Sparks of 2026 # 9: RICS and the Return of Professional Trust in Retrofit
Retrofit has a technology problem, a policy problem, and a skills problem.
But above all of those sits a trust problem.
Homeowners do not know who to listen to. Professionals are trying to work in a system with unclear signals. And mistakes are costly and highly public.
This is why the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors is one of the quiet Sparks of 2026. It is using its authority, its standards, and its chartered responsibilities to push retrofit into a more competent, transparent, and evidence-led phase.
The Problem
For years, retrofit has relied on fragmented standards, paywalled knowledge, and delivery systems that reward box-ticking instead of quality.
Surveyors see the consequences first. They see the damp. They see the condensation risks. They see the overheating. And they see homeowners left to navigate advice that is inconsistent and often contradictory.
What is missing is a trusted professional centre of gravity.
Matthew Forbes Milloy
What RICS Is Doing
At the RICS reception in Liverpool, the institution made its position unmistakably clear. Retrofit must be led by competent professionals who act in the public interest.
Emma Fletcher put it plainly:
“We were set up to act in the best interest of the public. We have a Royal Charter. People need to know who they can trust to make sure the work being done to their homes is correct.”
The institution is not trying to win the retrofit narrative. It is trying to normalise good practice.
That means:
- A retrofit standard designed around real homes
- A retrofit pathway accreditation that is already oversubscribed
- A commitment to continued professional development
- Stronger links between surveying, building physics, and long-term building health
And, crucially, a focus on independence.
Richard Fitton delivered the line that could define RICS’ role over the next decade:
“Any professional sector brings independence. Our role is to make sure it is right from start to end.”
Why This Matters for 2026
Retrofit is entering a period of heightened accountability.
The public will expect results - they feel let down. Government will expect delivery - the are cornered by failures. And failure will be harder to hide.
Surveyors sit at the start and the end of almost every building intervention. If they are properly equipped, properly trained, and properly supported, retrofit becomes less risky for homeowners and more reliable for industry.
Fitton also pointed to one of the biggest structural barriers:
“There should be zero barriers to retrofit… every single document we need to get retrofit right should be free, easy to find, searchable, downloadable.”
This is the kind of institutional leadership the sector has been missing.
The Winnable Middle
Politically, retrofit needs broad support.
Socially, it needs visible benefits.
Technically, it needs fewer failures.
RICS brings something rare to this landscape.
A non-political, evidence-led, standards-driven backbone.
Bill Esterson MP captured the public relevance:
“Retrofit is a prime example of how we can take people with us.” And on fairness: “It cannot be a policy just for the fuel poor and the affluent. It has to be for everyone.”
If retrofit is to win the middle of the country, it must be safe, trusted, and clearly understood. RICS is one of the few organisations capable of shaping that shift at scale.
Why RICS Is a Spark
Sparks of 2026 celebrates organisations taking concrete action rather than making noise. RICS is doing the unglamorous work of rebuilding the professional foundation retrofit rests on.
By clarifying standards, training surveyors, demanding open knowledge, and reconnecting retrofit to public-interest duties, it is strengthening the part of the system most likely to fail if ignored.
Retrofit will not scale through marketing or policy alone. It will scale through trust. RICS is helping to supply it.
That is why RICS earns its place as Sparks of 2026 No 9.
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