Condition ratings

Can the floors be condition rating 1 if the surveyor did not lift the fitted carpets?

Yes, but only for what was visible. A home survey does not lift fitted carpets. Rating 1 means no repair is currently needed from the surfaces and edges they could judge. It is not a statement about every board, joist end or damp patch under the carpet.

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 look at bounce, slopes, staining at the skirtings, air bricks and any boards already exposed. They do not peel back a fitted carpet as standard, and they do not take up laminated floors that are fixed down. The Level 3 definitions still use rating 1 for no repair currently needed. That rating has to be read with the limitation. If the report is silent, ask whether the carpets stayed down. A springy floor they have already called rating 2 or 3 is a different sentence from a floor they barely saw.

Do not lift the carpets yourself in a house you do not own. If the decision depends on the boards, ask the seller for access and agree an opening-up with the surveyor or a specialist. There is no RICS price for the unseen floor, and rating 1 is not a budget that says the joists are new. A later discovery under the carpet does not mean the visible rating was a guarantee. It means the carpet was not lifted.

What should you ask your surveyor?

Did the carpets stay down?
What visible signs did you use for the floor rating?
Where would a hidden defect still sit outside this number?

What are the typical next steps?

Read the floor rating as a view of what was uncovered.
Ask before you treat it as a survey of the joists.
Do not rip up carpets before exchange without permission.

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 a corner was turned back, is the whole floor inspected?

Only that corner, unless the report says more. Do not stretch one lifted corner across every room.

Does rating 3 on one bedroom floor regrade the others?

Not unless the report says the defect is widespread. Keep the ratings on the rooms they describe.