Guidelines

The external valuer must be independent. When other services are provided by an external valuer which could possibly harm the independence of the external valuer, these must be disclosed.

When the external valuer firm involved in valuing a property is or has recently been involved in the leasing, sale or purchase of the property, or the firm earns significant fees for other services besides the external appraisal, this should be properly disclosed, including a description of these services.

The external valuer must have the appropriate professional qualifications and competence to perform the property valuation.

The external valuer should have a local and/or international professional appraisal accreditation, and should be authorised or regulated to undertake valuations in the country concerned for the intended purposes.  They should also have the requisite level of competence and possess relevant market knowledge and experience in order to perform the property valuation.

The external valuer firm must demonstrate that the level of competence and expertise is maintained throughout the organisation and its key employees.

It is also important that the valuer is regulated by the local and/or international professional appraisal accreditation, for example through Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) valuer registration.

Any deviations from the above principles should be fully disclosed and explained.

A review of the continuing appointment or re-appointment of the external valuer firm should be undertaken on a regular basis, and at least once every three years.

The assessment of the external valuer firm is an ongoing process. A formal assessment must take place at least once every three years, with the objective that the external valuer firm is the best-suited valuer to perform the valuation. The assessment may result in a rotation of external valuer firm. The assessment also includes an evaluation of whether the external valuer firm is properly insured against claims. In the event of rotation, there should not be any affiliation between the external valuer firms. Reference is also made to the code of conduct included in the INREV Corporate Governance framework.

The valuation fees of an external valuer should not be directly linked to the outcome of the valuation.

In addition, the valuer should not hold any shares in the valued interest and its remuneration for a given valuation mandate should not represent a significant amount of its total annual turnover.