been updated and simplified with a focus on user-friendliness, offering greater versatility for both clients and consultants, who will be able to tailor-make the services to match the requirements of a project. The new 2009 ACE Agreements can be purchased at: www.aceagreements.co.uk or by calling ACE on: +44 (0) 20 7222 6557.

World class places: The Government’s strategy for improving quality of place

The way places and buildings are planned, designed and looked after matters to all of us in countless ways. The built environment can be a source of everyday joy or everyday misery. Its quality is an important influence on crime, health, community cohesion and prosperity. It has a major impact on wildlife and climate change. The Government is committed to improving the places where we live, whether they be villages or large cities. This strategy lays out why and how quality of place matters and the practical steps the Government will be taking to build on the achievements of recent years and do more to create prosperous, attractive, distinctive, inclusive and sustainable world class places. This publication is only available online at: www.communities.gov.uk/publications/planningandbuilding/worldclassplaces

Guidance on Sustainability for the Engineering Profession

A key milestone in the development of the profession, this guidance provides coherent direction for engineers, and provides a public declaration of the profession’s commitment to sustainability through engineering. The Sustainability Guidance, which includes six principles to guide and motivate engineers to bring about sustainable development in their work can be downloaded from: www.engc.org.uk/sustainability

Asbestos Guidance Note

This 2nd edition of the RICS guidance note on asbestos has been published. The guidance note provides the practical guidance needed on this widespread and hazardous material. Whether conducting a survey or giving advice, the surveyor must be aware of their obligations, the regulatory requirements in force and the penalties for non-compliance. Coverage includes: Responsibilities of surveyors and others; the implications for each specific RICS discipline; types and uses of asbestos; conducting an asbestos inspection; asbestos removal; drawing up an asbestos management plan; professional indemnity insurance; health issues; and legal issues. Published by RICS Books (ISBN: 9781842194508) and priced at £25.00.

Building maintenance: planning, strategy, etc.

In monetary terms, it is estimated by RICS Building Cost Information Service (BCIS), that the total expenditure on maintenance in 2006 was over £70 bn (5.4 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP)). Recent years have seen a significant turnaround in the total workload for the new build sector as more and more clients become aware of the need to consider the whole life cost of a building rather than simply the initial capital expenditure. This has resulted in maintenance being seen as an area of work with a consistent, if not major, workload. The major contractors have set up not only small works divisions, but also separate maintenance companies to provide a quality service to one-off clients and major property owners with their continuing need for regular day-to-day repairs. Facilities management companies are also increasingly seeing maintenance as the “core” component of their service provision. This guidance note deals with the strategic and procedural matters that need to be considered when carrying out such building maintenance works. It may be accessed at: www.rics.org/NR/rdonlyres/314EE67B-C0FF-4C8C-A539-3BF81A05B5E5/0/BuildingMaintenanceWEB.pdf

Renewable energy; an RICS Information Paper

Commissioned by the RICS Rural Professional Group and published in April 2009, this information paper is an update and upgrade of the Renewables Briefing Paper originally published in 2007. This information paper is designed to meet the immediate needs of non-specialist surveyors in the UK who do not have detailed knowledge of renewable energy issues. It is intended to act as a resource guide for those seeking to make a basic assessment of the options for farmers and householders, and not as a comprehensive guide to renewable energy. To access go to: www.rics.org/NR/rdonlyres/A920B1BE-BA4D-41E3-BBB5-9CDEBCBF22C8/0/RenewableenergyWEB.pdf

British professions today: the state of the sector

Spada (a grouping of professional bodies) looks at the nature and value of professions, and discusses their economic, societal and historical context. Their report is available at: www.spada.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/spada-british-professions-today.pdf

Guidance to Lenders and Valuers when conducting Loan Security Valuation Reviews

The RICS Valuation Professional Group has issued an Information Alert aimed primarily at commercial property. This gives guidance to both valuers and lenders on the advice that can be provided when conducting loan security valuation reviews in circumstances when values are changing rapidly. This guidance above all else is designed to encourage an active dialogue between the valuer and the lender. It focuses on issues to be considered and reported upon in looking at the future prospects for a property. There is additional guidance when advice on a likely level of value is provided for the immediate period after the date of valuation. Lenders may request advice that not only focuses on the market value today, but also advice that looks forward into the immediate future. The full Valuation Information Alert is available to download from: www.rics.org/NR/rdonlyres/AB68FD11-5FDD-4BCF-BC6E-FDAC953CE737/0/ValuationInformationAlertLoanSecurityValuationReviewsJune09.pdf

Understanding construction alliances

This RICS Research Paper reports research conducted by Bingunath Ingirige and Martin Sexton of the University of Salford, UK. Alliances are collaborative vehicles set up to respond to intense and rapid changes associated with globalisation. This trend is evident in the construction industry. Although there have been many studies of alliances, addressing such issues as alliance classification and design, inadequate emphasis has been made to explicitly organise this research in order to be able to obtain meaningful comparisons between the construction industry and other industries. A detailed study into the integration of alliance concepts across sectors, including construction, has the potential to provide a base from which to progress developments. This paper reveals that two distinctive paths exist in alliance development based on the original intent and the duration of collaboration. Strategic partnering alliances, while having long term goals, also need to prove their short term success whereas project based partnering schemes are orientated towards achieving short term results targeting a single project. Results of this study will make potential contributions to the general body of literature and the expansion of the surveyors’ role into giving project related advice on partnering and supply chain management. The report is available at: www.rics.org/NR/rdonlyres/04320836-2B2F-472B-B689-3311ECF7F02F/0/Constructionalliances.pdf

RICS issues asset management guidance to councils

RICS has produced new best practice guides for local authorities on how to manage their assets effectively. The suite of seven guides offer practical solutions at a time when local councils are coming under increasing pressure to manage their property portfolios more effectively. The guides provide an overview of the key policy areas that need to be considered by local authorities, including the transfer of assets, value for money, measuring asset performance and improving the customer’s experience. The guides are available at: www.publicsectorassetmanagement.com/

Housing Repair Cost Guide 2009

Answer your client’s questions using accurate and independent guidance from BCIS. With homebuyers being increasingly cautious at the moment, it is inevitable that you will be asked to provide cost guidance on repair works and improvements you include in their survey. To help you answer these queries quickly and efficiently, BCIS has published a new updated edition of the Housing Repair Cost Guide. Provides cost guidance on typical building work that may be reported in a survey. Published by the Building Cost information Service (ISBN: 978 1 904829 92 8) at £150.00.

Houses!

Experts at Nottingham Trent University have teamed up to produce a regular guide aimed at informing people of everything they need to know about the residential property market. The quarterly online newsletter, Houses!, is written for the layman and will cover vital issues such as what’s happening to house prices and whether a recovery really is on the way. Overviews and analyses on prices, affordability, lending, supply, transaction activity, residential investment, the economy and green issues, are supported by a “jargon-buster”, providing simple descriptions of annoying property market terminology. Each edition will contain traffic light indicators giving a quick summary of how affordable house prices are, whether you are concerned about getting on the ladder or staying on the ladder. The guide is compiled by specialists from the university’s School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment and Nottingham Business School. Subscribe to the newsletter via NTU’s School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment website.

RICS consumer guide to property surveys

A common question is “What is the distinction between the alternative building surveys on offer?” and another is “What is the difference between a building survey and a valuation”? To help answer these and other questions you may have, RICS have published this useful guide (available at www.rics.org/Services/Usefulguides/Consumerguides/understanding_surveys.htm).