Condition ratings
The report says further investigation against a rating 3 roof. Is further investigation a fourth condition rating?
No. Further investigation is not a fourth condition rating. The report already has ratings 1, 2 and 3, and not inspected where a part was not seen. Further investigation is an action written against the rating 3 roof: find out more before you commit. It does not sit beside those numbers as rating 4, and it does not soften the 3 into something milder. Read it as advice on what to do about the roof that was rated, not as a new mark on a longer scale.
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?
People look for a middle step when a rating 3 feels blunt. The words further investigation are that step in plain English. They tell you the matter is not closed by the visit, and that someone needs to look more closely at the roof. They do not create an extra colour. If you average them with the 3 and call the result a two-and-a-half, you have left the scale the report uses. The roof remains rating 3, with an investigation still to do.
Obtain the investigation the note asks for, from a person who can see the roof properly, and get it in writing before you are legally committed. Do not ask the surveyor to relabel the line as a new rating so the email to the agent looks calmer. If the investigation later changes what is known, that is new information. It may lead to a revision. It is not, today, a fourth box you can tick instead of the 3.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Is further investigation an action on the rating 3 roof, or a separate rating?
- What should that investigation actually look at?
- Does the rating 3 stand until any later findings are written?
What are the typical next steps?
- Do not call further investigation a fourth condition rating.
- Arrange the investigation the roof note asks for.
- Keep the rating 3 in place while you wait for that result.
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 you never investigate, does the rating become milder?
No. Skipping the investigation does not change the scale or the rating. The roof stays rating 3. Further investigation was the action, not a softer number.
Is not inspected the same as further investigation?
No. Not inspected means that part was not seen. Further investigation is advice attached to a rated element. Neither is an extra rating beyond the report's scale.