1. Introduction
1.1. These Terms and Conditions, together with the RTPI Royal Charter, Byelaws and Regulations and the RTPI Code of Professional Conduct 2023 will govern the membership relationship between the Royal Town Planning Institute (“RTPI”, “we” or “us”) and you as a member (“member” or “you”).
1.2. Please read these Terms and Conditions carefully before applying to become an RTPI member. By submitting an application for membership or renewing your membership, you agree to be bound by these terms and conditions.
2. Membership Term
2.1. Your membership is valid for the Membership Term. The Membership Term runs from 1st January until 31st December.
2.2. If you join or change membership class during the Membership Term, it will still run until 31st December.
3. Membership Fees
3.1. Membership fees consist of membership administration fees and membership subscription fees.
3.2. Membership administration fees are payable at the point of applying for membership and must be paid by credit/debit card. The membership administration fee covers the processing of your application and is therefore non-refundable.
3.3. Membership subscription fees are payable annually on 1st January. For members joining or changing membership class during the year, a pro-rata membership subscription fee will be payable, in addition to the membership administration fee.
3.4. Different membership subscription fees are available dependent on whether you are based in the UK/ROI or international. These fees are based on the address we hold for you as of 1st January each year.
3.5. Concessionary membership subscription fees may be available dependent on your circumstances, these are available on our website.
3.6. All membership fees are reviewed on an annual basis by the Board of Trustees.
3.7. Failure to pay membership subscription fees by the due date will result in the removal of your membership from the membership register.
4. Cooling Off Period
4.1. For new members we offer fourteen days cooling off period, effective from the date of confirmation of your new membership (“Cooling Off Period”). During the Cooling Off Period, you will be able to change your mind and cancel your membership.
4.2. If you wish to cancel your membership, you must notify us in writing by contacting the Membership Team at [email protected] or by post at: 41 Botolph Lane, London, EC3R 8DL. We must receive the written notification within the Cooling Off Period.
4.3. The cancellation right only applies to new membership applications and does not apply to membership upgrades or renewal of an existing membership.
4.4. In the event of you exercising your right during the Cooling Off Period, where you have been issued with a welcome pack and certificate, this must be returned to us within seven days of the date you cancel your membership. You may also be liable for the cost of any services that you use prior to your membership being cancelled, such as a member fee reduction to an event or any costs associated with your membership. The remainder of your membership subscription fee will be refunded to you.
4.5. Membership administration fees are non-refundable (see section 3).
5. Membership Benefits and Services
5.1. Membership benefits and services may vary according to the class of membership held. Subject to these Terms, the details of membership benefits and services are set out on our website: RTPI | Benefits and services
5.2. We reserve the right to change and/or withdraw the benefits and services at any time without prior notice.
5.3. Some membership benefits and services may have specific Terms and Conditions. Where this is the case, you will be asked to accept those Terms and Conditions at the point of signing up to that benefit or service.
5.4. Membership benefits and services are strictly limited to use by RTPI members.
5.5. Some membership benefits and services may be delivered by external providers. We reserve the right to change our external providers without prior notice.
6. Individual Members' Obligations
6.1. You agree to adhere to the RTPI Code of Professional Conduct 2023.
6.2. Members of the following classes must declare relevant unspent criminal convictions to the RTPI during the course of their membership and when applying to join, upgrade or reinstate membership: Chartered Fellow, Chartered Member, Associate, Legal Associate, Legal Member or Honorary. Spent convictions under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 need not be disclosed (see section 13).
6.3. You agree to inform RTPI of any change of name, address or contact details.
7. Card Payments
7.1. If you are not using your own credit/debit card to pay for the membership administration fee or membership subscription fee, you must obtain permission of the credit/debit card holder before entering the payment details.
7.2. When you make payment by credit/debit card either online or verbally, you are confirming that you have obtained prior permission of the credit/debit card holder.
8. Direct Debits
8.1. General Information
Paying for your membership by Direct Debit is easy and secure, as you are protected by the Direct Debit Guarantee.
You agree that your membership is for the entire duration of the Membership Term, even if you are paying your membership fee by Direct Debit instalments.
Your instalment amounts and the dates on which they will be debited from your account will be set out in your Direct Debit Advance Notice which will be sent to you as part of your renewal letter or at the point of setting up a new Direct Debit.
The Bacs Direct Debit scheme is available for UK bank account holders only.
If you change your bank, as part of the transfer you must ask your new bank to switch your existing Direct Debit instruction over to your new account to ensure instalments are not missed.
