An MP wants a rental valuation survey – will IPSA pay for this?
The MP should instruct their own surveyor and can claim the cost of the surveyor from their relevant budget.
IPSA wants a rental valuation survey – will IPSA pay for this?
We will instruct CBRE and pay for the valuation.
It will not come from an MP’s budget.
Why will IPSA not pay for a rental valuation survey if an MP requests one?
A valuation is no longer required to register a property.
MPs should seek value for money in all aspects of their business costs, including rent. MPs may choose to get a market valuation to help achieve value for money in any rent negotiations – MPs can also contact local property agents, conduct online research with portals such as Rightmove or Zoopla, and ask existing or neighbouring tenants.
MPs may want additional surveyor services such as a condition report on the property. This is not covered in IPSA’s contract with the provider.
Due to the number of instructions and contract terms, we cannot guarantee that a survey will be completed within any required timeframes, such as before a lease is signed, starts, or is renewed.
The valuations we receive are for the limit (minimum or maximum) that we should fund and will be based on the specifics of the lease.
An MP wants to ensure they achieve value for money and avoid paying above-market rent – will IPSA pay for the rental valuation survey?
If an office wants to be sure they are not paying over the market rent, the office is free to organise their own surveyor – this is similar to arranging their own solicitor to look over the lease terms to avoid future exposure or risk.
They can claim for these costs to be reimbursed from the Office Costs budget.
Like legal advice, we want to ensure MPs are not paying over-the-market rent or have an illegal or risky lease.
We instruct our own solicitors, and we will instruct our own surveyors.
These costs do not come from the MPs’ Office Costs budgets.
What happens if the rent an MP is paying/receiving does not match the valuation from IPSA’s provider?
We will be in contact should there be any discrepancy between the rent being paid and the valuation from our provider.
Depending on the size of the discrepancy the action could range from an advisory note to limitations on what rent we can pay.
In exceptional circumstances, we may need to put an immediate hold on payments while we investigate further, but in all circumstances, we will inform you of the situation and actions to be taken.