Halfway through the low-productivity period of winter, Jen Lemen puts forward what should be on surveyors’ minds as the weather warms and 2026 gets underway
Writing for Planning, Building & Construction Today, chartered surveyor, Jen Lemen BSc (Hons) FRICS of Property Elite, looks at five hot topics within planning, building and construction that surveyors should be aware of.
These are:
- RICS Professional Standard Responsible Use of AI in Surveying Practice
- Renters’ Rights Act 2026
- Awaab’s Law
- RICS Professional Standard Whole Life Carbon Assessment for the Built Environment (2nd Edition) and PAS 2080:2023
- RICS Sustainability Report 2025
1. RICS Professional Standard Responsible Use of AI in Surveying Practice
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) acting president elect, Maureen Ehrenberg, stated that “artificial intelligence offers real promise to the surveying profession – but only if used responsibly and ethically. This standard ensures surveyors remain at the forefront of innovation while protecting clients, data, and public trust. It supports the profession’s adaptation to rapidly advancing technologies while reinforcing the core role of the surveyor – to provide trusted, independent, and ethical advice. This initiative reflects RICS’s broader mission to uphold the highest technical and ethical standards across the built and natural environment, ensuring innovation is aligned with the public interest.”
Thus, RICS has published a new Professional Standard on the Responsible Use of AI in Surveying Practice, which takes effect in March 2026. With the rapid growth and evolution of AI, RICS needed to clarify their position on its use within the surveying profession.
RICS defines AI as “a machine-based system that, for explicit or implicit objectives, infers, from the input it receives, how to generate outputs such as predictions, content, recommendations, or decisions that can influence physical or virtual environments.
“Different AI systems vary in their levels of autonomy and adaptiveness after deployment.”
RICS further acknowledges that AI takes many forms and may be part of a broader technological solution.
The Professional Standard specifically relates to AI outputs that “have a material impact on the delivery of surveying services.” Where this is the case, the RICS member or Regulated Firm must record in writing the decision to use AI and why this decision was made.
The guidance covers a number of key areas, including:
- Baseline knowledge for using AI in surveying
- The impact of AI on practice management
- Using AI in the field of surveying
- The development of AI systems for surveyors
Where AI is deployed, surveyors must have sufficient and relevant knowledge to enable responsible use of the systems. This includes different types of AI systems, how they work, their limitations, failure modes, risks, erroneous outputs, inherent bias, and data use.
RICS covers a variety of topics related to practice management and AI, including data governance, system governance, and risk management. They provide practical ways to safely incorporate AI, such as policies and procedures, safeguarding data, risk identification, written assessments, regular reviews, and the creation of a risk register.
All RICS-regulated firms must conduct comprehensive due diligence before adopting AI systems. RICS members must then use their professional judgement regarding the reliability of outputs from AI systems. This includes using your knowledge, skills, experience and professional scepticism – a term that valuation surveyors will already be aware of from the latest edition of the Red Book.
The decision on the AI system’s reliability must be recorded in writing, with assumptions and any concerns explicitly stated. RICS-regulated firms and members will need to adapt their terms of engagement if they adopt an AI system. This will include when AI will be used within the surveying process, the extent of Professional Indemnity Insurance cover for the use of the AI system, relevant internal quality assurance processes around the use of AI, redress mechanisms in the event of a client concern and opting out. Clients will also be able to request further information on the use of AI in the delivery of their contracted surveying services.
2. Renters’ Rights Act 2026
This is a milestone change for the residential lettings sector and the property market as a whole. From 1 May 2026, the Renters’ Rights Act 2026 will provide tenants with greater security when renting residential property.
Section 21 (no fault) evictions are being abolished, so landlords will have to rely on Section 8. This means that a valid reason or reasons must be stated under grounds 1-17 of Section 8 Housing Act 1988.
All tenancies will become periodic rather than fixed-term, allowing them to roll on a weekly or monthly basis, with the tenant required to give 2 months’ notice to quit.
A new rent review process will be introduced, which a landlord can trigger once a year, with a clear process for tenants to challenge unsupported increases.
Landlords cannot request more than one month’s rent upfront, and cannot accept a rental offer from a tenant that exceeds the rent for which the property was advertised.