You have 14 days before a Direct Debit payment is taken to tell us if you wish to cancel your Direct Debit and switch to a different payment method. If you have outstanding instalments, the outstanding balance will be due immediately.
8.2. Unpaid Direct Debits
If you fail to pay any instalment due by the required date, your membership may be closed. We will write to you and give you the opportunity to pay all instalments due for the remainder of your membership year by alternative means, or to set up a new Direct Debit.
Direct Debits which are returned as unpaid, rather than cancelled, may be re-presented to your bank the following month.
8.3. Paying by Instalments
You can pay your annual membership fee by annual, quarterly or monthly instalments by Direct Debit.
By choosing to pay by Direct Debit, you are committing to paying the total amount of instalments due.
See section 8.4 for information on cancellations by quarterly or monthly instalments.
8.4. Cancellations
If your Direct Debit instruction is cancelled during the membership year before the full membership fee is paid, you are liable to pay for the outstanding amount in full immediately by an alternative payment method, or by setting up a new Direct Debit instruction.
If you pay by monthly or quarterly instalments, you will need to either make the payment in full or continue to pay until the end of your membership year as per your quarterly or monthly agreement.
You have 14 days before a Direct Debit payment is taken to tell us if you wish to cancel your Direct Debit.
8.5. Refunds
You may cancel your membership at any time. However, you will not receive a refund. Your membership is for the full membership year.
If an error has been made in the payment of your Direct Debit by us or your bank/building society, you are entitled to a full and immediate refund of the amount paid from your bank or building society. If you receive a refund you are not entitled to, you must pay it back when requested to do so by us.
9. Cancellation of Membership
9.1. You may cancel your membership at any time. However, if you are paying your membership fee by Direct Debit instalments, you are liable to pay for the outstanding amount in full by an alternative payment method or continue to pay until the end of your Membership Term as per your quarterly or monthly agreement. (see section 8.4 for information on Direct Debit cancellations)
9.2. Members should note clause 16 of the RTPI Byelaws, which states that "A Member who resigns his or her membership or whose membership is otherwise terminated shall remain liable only for any unpaid subscription then due from him or her".
9.3. If you cancel your membership prior to the end of the Membership Term, you will not receive a refund. Your membership is for the full membership year.
9.4. You agree that your membership is for the entire duration of the Membership Term, even if you are paying your membership fee by Direct Debit instalments.
9.5. See section 4 for cancellations during the Cooling Off Period.
9.6. If you wish to resign your membership, you should contact the RTPI Membership Team at [email protected] or by phone: +44 (0)370 774 9494.
10. Member Refunds
10.1. If you cancel your membership prior to the end of the Membership Term, you will not receive a refund. Your membership is for the full membership year.
10.2. Membership administration fees are non-refundable.
10.3. Membership subscription fees will only be refunded in the following circumstances:
10.3.1. An overpayment has been made.
10.3.2. The payer can demonstrate that payment was made in error.
10.3.3. A deceased member’s estate requests a pro-rata refund.
10.3.4. Upon transferring to the Retired membership class during the Membership Term.
10.3.5. During the Cooling Off Period in section 4.
10.4. RTPI aims to provide refunds within 30 days of the refund request.
11. Membership Renewal
11.1 Your membership is due for renewal on 1st January each year.
11.2 Prior to the end of the Membership Term, you will receive a membership subscription renewal notifying you that your membership is due for renewal and the amount of membership subscription fee for the following calendar year.
11.3 Where any membership subscription fee payable by the Member remains unpaid by 1st January, in accordance with Regulation 6.1, the Member shall have two months “Grace Period” to make the necessary payment.
11.4. During the Grace Period:
11.4.1. Members remain subject to the RTPI Code of Professional Conduct.
11.4.2. RTPI reserves the right to withdraw or suspend access to any Member Services.
11.5. At the end of the Grace Period and with at least one month’s notice in writing, the membership of any Member whose membership subscription fee remains unpaid shall be terminated in accordance with Byelaw 20 and Regulation 6.1. The Member will lose the right to use their designatory letters, title, RTPI logo and any other RTPI member benefits.
11.6. If you are paying your membership subscription fee by Direct Debit and wish to resign your membership at the end of the Membership Term, then you must notify us that you no longer wish to be a Member and cancel your Direct Debit.
11.7. If you do not notify us that you no longer wish to be a Member, or if you do not notify your bank that you wish to cancel your Direct Debit at the end of the Membership Term, and you continue to pay RTPI in accordance with these Terms and Conditions, you agree that RTPI may treat this payment as a renewal of your membership for a further Membership Term.
