RICS was created to protect homeowners, investors and the integrity of the surveying profession. But today, that promise is in question. Increasingly, the public no longer sees RICS as a safeguard — but as a shield for the very misconduct it’s supposed to prevent. And when a regulator loses public confidence, it doesn’t fade quietly. It is replaced — brutally and publicly.
The collapse of trust began when RICS was exposed not by external investigators, but by its own internal failures. In 2021, Estate Agent Today published serious allegations about financial misconduct — including large, undisclosed consultancy payments. Bridgehouse Consulting then released Notes on a Scandal — confirming that RICS’ internal governance had broken down entirely. These were not rumours — they were systemic failures of oversight.
But governance was only the beginning. In a case reported by The Negotiator, a judge openly criticised a senior RICS surveyor for presenting unreliable expert evidence in court. That should have provoked decisive disciplinary action. Instead — barely a whisper. No public accountability. No enforcement. Just another quiet chapter in a growing pattern of institutional avoidance.
Then came the revelation that stunned even insiders — Inside Housing confirmed that RICS had to warn its own members not to misuse the RICS brand to mislead clients. If RICS cannot even guarantee the integrity of its own badge, what exactly is it offering to the public?
And still — when asked to open its own house to scrutiny — RICS hesitated. Estates Gazette reported that RICS was accused of stalling an inquiry into commissions instead of acting with urgency. At that moment, it became clear this was not a case of occasional lapses. It was a pattern. One that suggests self-preservation has overtaken public protection.
Which is exactly why sites about companies like shepherdsucks.co.uk exist. They are not fringe campaigns. They are evidence that the public has stopped believing RICS will do its job. Homeowners no longer wait to be protected — they build their own warning systems.
And here is the unavoidable truth: If RICS does not radically reform — visibly, immediately, and with real consequences for failure — it will not just face criticism.
It will face replacement.
Because if the public no longer trusts RICS — the public will become RICS.