Tighter discrimination rules will be introduced, meaning landlords cannot reject tenants because they have children or receive benefits. Tenants can also request to live with a pet, which the landlord must consider and cannot unreasonably refuse.
A new Private Rented Sector Landlord Ombudsman will be created to resolve landlord-tenant disputes quickly and efficiently. Alongside this, a Private Rented Sector Database with landlord registration required to serve a Section 8 notice on specific grounds.
The Decent Homes Standard and sections of Awaab’s Law will become applicable to the private rented sector to improve overall living conditions.
All landlords, tenants and surveyors should read the new Government guidance published in the run-up to May 2026, to ensure that they are aware of their rights, obligations and liabilities.
3. Awaab’s Law
Awaab’s Law, otherwise known as the Hazards in Social Housing (Prescribed Regulations) (England) Regulations 2025, makes major changes in the residential social rented sector. The Regulations were made under the wider Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023.
In 2020, 2-year-old Awaab Ishak died due to a respiratory condition caused by damp and mould in his family’s rented home. Awaab’s Law is thus being brought in to avoid similar circumstances happening again.
All social landlords, i.e., registered providers of social housing, including both private, local authority, and housing association providers, must comply with Awaab’s Law. However, it does not apply to long leasehold, owner-occupied, low-cost home ownership, temporary (or occupied under a licence), support accommodation or shared ownership properties.
Social landlords now have set timeframes to address emergency hazards and also damp & mould hazards that present a significant risk of harm to their tenants.
In 2026, the Regulations will be extended to cover a wider range of hazards, including excess temperatures, falls associated with baths, stairs & between levels, structural collapse, explosions, fire hazards, electrical hazards, domestic & personal hygiene and food safety.
In 2027, the Regulations will be extended again to cover all remaining hazards defined in the Housing Health & Safety Rating System (HHSRS), except overcrowding.
Surveyors need to be aware of the new Regulations if they are advising social housing landlord clients. The Regulations require a proactive, tenant-centric approach and constant consideration of the repair and health of social housing properties.
4. RICS Professional Standard Whole Life Carbon Assessment for the Built Environment (2nd Edition) and PAS 2080:2023
RICS has strengthened its role and support for reducing life-cycle carbon emissions in the built environment through the publication of the Professional Standard Whole Life Carbon Assessment for the Built Environment (2nd Edition) and the adoption of PAS 2080:2023 Carbon Management in Buildings and Infrastructure.
These two documents provide a framework for measuring life-cycle carbon emissions for new and existing buildings. The aim is to help surveyors to decarbonise the built environment through the use of accurate, reliable data.
The RICS Professional Standard provides guidance throughout the building lifecycle, from design through to end of life, allowing data-driven decisions to be made by property owners, investors and occupiers. It aligns with the International Cost Management Standards (ICMS) (3rd Edition), making it globally applicable.
PAS 2080:2023 has a different purpose. Rather than providing guidance on carbon measurement, it provides governance processes, roles, and requirements to manage carbon throughout the building lifecycle. This links into effective leadership, decision-making, systems thinking, collaborative working and value chain integration.
RICS encourages the adoption of both standards to improve project outcomes and decarbonise the built environment effectively and efficiently. This links in well to the final update in this article, the RICS Sustainability Report 2025.
5. RICS Sustainability Report 2025
The RICS Sustainability Report is an annually updated report for the built environment and surveyors. This year’s report was informed by the contribution of 3,500 global professionals in 36 countries.
The sentiment of the 2025 report is relatively negative, with reduced global demand growth for sustainable buildings and slow uptake in carbon measurement and management for construction projects. RICS hopes that its renewed support for the Professional Statement and PAS mentioned earlier in this article will help improve adoption of the latter.
Interestingly, demand for sustainable buildings has declined most in the Americas, whereas the Middle East and Africa are outliers and still experiencing growth. The key reasons for this are the high cost and the uncertainty of returns associated with green certification and climate-resilient buildings.
RICS recommends that these issues could be countered by strengthened Government policy, greater investor awareness of green credentials, mandatory reporting of whole-life carbon for projects, better grants, incentives, and funding for green retrofits, and skills development within the property and construction industries.
Apart from these five hot topics, surveyors need to be acutely aware of many other RICS regulatory and legislative changes that affect their work, and surveyors also need good market awareness.
