International Residential Property Management

Next month the International Property Measurement Standard Coalition – a group of more than 60 professional and standards-setting organisations from around the world – will finalise consultation on a new measurement standard for residential property.

IPMS: Residential Buildings is the second in a suite of International Property Measurement Standards and follows the November 2014 launch of IPMS: Office Buildings.

Once published, Coalition organisations will seek to implement the new standard. Further standards will be created to address industrial, retail and mixed use property.

IPMS encourages members to submit their own comments to [email protected], however, the Residential Development Council is coordinating the Property Council submission on the proposed standards, and is seeking input from industry.

In addition to comments on the individual elements contained in the Consultation document, industry responses are being sought to the following questions:

1. IPMS: Residential Buildings is intended to improve market transparency for consumers. Does the document achieve this and if not what improvements would you suggest?
2. Which of the standards IPMS 1, IPMS 2 Residential and IPMS 3A, 3B and 3C Residential would be relevant to your markets?
3. How would you use IPMS 1, IPMS 2 Residential and IPMS 3A, 3B and 3C – Residential within the markets in which you operate?
4. Within your residential market are there other measurement issues that the IPMS Residential Standard has not mentioned or clarified that you believe should be part of the IPMS Residential Standard?
5. IPMS: Residential Buildings has adopted Internal Dominant Face in order to maintain consistency across all IPMS Standards. Please advise whether you support this or whether you have an alternative proposal and if so what is it and why? How would you address the resulting inconsistency with IPMS Office Buildings?
6. Are the explanatory diagrams and text description for Internal Dominant Face sufficient? If not, what specific diagrams or explanation do you require?
7. Are all other diagrams clear in demonstrating the concepts to which they apply?
8. IPMS: Residential has adopted Level 0, Level 1 and Level 2 to denote what in some markets would be called ground, first and second floor and in other markets floor 1, 2 and 3. Will this approach be understood in your market?
9. IPMS 1 currently excludes ground floor patios from the total measurement, as the ground floor is not actually part of the building structure, although they can be measured and stated separately. A similar upper floor balcony is however included, as it forms part of the building structure, albeit is stated separately. Do you have any comments on this approach?
10. Do you have any other comments?

A copy of the IPMS : Residential Buildings can be downloaded below. It can also be accessed, along with the feedback form, through the Coalition’s website.

Consultation will close on September 30, 2015.

Please contact Katharina Surikow, Policy Manager, Residential Development Council if you have any questions or would like to provide feedback.