11.8. If you do not pay your membership by Direct Debit, then you will need to actively renew your membership and pay the annual membership subscription fee on or before 1st January, otherwise your membership may lapse after the Grace Period.
11.9. If your membership is terminated at the end of the Grace Period, and you decide (within one month) to reinstate your membership, then RTPI may (at our discretion) choose to waive the one-off reinstatement administration fee.
11.10. Your entitlement to renew your membership is subject to payment and compliance with these Terms and Conditions, together with the RTPI Royal Charter, Byelaws and Regulations and the RTPI Code of Professional Conduct 2023.
12. Changing Membership Class
12.1. You may apply to change membership class to upgrade your membership or to transfer to the Retired membership class.
12.2. Any outstanding membership subscription fee must be paid before the application to change membership class will be accepted. This excludes Direct Debit instalments.
13. Right to refuse membership applications
13.1. In accordance with the Regulations and Byelaws, the election process for membership is issued by the Board of Trustees.
13.2. Members of the following classes must declare relevant unspent criminal convictions to the RTPI during the course of their membership and when applying to join, upgrade or reinstate membership: Chartered Fellow, Chartered Member, Associate, Legal Associate, Legal Member or Honorary. Spent convictions under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 need not be disclosed.
13.3. The RTPI undertakes not to discriminate unfairly against any person on the basis of a conviction or other information revealed. The RTPI will only ask an individual member or prospective member to provide details of convictions and cautions that the RTPI are legally entitled to know about. The RTPI can only ask an individual about convictions and cautions that are unspent.
13.4. A person's criminal record will not necessarily debar that person from membership. Eligible individuals will not be refused membership if offences do not affect their ability to carry out their duties in compliance with the RTPI Code of Professional Conduct, and do not place them at or make them a risk, during the course of their professional activity as a member.
13.5. Declarations of criminal convictions will be referred to an independent Panel for assessment.
13.6. If RTPI becomes aware of an individual's criminal conviction or an allegation regarding their conduct by a third party, either via a complaint or through general correspondence, the individual will be contacted for a response. An independent Panel will determine whether there has been a breach of the RTPI Code of Professional Conduct and/or whether the individual can apply for the relevant membership class. Your application may be delayed until a decision is reached.
13.7. If your membership application is approved but we subsequently discover that any of the information provided by you was misleading or false, we reserve the right to revoke your membership with immediate effect, without the right of appeal. You may be referred to an independent Panel for a decision.
14. Data Protection and Privacy
14.1. By accepting these Terms and Conditions, you agree to the use of your information as set out in the RTPI Privacy Notice.
14.2. Any information you provide in your membership application will be held securely on the RTPI’s CRM database and will be processed in accordance with the Data Protection Act 2018 and the RTPI Privacy Notice.
14.3. The following Terms and Conditions govern RTPI’s relationship with you in relation to the RTPI website: RTPI | Use of this website
15. Intellectual Property Rights
15.1. The copyright and all other intellectual property in all information, text, imagery, content and materials made available to you as part of your member benefits and service and/or via the website are owned by RTPI and/or its content providers.
15.2. Membership does not confer any right to use RTPI intellectual property, including RTPI brand and logo, except where expressly set out in the guidelines for members on the use of the RTPI member logo and post-nominals: guidelines-for-member-designation-logos.pdf (rtpi.org.uk). The following membership classes have the right to use RTPI post-nominals: Chartered Member, Fellow, Legal Member, Honorary Member, Associate, Legal Associate and Retired.
15.3. You must not claim to represent publicly the views of RTPI without prior consent from the RTPI’s Chief Executive (or an RTPI officer nominated by the Chief Executive for such purposes).
16. Amendments
16.1. RTPI reserves the right to amend these Terms and Condition at any time.
16.2. Members will be notified by email of any changes to these Terms and Conditions, including a summary of changes, and will be given 14 days prior written notice.
16.3. The most recent edition of these Terms and Conditions will be binding upon you and will be available on our website.
17. Governing Law
17.1. These Terms and Conditions are governed by English Law and any disputes shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English and Welsh courts, notwithstanding the jurisdiction where you are based.
18. Force Majeure
18.1. RTPI shall not be deemed to be in breach of these Terms and Conditions in the event of Force Majeure. If a breach is caused by Force Majeure, we will contact you as soon as reasonably possible to notify you of it, and our obligations under these Terms will be suspended for the duration.
19. Contact Information
19.1. If you have any queries, comments or complaints related to your membership please contact the Membership team on [email protected] or by phone: +44 (0)370 774 9494.
19.2. We will respond to any query or complaint received within two working days. This may be an acknowledgement that we have received your query whilst further investigations are being carried out.