Surveys and property condition

RICS

RICS is the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, the professional body that sets the standards UK surveyors and valuers work to.

MRICS or FRICS after a surveyor's name means chartered status, professional rules and an insurance backstop.

Related: Red Book valuation

Survey vs valuation

A survey inspects a property's condition for the buyer, while a valuation estimates its worth for the lender.

The mortgage valuation can be done without anyone setting foot inside. Buyers who rely on it as a condition check are relying on something that never looked.

Related: Mortgage valuation, RICS Home Survey Level 2

RICS Home Survey Level 1

Also known as: Condition Report

A Level 1 survey is the most basic RICS inspection, reporting visible condition by traffic light with no advice or valuation.

Suited to newer conventional homes in apparently good order. The cheapest option, and the least it can tell you.

Related: Condition ratings, RICS Home Survey Level 2

RICS Home Survey Level 2

Also known as: HomeBuyer Report, homebuyers survey

A Level 2 survey is the standard mid-depth RICS inspection of visible and accessible parts of a home, flagging defects and advising on repairs.

The default choice for conventional houses and flats in reasonable condition. Can be bought with or without a valuation attached.

Related: RICS Home Survey Level 3, Condition ratings · Survey jargon translator tool →

RICS Home Survey Level 3

Also known as: Building Survey, full structural survey

A Level 3 survey is the most thorough RICS inspection, examining structure and fabric in detail with repair options and consequences of not acting.

The right call for older, extended, unusual or visibly tired homes. Costs more, and routinely pays for itself in renegotiation evidence.

Related: RICS Home Survey Level 2, Structural engineer's report

Snagging survey

A snagging survey is an independent inspection of a new-build home cataloguing defects and unfinished work for the developer to fix.

Best done before completion if the developer allows access, and soon after if not. Fresh paint hides a lot; a snagging inspector is paid not to be charmed by it.

Related: Snagging and snagging list

Structural engineer's report

A structural engineer's report is a specialist assessment of a specific structural concern, such as cracking or movement, that a general survey flagged.

Narrower and deeper than a survey: it answers is this structural and what will fix it, with calculations behind the answer. Lenders often require one before lending on flagged homes.

Related: Subsidence, Further investigation recommendation

Damp and timber report

Also known as: PCA report, damp specialist report

A damp and timber report is a specialist inspection of damp and timber decay, usually by a Property Care Association member firm.

Often requested after a survey flags moisture. Where the report comes from a contractor who also sells the remedial work, an independent second opinion is worth the fee.

Related: Rising damp, Dry rot

Red Book valuation

A Red Book valuation is a formal valuation carried out to RICS's mandatory standards, required for probate, tax, court and similar official uses.

The name comes from the RICS valuation standards manual. It is evidence-grade, unlike an agent's market appraisal.

Related: Market appraisal, Probate and grant of probate

Reinstatement cost

Also known as: rebuild cost

Reinstatement cost is what it would cost to completely rebuild a home, the figure buildings insurance should be based on.

It is a construction number, not the market value, and can sit far above or below it. Surveys often state it; underinsuring against it is the quiet risk.

Condition ratings

Also known as: traffic light ratings

Condition ratings are the RICS traffic-light system: 1 means no repair needed, 2 means defects needing attention in time, 3 means serious or urgent defects.

A scatter of 2s is normal in any lived-in home. The 3s are the negotiation: cost them properly before reacting to them.

Related: RICS Home Survey Level 2, Renegotiation

Further investigation recommendation

A further investigation recommendation is a surveyor flagging something they could not fully assess and directing a specialist to look closer.

Partly caution, partly liability management. Ignoring one and buying anyway means owning whatever the specialist would have found.

Related: Structural engineer's report, Damp and timber report

Defect

A defect is any fault in a property's condition, from a slipped tile to structural movement.

Survey language grades them by consequence, not drama. The question for every defect is the same: what does it cost, and who pays.

Related: Condition ratings

Subsidence

Subsidence is the ground beneath a building sinking, pulling foundations down with it and cracking the structure above.

Clay soils, leaking drains and thirsty trees are the usual causes. Diagnosis can involve monitoring over months, and an insurance claim history follows the house.

What to watch: A subsidence history makes a home harder and dearer to insure, which some buyers and lenders will not take on. Disclose it honestly; concealment surfaces in claims databases.

Related: Heave, Underpinning, Tree proximity and TPOs

Heave

Heave is the ground swelling upward and pushing a building's foundations up, the opposite of subsidence.

Classically caused by clay rehydrating after a large tree is removed. Fewer people have heard of it, which does not make it cheaper.

