Condition ratings
A high meter reading says further investigation. Has the home surveyor appointed a damp firm for you?
Nobody has been appointed. A high meter reading with a call for further investigation is the surveyor telling you that the damp question is not finished. It is not a contract with a damp firm, and it does not put that firm on the surveyor's account. You still have to choose and instruct someone if you want that next look done.
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?
Meter readings on a home survey are part of a visual inspection. They are not a completed diagnosis and they are not a safety test of the services. When the report says further investigation, it is handing you a next step, not a diary entry already agreed with a specialist. The advice is aimed at you as the buyer. It does not bill the seller, and it does not hire their contractor or yours. Until you have a written instruction with a damp firm, no one has been appointed, however strongly the paragraph is worded.
Before you book, write down which walls the meter flagged, what question you want answered, and that you need the answer in writing. A rating beside the damp, if there is one, remains the surveyor's view of what they could tell on the day. Rating 3, where that is the mark, means something serious or urgent and points you to written quotations before you take on a legal commitment. The meter line itself is not those quotations and not the investigation. Keep the survey, and add a specialist only by a new instruction.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Which walls carried the high readings you want investigated?
- Have you appointed anyone, or is the next instruction entirely mine?
- Will a later damp report replace your paragraph, or sit beside it?
What are the typical next steps?
- Treat the meter sentence as advice, not as an appointment.
- Instruct a damp firm yourself if you want the further look.
- Ask for their findings in writing before you rely on them.
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
Does a rating 3 on damp mean the firm is already hired?
No. The rating grades what the surveyor saw. Hiring a damp firm is a separate step you take.
Can the seller's agent book the firm and call it done?
Only if you agree that booking answers the question and you receive a written report you can use. The surveyor has not hired them.