Kate Taylor highlights a new measurement standard published in January by International Property Measurement Standards and provides guidance for RICS APC candidates.
There is not much real estate advice that can be given without reference to the size of the property. It is fundamental to everything surveyors do. This is reflected in the motto of the RICS: Est modus in rebus. This is Latin and means “there is measure in all things”.
Why is measurement the foundation of real estate advice? It is used in (among others):
- Costing, for development, refurbishment and construction;
- Comparable analysis;
- Market appraisal;
- Valuation for rents and capital values;
- Property management for service charges;
- Taxation for business rates;
- Benchmarking for strategic real estate;
- Insurance; and
- Planning.
In all these disciplines, it is essential to provide accurate property advice, to compare like with like. Think about real estate changes in the past few years. Can you imagine any owners or occupiers of real estate who are not thinking about benchmarking and strategic changes?
This means a consistent measurement basis is needed.
History
Prior to the publication of International Property Measurement Standards there was a lot of inconsistency in measurement practices across borders. This was highlighted by the property-led (sub-prime lending) global financial crisis of 2008.
The IPMS is a coalition of 80 professional organisations from around the world. IPMS was born in 2013 and published the first set of standards, IPMS Office, in 2014. This was followed by IPMS Residential in 2016, IPMS Industrial in 2018, IPMS Retail in 2019 and finally IPMS All Buildings on 16 January 2023.
The RICS is a founder member of the coalition and provided advice to its members on how to use IPMS in the mandatory professional statement Property Measurement. This is currently in its second edition and gives advice on the use of the office and residential standards and the interface with the pre-existing RICS Code of Measuring Practice.
The RICS has not yet provided guidance on the other standards. This has proved to be an efficient decision given that the new IPMS All Buildings supersede all previous standards.
IPMS All Buildings
The good news is that now we have just one standard to get to grips with. IPMS All Buildings applies to all types of buildings independent of their use or occupation.
The new standard is also shorter and clearer than its predecessors. It is freely available at www.ipmsc.org.
The adoption of IPMS in the UK market has been intermittent and slow. The new single standard covering all buildings will considerably simplify measurement practice.
Some real estate markets and professionals have been waiting for this “one-stop shop” before adopting IPMS.
Vocabulary
The previous standards helped to embed some of the IPMS concepts that were new to the UK real estate industry. For example, most surveyors have now heard of “internal dominant face”. This was a new concept to UK surveyors in 2014 and considerable efforts were made by the RICS to encourage adoption and provide training.
The vocabulary of IPMS is deliberately different to the market vernacular across the world to distinguish from local standards and prevent confusion.
Definitions
The vocabulary is fully and clearly defined within the standard.
Here are a few common definitions:
- Internal dominant face The inside surface area comprising more than 50% of the lowest 2.75m measured vertically from the structural floor surface, or to the ceiling if lower, for each wall section.
- Component One of the main elements into which the floor area of a building can be allocated.
- Component area The floor area attributed to one of the components.
- Standard facilities Shared areas in a building that typically do not change over time, such as circulation areas, stairs, escalators, lifts/elevators and their motor rooms, toilets, cleaners’ cupboards, plant rooms, fire refuge areas and maintenance rooms.
The standards
IPMS All Buildings is split into four numbered standards that can be applied to different professional tasks.
The latest edition groups the four standards into three distinct groups:
- IPMS 1 and IPMS 2 are external and internal measurements respectively for a whole or part of a building.
- IPMS 3.1 and IPMS 3.2 are external and internal measurements respectively required for exclusive occupation.
- IPMS 4.1 and IPMS 4.2 are internal measurements required for selected areas, including internal walls and columns and excluding walls and columns respectively.
The document has colourful diagrams to assist understanding of the standards and definitions.
The “in brief” definition of each standard (full definitions in IPMS All Buildings):
- IPMS 1 The floor area measured to the external extent of the external walls.
- IPMS 2 The floor area measured to the internal extent of the internal dominant face.
- IPMS 3.1 The floor area available on an exclusive basis to an occupier measured externally.
- IPMS 3.2 The floor area available on an exclusive basis to an occupier measured internally.
- IPMS 4.1 The selected floor area in a building measured to finished surfaces including walls and columns.
- IPMS 4.2 The selected floor area in a building measured to finished surfaces excluding (subtracting) walls and columns.
Points to note
- IPMS 3 is all about exclusive occupation. This is what makes it different to IPMS 1 and IPMS 2.
- IPMS 4 is all about taking selected parts of a building for any reason.
- The difference between IPMS 4.1 and IPMS 4.2 is whether the measurement includes/excludes walls and columns.
Final word
RICS members are on tenterhooks for the next edition of the professional statement Property Measurement and this is likely to be a talking point for some time. I think the future of IPMS looks brighter for this new standard. Let us wait and see what the future brings.
Common pitfalls
- Not understanding that IPMS is separate to RICS, but RICS is a member of the coalition. IPMS are not published by RICS
- Believing if you don’t use IPMS you don’t need to know about it
Key points for APC
- IPMS is a core part of level 1 knowledge and understanding for measurement competency
- Watch out for an updated and revised 3rd edition of RICS professional statement Property Measurement
- Learn the key vocabulary for level 1 questions
Top tip
- Carry out a measurement of your home and office using IPMS for practice and to have an example to include in level 2. Simulated experience has a limited role at level 2 and is better than no experience
Kate Taylor FRICS is a RICS training consultant and author of a comprehensive mind map-based RICS APC Revision Guide for the commercial real estate pathway www.apctaylormade.co.uk
