Choosing a survey
What is the difference between a HomeBuyer Report and a Building Survey?
HomeBuyer Report and Building Survey are the old names. RICS now calls them Home Survey Level 2 and Level 3. Level 2 suits a conventional home and includes repair advice. Level 3 is the deeper visual survey for older, altered or unusual buildings. The name on the cover tells you which one you have.
Last reviewed 24 October 2026. Written for buyers in England and Wales unless a source says otherwise. No named surveyor has signed this page. It is general guidance, not a report on your house, and not legal advice.
Why do people still say HomeBuyer and Building Survey?
Those names were used for years, and estate agents still use them. RICS changed the labels so the product was the level, not a brand name that differed by firm. If a quote says “HomeBuyer”, ask whether they mean an RICS Home Survey Level 2, survey only, or Level 2 with a valuation. If it says “full building survey”, ask whether they mean Level 3. The words “full” and “structural” are not levels.
A report produced before March 2021 may genuinely be an old HomeBuyer Report or Building Survey. Read it as the product it was. Do not assume it uses the current condition-rating definitions until you see them in the text.
Is a Building Survey the same job as Level 3?
Under the current standard, yes: Level 3 is the successor to the Building Survey, and Level 2 is the successor to the HomeBuyer Report. The standard sets a minimum scope so two regulated firms are offering comparable inspections. A firm can still explain more than the minimum. It should not quietly offer less and keep the old, grander name.
- Level 2: condition, risks, repair and maintenance advice, more extensive roof space and drains than Level 1.
- Level 3: that, plus how this building is constructed, repair options, timing and consequences.
- Neither is a promise to take the building apart.
What if the HomeBuyer is not an RICS report?
Some firms use “homebuyer” as an ordinary English word for any pre-purchase inspection. That report is not an RICS Home Survey unless it says it was done to the Home Survey Standard by a regulated firm. Ratings that look similar are not the same document. Ask which standard, which level, and who regulates the firm. The comparison on this page is about the RICS products.
What should you book if the agent says you need a building survey?
Ask for an RICS Home Survey Level 3 if the building is older, altered, unusual, or you plan major work, and you want that advice from an RICS-regulated firm. Ask for Level 2 if the home is conventional and in reasonable condition. Ignore the agent’s nickname until the quote names the level. If you also want a market value, that is an extra instruction, usually the valuation version of Level 2, not a free extra inside an old-style building survey.
In Scotland, start from the seller’s Home Report rather than from these English and Welsh product names.
Common questions
Is a structural survey the same as a Building Survey?
People use “structural survey” to mean a Building Survey, which is now Level 3. A structural engineer’s report is a different instruction, usually about a specific crack or alteration. Do not assume the words on a quote mean Level 3 until the firm confirms the RICS level.
What is a full survey?
It is not a defined RICS product. Ask which level. “Full” often means “not a mortgage valuation”, which still leaves Level 1, 2 and 3 on the table. Those three are not the same inspection.
Where did the Condition Report go?
It is the old name for Level 1. That is a visual overview. It highlights urgent defects and generally does not tell you how to manage them. If someone offers you a Condition Report, confirm they mean Level 1 under the current standard.
Can one report use both the old and the new name?
Yes. A careful firm may say “Level 2 (formerly HomeBuyer Report)” so you can match it to older advice. The level and the description of inspection are what you rely on, not the nostalgia.
Is a HomeBuyer cheaper than a Building Survey?
Level 2 is usually a shorter inspection than Level 3, so firms often charge less, but RICS does not publish a pair of prices. Compare written quotes for named levels. Do not choose the old name because it sounds mid-range.
Do both use condition ratings?
Current RICS Home Survey reports use condition ratings, including the idea that a serious or urgent defect is called out clearly. An older Building Survey may have been written in prose without the same numbered ratings. Read the definitions printed in the report you have, not a definition from a different era.
The agent says a HomeBuyer is enough. Is it?
The agent is not instructing the survey and does not owe you the surveyor’s duty. Match the level to the building using RICS’s own descriptions. If the home is conventional and in reasonable condition, Level 2 is the product RICS describes. If it is not, say so.
Do Scottish sellers provide a HomeBuyer Report?
They provide a Home Report, which includes a Single Survey. That is not a HomeBuyer Report and not a Level 2 you chose. Read the Scottish document for what it covers, and take separate advice if you need more.
Sources
Key facts
- Old name
- HomeBuyer Report is the previous name for Level 2. Building Survey is the previous name for Level 3.
- Since when
- RICS introduced the current three-level Home Survey on 1 March 2021 so buyers could compare like with like.
- Condition Report
- The old name for what is now Level 1, a visual overview that generally does not advise how to manage defects.
- Still in force
- The Home Survey Standard, 1st edition. RICS said on 17 June 2026 that a 2nd edition was under review and members should keep using the 1st until it takes effect.