Condition ratings

What is wrong with calling a survey all rating 1s when some elements are marked NI?

A seller who says the report was all rating 1s is leaving out every NI line. In the RICS Level 3 description, NI means those elements were not inspected, so they were not given a rating at all. A loft, a drain or a flat roof marked NI has not passed.

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?

Surveyors mark NI when they could not see the element: a sealed hatch, a dangerous roof, a locked room, a buried chamber. The rest of the report can still be full of rating 1s. Those 1s do not leak backwards into the NI lines. RICS tells you to read the limitations. A seller who says “it was all ones” is leaving the NI column out.

The useful next step is to inspect the missing element if the purchase depends on it. That may be a return visit, a roofer, or a drainage company. It is often a new instruction. Ask why it was NI, because the reason changes the fix: a key is easy, a rotten hatch on a high landing may be the three-metre limit in the Level 3 description, and a refused room is a solicitor’s question.

What should you ask your surveyor?

Which elements are NI, and why was each one not inspected?
What would it take to inspect them before we commit?
Which rating 1s sit next to an NI and must not be read as covering it?

What are the typical next steps?

List every NI before you negotiate. Do not negotiate only the numbered ratings.
Ask the seller for access to anything that was locked.
If an element stays NI at exchange, know that you are buying it unseen.

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

Is NI the same as “further investigation”?

No. NI means it was not inspected. Further investigation means the surveyor saw enough to want a specialist, or could not conclude. Read the sentence under the heading.

Can you insure an element that was NI?

Ask the insurer what they want declared. An NI line is a fact. It is not a warranty that the element is sound.