Condition ratings
The windows carry the document mark R and a condition rating 2. What extra papers is R pointing at, beside the rating?
R is pointing at papers about the windows, beside the condition rating, not at a second judgement of their condition. The windows carry the document mark R and a condition rating 2. Rating 2 means defects that need repair but are not serious or urgent. R is the document mark for papers you may be asked to request, such as guarantees or installation records. It is not rating 1, not a worse rating, and not a pass. The surveyor does not collect those papers. The solicitor asks for them.
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?
A condition rating is the judgement on the windows that were inspected. Rating 2 is that judgement: work that needs doing, but not serious or urgent work. R sits in a different place. It flags documents. For windows, the extra papers are the records of installation, any guarantee, and any approval the report says should be requested. The mark does not say the glass has failed, and it does not say the frames are sound beyond the rating already given.
Read the window paragraph for the papers R names, and ask the solicitor to request them. Keep rating 2 as the condition judgement: defects that need repair but are not serious or urgent. Do not treat R as an extra defect or as a reason to ignore the rating. Do not invent a certificate the report has not identified. If the papers never arrive, the rating still stands as printed.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Which papers is the document mark R beside the windows pointing at?
- What condition rating sits beside that mark, and what does it mean here?
- Who is supposed to ask for those papers?
What are the typical next steps?
- Ask the solicitor to request the papers R names for the windows.
- Keep rating 2 as the condition judgement, separate from the document mark.
- Do not invent a certificate the report has not identified.
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 rating 2 is already printed, do the papers R points at become optional?
No. Rating 2 already says there are defects that need repair but are not serious or urgent. R does not make the papers optional, and it does not duplicate that rating. The papers are a separate request. You still ask for them beside the rating, rather than instead of reading it.
Is the document mark R a worse condition than rating 2?
No. R is not a condition rating at all, so it is not worse than rating 2 and not better. Rating 2 means defects that need repair but are not serious or urgent. R points at papers. NI would mean not inspected, not a pass, and that is not the mark on these windows. Leave both marks as they were printed.