Architects' Code reforms – it's important that you have your say!

The Architects Registration Board (ARB) is consulting on a proposed new code of professional conduct for architects. The proposed new Code is shorter and simpler, but may be more complex to apply and more onerous. Architects should consider responding to the consultation by the deadline of 12 December 2024.

The Architects Registration Board (ARB) is consulting on a proposed new code of professional conduct for architects.  The proposed new Code is shorter and simpler, but may be more complex to apply and more onerous. Architects should consider responding to the consultation by the deadline of 12 December 2024.

How did we get here?

One of the aims of the Building Safety Act 2022 was to introduce more safeguards and, as such, gave new powers to the Architects Registration Board (ARB) to monitor architects' competency. The Act required the ARB to set CPD requirements and empowered it to expel architects who failed to meet those requirements. In addition, the Act required any orders made against an architect by the Professional Conduct Committee of the ARB to be shown alongside their details on the ARB's register. The new Code is part of the ARB's reforms aimed at fulfilling their regulatory obligations under the Act.

What is happening?

The Architects Registration Board (ARB) is consulting on a new version of The Architect's Code, which was last updated in 2017. The Code sets out the professional standards architects are required to meet and embeds the current focus on safety, sustainability and DEIB.

The new Code comprises 6 core principles, set out succinctly over 6 pages:

1. Honesty and integrity
2. Public interest
3. Competence
4. Professional practice
5. Communication and collaboration
6. Respect

These core principles will be supported by a suite of guidance, initially covering 11 topics:

1. Professional indemnity insurance
2. Dealing with complaints and disputes
3. Financial conduct
4. Sustainability
5. Terms of engagement
6. Raising concerns
7. Building safety
8. Equality, diversity and inclusion
9. Managing conflicts of interest
10. Mentoring
11. Leadership

Some of these are already the subject of guidance, which will be updated.

How is the proposed new Code different?

The new Code distils the existing 12 principles down into 6 standards, following the trend amongst professions regulators in recent years to shorten and simplify rules. The existing Code is more prescriptive, telling architects what they need to do to comply with the standards. In contrast, the new Code sets out 6 broad statements of principle and gives examples of how an architect can meet them.

Honesty and integrity are fundamental requirements and acting dishonestly or without integrity are therefore the most serious forms of misconduct.  In our recent article, we examined the requirement to act honestly and with integrity in detail and gave practical tips for complying.

When stated simply as a principle, acting with integrity may not seem problematic, but closer consideration of the first example given in the proposed new Code reveals how difficult this can be in practice. Standard 1.1 of the new Code states: "Architects will meet this standard when they act impartially and exercise professional judgment based on the evidence available." The requirement to be impartial is not explained or qualified, unlike the existing version of the Code which only references impartiality at the end of Code 6 when "acting between parties or giving advice". This lack of precision could potentially leave architects exposed to broader allegations than possible under the existing Code – and is a side effect of attempts to simplify rules governing complex situations.

Impartiality as a standalone requirement could be difficult to apply. When an architect is acting in a design capacity, how should impartiality be exercised? It is easier to see how impartiality could be applied when monitoring projects: for example, if a dispute arises between the client and contractor. However, what if one party is clearly in the wrong? Is the architect permitted to take a side? Like many professional conduct issues that arise in practice, this could be uncomfortable to deal with when the client will be looking to its professional advisors for guidance.

Another example of simplicity compromising clarity can be found in the changes to the reporting obligations. The proposed new Code contains reporting obligations at 1.5 and 2.3:

• Paragraph 1.5 requires architects to "report to ARB any instance where their own professionalism may be called into question, or any apparent breach of this Code by another architect".
• Paragraph 2.3 requires architects to "challenge others where their actions may put people at risk, and report them to an appropriate authority when those risks are not adequately managed".

This contrasts with paragraphs 9.2 to 9.5 of the existing code, which specify in detail the circumstances in which a report to ARB is required.

Perhaps more concerningly, the threshold for reporting appears to have been significantly lowered. Under the existing Code, architects should self-report when "you know that you have fallen short of these standards, or that your conduct could reflect badly on the profession"; i.e. when you know that you have breached a Standard.  Other architects must be reported when their conduct "falls significantly short of the expected standards" (emphasis added).  Under the proposed new Code, architects are obliged to report when their professionalism "may be called into question". This appears to bring into scope expressions of dissatisfaction and even situations where no allegation has been made but the architect anticipates that an allegation may be made.  It also brings into scope tactical or unjustified allegations made in the context of a dispute. Similarly, under the new Code, architects must report "any apparent breach" by other architects. This will potentially lead to referrals being made at an earlier stage as architects do not need to investigate to establish whether the breach is "significant".

What action do architects need to take?

These are just two examples from the first Standard. Architects will want to compare the new Code carefully to the existing Code to ensure that concerns are raised in response to the consultation and ARB has the opportunity to reflect on the feedback received before finalising the Code.

The consultation can be found here and feedback can be submitted via online survey here. The deadline for responses is 12 December 2024, with the ARB intending to finalise the new Code and develop the accompanying guidance in early 2025.