Related: Subsidence, Tree proximity and TPOs

Settlement

Settlement is the normal, minor downward bedding-in of a building under its own weight, especially when newly built or extended.

Distinct from subsidence: settlement is historic and stable, subsidence is ongoing. Surveyors read the crack pattern to tell them apart.

Related: Structural vs cosmetic cracking, Subsidence

Landslip

Landslip is ground physically sliding downhill, taking or threatening structures with it.

Rare, location-specific and serious. Insurance and specialist reports drive everything where it is a live risk.

Underpinning

Underpinning is strengthening a building's foundations, usually by extending them deeper into stable ground, to stop movement.

The definitive fix for subsidence, and proof it happened. An underpinned home needs its engineering paperwork and insurer continuity to sell smoothly.

Related: Subsidence

Structural vs cosmetic cracking

Cosmetic cracking is surface-level movement in plaster and finishes, while structural cracking runs through the building's fabric and signals movement.

Width, pattern and position tell surveyors which is which; hairline cracks around doors after a dry summer are a different animal from stepped cracks in brickwork.

Related: Settlement, Subsidence

Roof spread

Roof spread is a roof's rafters pushing the tops of the supporting walls outward because the structure tying them together has failed or was removed.

Visible as leaning walls or a dip in the ridge. A structural repair, and one that renegotiations are made of.

Related: Structural engineer's report

Load-bearing wall

A load-bearing wall carries the weight of the structure above it, so removing or altering one needs engineering and building regulations approval.

Open-plan conversions live and die by this. Buyers' surveyors look for the paperwork wherever a wall has obviously gone.

Related: Building regulations approval, Chimney breast removal

Chimney breast removal

Chimney breast removal is taking out the internal body of a chimney, which requires proper support for the remaining stack above.

A common past alteration, and a common survey flag when the support is undocumented. The fix ranges from paperwork to steelwork.

Related: Load-bearing wall, Building regulations approval

Lintel

A lintel is the beam over a window or door opening that carries the wall above it.

Failed or missing lintels show as cracking above openings, and older homes with newer windows sometimes turn out to have none. A standard, fixable, negotiable finding.

Related: Structural vs cosmetic cracking

Wall tie failure

Wall tie failure is the corrosion of the metal ties holding a cavity wall's two leaves together, letting the outer wall bow or crack.

An age-related issue in some older cavity construction. Replacement ties are a known, costed remedy rather than a catastrophe.

Related: Cavity wall

Cavity wall

A cavity wall is built as two parallel leaves of masonry with a gap between them, standard in UK homes since roughly the 1930s.

The cavity keeps weather out and can hold insulation. Whether it should is a separate question with a history.

Related: Cavity wall insulation problems, Solid wall

Solid wall

A solid wall is a single thickness of masonry with no cavity, typical of homes built before the 1930s.

Harder to insulate and more prone to penetrating damp than cavity construction. Normal for the age, and priced into period homes.

Related: Penetrating damp, Cavity wall

Cavity wall insulation problems

Cavity wall insulation problems arise when retrofitted cavity fill traps moisture, causing damp in homes exposed to driving rain or with poorly suited walls.

Millions of installs were fine; a minority were not. Surveys flag suspected cases, and extraction is possible where fill has failed.

Related: Cavity wall, Penetrating damp

Spray foam insulation

Spray foam insulation is expanding foam applied inside a roof, which many mortgage lenders treat as a barrier to lending because it can hide and trap timber decay.

Homes with it can struggle to sell or remortgage until it is inspected or removed. If you are considering installing it, talk to a surveyor first; if selling with it, gather the installation paperwork early.

What to watch: Some lenders decline outright on spray foam in the roof. Budget for a specialist inspection or removal before it surprises your buyer's application.

Related: Lender criteria

Non-standard construction

Non-standard construction is any home not built of brick or block walls under a tiled or slated roof, from concrete panels to steel frames.

Lender appetite varies sharply by type, which shrinks the buyer pool and shapes the price. The construction type belongs in your early conversations, not your late ones.

Related: PRC (precast reinforced concrete), Timber frame, Lender criteria

Single-skin construction

Single-skin construction is walling one brick thick, common in outbuildings and some extensions, and weaker thermally and structurally than a full wall.

An issue when habitable rooms sit behind it. Surveys flag it; lenders vary on it.

Related: Non-standard construction

Timber frame

Timber frame construction carries the building's loads on a wooden structural frame, usually behind a brick outer skin.

A mainstream modern method, generally mortgageable. Older system-built timber types get more lender scrutiny, and the brick face can make the two hard to tell apart.

