Definition
In an APC context, report format refers to the structural framework chosen to communicate professional findings, recommendations or advice in writing. The format must suit the audience, the subject matter and the purpose of the document. The RICS Rules of Conduct (effective 2 February 2022) require members to provide competent service, which includes selecting a format that enables the client to understand and act on the advice.
Why this matters for Communication and Negotiation
- RICS surveyors produce reports across every area of practice, from building surveys and dilapidations schedules to development appraisals and expert witness statements.
- At Level 2, assessors expect you to describe the format used on a real instruction, explain why you chose it and confirm that it met the client's needs.
- A report in the wrong format risks being misunderstood or challenged: a letter when a formal report was required, or a narrative when a schedule was needed.
- Rule 3 (Service) requires written advice to be presented in a way that genuinely serves the client's decision-making needs.
Key principles
Letter format
Used for brief communications and short-form advice to a named recipient. Appropriate where the matter is simple or a formal report is disproportionate. It should not be used for complex instructions where the evidence base needs to be set out in full.
Memorandum format
An internal document headed with To, From, Date and Subject lines, used for project updates, briefing notes and file records. Memoranda are rarely appropriate for external client communication but are important for evidencing professional decision-making.
Narrative (continuous prose) format
A continuous prose report guides the reader through background, methodology, analysis and conclusions in sequence. It suits complex matters requiring detailed explanation. Building surveys, planning appraisals and expert witness statements typically adopt this format. An executive summary should always be included for reports over four or five pages.
Tabular and combination formats
Tabular formats present data in rows and columns, suited to cost plans, schedules of condition and dilapidations claims. A combination format uses two or more approaches within a single document. Most complex surveying reports use a combination format because different elements of the information are best communicated in different ways.
Relevant RICS guidance and legislation
- RICS Rules of Conduct (effective 2 February 2022) — Rule 3 (Service) requires reports to be structured in a way that genuinely assists the client.
- RICS Red Book Global Standards (effective 31 January 2022) — sets mandatory format and content requirements for formal valuation reports.
- Civil Procedure Rules Part 35 — prescribes the format and content of expert witness reports used in civil litigation, including surveying evidence.
Ethics and Rules of Conduct angle
Rule 3 (Service) requires competent service: choosing an inappropriate format may prevent the client from making an informed decision. Rule 1 (Honesty and Integrity) requires that the format does not obscure material information. A report that buries a critical qualification, or uses a format difficult for the recipient to navigate, risks breaching both rules.
APC-style Q&As
Q (Level 1)Name three common formats for professional reports used by RICS surveyors and give one example of when each is appropriate.
A letter format is appropriate for a short-form opinion on a straightforward matter, such as confirming a rental value for a rent review without formal dispute. A narrative format is appropriate for a building survey of a complex property where the client needs to understand the condition and risks in detail. A tabular format is appropriate for a schedule of dilapidations or a cost plan where the reader needs to compare individual line items.
Q (Level 1)What is a memorandum and when would a surveyor use one?
A memorandum is an internal written communication addressed to a named colleague or team, typically headed with To, From, Date and Subject lines. Surveyors use memoranda for internal project briefings, file notes recording advice given, and notes of telephone conversations or site visits. They are not normally used for external client communication but form an important part of the file record that evidences professional decision-making.
Q (Level 2)You are preparing a building survey report for a residential property. The client is a first-time buyer with no property background. What format do you adopt and how do you structure it?
(example) I adopted a narrative format with an executive summary at the start, followed by a section-by-section condition assessment using a traffic-light rating (satisfactory, requires attention, requires urgent attention). Each section explained the defect in plain English, its cause and the recommended action, with cost estimates for significant items. Photographs were embedded alongside relevant text rather than consolidated in an appendix, making the document immediately actionable for someone with no surveying background.
Q (Level 2)Why might you include an executive summary even when the client is technically experienced?
An executive summary makes key conclusions and material risks immediately accessible regardless of the reader's time constraints. Even technically experienced clients may need to present findings to a board that has not read the full report. The executive summary provides that tool and disciplines the surveyor to distil the most important findings concisely.
Q (Level 3)You are appointed as an expert witness in a dilapidations dispute. The solicitor asks you to produce a report. What format and content requirements apply and how do they differ from a standard client report?
An expert witness report must comply with Civil Procedure Rules Part 35 and the accompanying Practice Direction. The format is prescribed: the report must be addressed to the court (not the instructing party), contain a statement of truth, include details of the expert's qualifications and instructions, state the facts and assumptions underlying each opinion, and identify any material facts the expert has been unable to verify. The expert's overriding duty is to the court, not to the instructing party. This is fundamentally different from a standard client report, where the surveyor's duty of care runs to the client. The content must distinguish clearly between agreed facts, expert opinion and areas of uncertainty. In practice I would also include a Scott Schedule identifying each item in dispute, the parties' respective positions, and my independent assessment — a format well established in dilapidations litigation and consistent with Rule 1 of the RICS Rules of Conduct (Honesty and Integrity).