Condition ratings
A close-boarded fence is rating 3. Does any indoor element inherit that number?
No. A close-boarded fence at rating 3 does not pass that number to any indoor element. The fence is panels, arris rails and posts in the garden. Rooms, floors and the main roof keep whatever marks they were given. A failed boundary screen is not a failed chimney, and it is not a reason to regrade the inside of the house.
Last reviewed 24 October 2026. Written for buyers in England and Wales unless this answer says otherwise. No named surveyor has signed this page. It is general guidance, not a report on your house, and not legal advice.
What is the fuller explanation?
Close-boarded fencing is a run of boards on arris rails and posts. Rating 3 means the surveyor thinks that run is serious, urgent, or both: rotten posts, a panel ready to fall, a length that is a hazard. The what to do now note tells you to get written quotations before legal commitment for that element. It advises you, the buyer. It does not invoice the seller, and it does not export the number indoors. A ceiling, a floor, a boiler or a chimney keeps the rating it was given. If those were rating 1, no repair is currently needed to them. The fence does not change that.
The report also does not decide whose fence it is, or whether a neighbour shares it. That is a question for the solicitor, not a condition rating. Do not serve any notice yourself, and do not assume the surveyor will. Posts in the ground are only partly seen, so the below-ground timber is not guaranteed sound, but the rating is still the fence's rating. When you ask for a quote, describe boards, rails and posts. Do not let a landscaper's price for the boundary become a claim that the house failed its survey.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Which run of close-boarded fence is rating 3?
- Are the indoor elements on different numbers?
- Are you expecting quotations for the fence alone?
What are the typical next steps?
- Get quotations for the fence if you need them before you commit.
- Leave every indoor rating where the report put it.
- Ask the solicitor who repairs that boundary, as a separate question.
Costs vary with the building and with who you instruct. Where this page does not cite a published figure, ask the surveyor, a relevant specialist, or your solicitor for a written quote. Do not treat a forum average as the price.
Also asked about this
If the fence is rating 3, is the garden wall the same?
Only if the report rates the wall as well. A fence and a wall are different elements.
Does a leaning panel make the house rating 3?
No. The panel is the fence. The house does not inherit it.