Ethics and the valuer's fiduciary duty and duty to adequately inform the client

Registered valuers are governed by the Valuation Act 1948. The valuers’ profession, represented by the Property Institute of New Zealand (“PINZ”), incorporating the New Zealand Institute of Valuers (“NZIV”), and other bodies, has existed for more than 100 years. One of the Institute’s objectives is to encourage ethical conduct. The statutory Valuers Registration Board (“VRB”) also has jurisdiction over improper, unethical or incompetent conduct, as defined in the NZIV Code of Ethics and “best practice”. Changes in valuation practice in recent years has raised a number of ethical questions. They include the relationship between valuer and client, the duty to adequately inform the client, and compliance with practice standards. In the course of this article I hope to
address some of these, using hypothetical examples which I was asked to respond to, with an emphasis on the vexed question of the duty to adequately inform the client.