Related: Non-standard construction

PRC (precast reinforced concrete)

PRC homes were built from factory-made concrete panels, many types later designated defective under housing legislation.

Most lenders require a certified structural repair before lending on designated types. A PRC certificate for completed repairs is the document that unlocks the sale.

Related: Non-standard construction

Rising damp

Rising damp is moisture climbing from the ground up through walls where the damp-proof course has failed or is bridged.

Genuine cases exist; misdiagnosis is also common, since leaks and condensation mimic it. Independent diagnosis before expensive injection treatment is the standing advice.

Related: Damp-proof course (DPC), Damp and timber report

Penetrating damp

Penetrating damp is moisture driving sideways through walls or roofs from an external defect such as failed pointing, gutters or flashing.

Find the defect, fix it, let the wall dry. Usually the cheapest damp to cure and the easiest to prove cured.

Related: Pointing and repointing, Flashing

Condensation

Condensation is airborne moisture settling on cold surfaces inside a home, the most common cause of damp and mould in UK housing.

A ventilation and heating pattern problem more than a building defect. Extractors, airflow and background heat are the levers.

Related: Airbricks and sub-floor ventilation

Damp-proof course (DPC)

A damp-proof course is the waterproof layer built into walls near ground level to stop moisture rising from the ground.

Standard since the late Victorian era. Bridging, by raised ground or render crossing it, causes many failures blamed on the DPC itself.

Related: Rising damp, Damp-proof membrane

Damp-proof membrane

A damp-proof membrane is the waterproof sheet within a solid ground floor that stops moisture rising through it.

Older solid floors may have none, showing as damp floor coverings. Retrofit means new floor build-up or surface sealing systems.

Related: Damp-proof course (DPC)

Tanking

Tanking is applying a waterproof barrier to below-ground walls and floors, standard in basement and cellar conversions.

Failed tanking in a converted basement is a serious and expensive survey finding. Guarantees and installer paperwork matter here.

Airbricks and sub-floor ventilation

Airbricks are perforated bricks that ventilate the void beneath suspended timber floors, keeping the timbers dry.

Blocked airbricks, often buried by raised paths or decking, are a classic cause of floor timber decay. Clearing them is the cheapest damp prevention there is.

Related: Suspended timber floor vs solid floor, Wet rot

Suspended timber floor vs solid floor

A suspended timber floor sits on joists over a ventilated void, while a solid floor is concrete laid on the ground.

Most pre-war homes have suspended timber downstairs. Each has its own failure modes: decay in the void for timber, damp through the slab for solid.

Related: Airbricks and sub-floor ventilation, Damp-proof membrane

Dry rot

Dry rot is a wood-destroying fungus that spreads through masonry and timber alike, the most serious decay a survey can find.

Despite the name it needs moisture to start. Treatment means cutting out affected material and fixing the moisture source, and quotes deserve competition.

Related: Wet rot, Damp and timber report

Wet rot

Wet rot is timber decay confined to persistently damp wood, more common and far less invasive than dry rot.

Fix the leak, replace the affected timber, done. Frequently found in neglected windows, fascias and floor voids.

Related: Dry rot

Woodworm

Woodworm is the collective name for wood-boring beetle larvae that leave small flight holes in structural and joinery timber.

The question is whether infestation is active or historic, which a specialist can tell. Old holes with no fresh dust are history, not a crisis.

Related: Damp and timber report

Japanese knotweed

Japanese knotweed is an invasive plant whose presence must be declared when selling and which most lenders will only accept under a professional management plan.

The TA6 form asks directly. An insurance-backed management plan from an accredited firm is what turns knotweed from a deal-killer into a paperwork item.

What to watch: Answering the knotweed question wrongly is a misrepresentation claim waiting years to surface. If unsure, get a specialist survey rather than guessing no.

Related: TA6 Property Information Form, Misrepresentation · Knotweed found in the survey →

Invasive plants (bamboo and others)

Invasive plants are aggressive species like running bamboo whose spread can damage buildings and neighbouring land.

Bamboo has become the newer knotweed conversation: no standard disclosure question yet, but real removal costs and neighbour disputes. Surveys increasingly note it.

Related: Japanese knotweed

Asbestos

Asbestos is a banned building material present in many homes built or altered before 2000, hazardous when disturbed but generally safe left intact.

Textured coatings, floor tiles, soffits and garage roofs are the usual suspects. Surveys note suspected materials; testing and licensed removal are for specialists.

RAAC

RAAC is reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete, a lightweight plank material used mainly between the 1950s and 1990s that can fail suddenly beyond its design life.

Overwhelmingly a public-buildings issue, rare in houses, but surveyors now name it where suspected and lenders ask. A structural engineer settles it.

Related: Structural engineer's report

Flat roof

A flat roof is any near-level roof covering, traditionally felt with a limited lifespan, and a standing item on survey reports.

Modern membranes last far longer than old felt. Surveyors flag age and ponding; buyers price in eventual recovering as routine.

Flashing

Flashing is the weatherproof metalwork sealing roof junctions, around chimneys, walls and windows.

Failed flashing is among the most common sources of penetrating damp, and among the cheapest roof repairs.

Related: Penetrating damp

Pointing and repointing

Pointing is the mortar finishing between bricks, and repointing is renewing it where weather has eroded it.

Routine maintenance on any masonry home. On older solid walls the mortar type matters: hard cement pointing on soft brick causes the damage it was meant to prevent.

Related: Solid wall, Spalling

Spalling

Spalling is the face of brick or stone flaking away, usually from frost acting on saturated masonry.

Cosmetic in patches, structural when widespread. The cause is water; the cure starts with keeping it out.

Related: Pointing and repointing

Efflorescence

Efflorescence is the white salt deposit left on masonry as moisture within it dries out.

Unsightly rather than harmful, and common on new brickwork. Persistent efflorescence is a moisture signpost worth following.

EICR (electrical report)

Also known as: Electrical Installation Condition Report

An EICR is a qualified electrician's formal report on the safety of a property's wiring and electrical installation.

Legally required for rentals and simply sensible on purchase where the wiring's age is unknown. Surveys observe electrics; only an EICR actually tests them.

Related: Consumer unit

Consumer unit

Also known as: fuse box, fuse board

The consumer unit is the modern fuse box, distributing power around a home and cutting it instantly when a fault is detected.

Its age is the quickest visual proxy for the wiring's age. Old fuse-wire boards signal an installation due an EICR at minimum.

Related: EICR (electrical report)

Gas safety and boiler checks

Gas safety checks are inspections of boilers and gas appliances by a Gas Safe registered engineer.

Buyers ask for boiler service history because a dead boiler is an immediate four-figure cost. A recent service record is cheap credibility for a seller.

CCTV drain survey

A CCTV drain survey is a camera inspection of a property's drains, mapping their condition and route.

Ordered when surveys note drainage doubt or where trees stand near clay pipes. Root intrusion and collapsed sections are subsidence risk factors as well as plumbing ones.

Related: Subsidence

Septic tanks and private drainage

A septic tank is private sewage treatment for homes off mains drainage, regulated by rules that ban discharging directly to a watercourse.

Tanks that still discharge to a stream need upgrading or replacing with a treatment plant, a cost that belongs in the negotiation. Buyers' solicitors now ask for compliance evidence as standard.

What to watch: Selling a home whose tank breaches the general binding rules means either fixing it or pricing it; staying silent invites the claim later.

Related: Drainage and water search

Solar panels (owned vs roof-lease)

Owned solar panels are part of the property, while roof-lease panels belong to a company holding a long lease over the roof, which complicates the sale.

Rent-a-roof leases from the feed-in-tariff era require lender approval and sometimes renegotiation to sell or remortgage. Locate the lease and the paperwork before listing, not during conveyancing.

Related: Lender criteria

Tree proximity and TPOs

Tree proximity is the survey concern of large trees close enough to affect foundations, and a TPO is a Tree Preservation Order making it an offence to fell or prune a protected tree without consent.

Thirsty species on clay soils drive the subsidence conversation. A TPO means the fix cannot simply be removal, which insurers price in.

Related: Subsidence, Heave

Radon

Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas that accumulates in buildings in certain areas, mapped by the UK Health Security Agency.

Searches flag affected areas; testing is cheap and mitigation is an established building job. A known issue with a known fix, in known places.

Flood risk

Flood risk is a property's exposure to river, surface water or groundwater flooding, checked through searches and government flood maps.

It shapes insurance cost and availability, which shapes mortgageability. Surface water risk catches buyers out more often than river risk, because it has no river to warn them.

Related: Flood Re, Environmental search

Flood Re

Flood Re is the industry scheme that keeps flood insurance affordable for higher-risk homes by reinsuring the flood portion of policies.

It covers homes built before 2009; newer homes in flood zones sit outside it by design. The scheme is scheduled to run to 2039, with the market intended to stand alone after it.

Related: Flood risk

Retention driven by survey

A survey-driven retention is a lender withholding part of the mortgage until repairs the valuation flagged are completed.

Covered in full in the mortgage chapter; it lands here because the survey finding is what triggers it.

Related: Retention (mortgage), Condition ratings