Choosing a survey level
The report places a product still called a HomeBuyer, a Georgian terrace and whether that product is the one RICS describes for this house in one paragraph. Which of those were inspected, and which were merely named?
The Georgian terrace was inspected within the product that was instructed. The HomeBuyer name, and whether that product is the one RICS describes for this house, were named rather than settled. RICS says Level 2 was previously called a HomeBuyer Report, and describes Level 2 for conventional homes that are straightforward. A Georgian terrace is older and often altered, which is where RICS describes Level 3 if the buyer wants that depth. The paragraph does not itself decide the fit. The survey has not re-badged the report, and it has not tested whether a different level would have been the better instruction.
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?
The old HomeBuyer name still appears on some instructions after the RICS levels were renamed. The useful question is which level was actually carried out, and what it leaves out on a terrace of this age. Level 2, the successor to that name, is aimed at conventional property in reasonable condition. Level 3 is the more detailed visual survey RICS describes for older or altered buildings. Seeing a Georgian terrace and a HomeBuyer heading in one paragraph records both. It does not score the match.
Ask the firm, in writing, whether the HomeBuyer document is a RICS Home Survey Level 2, and what it did not cover on this Georgian terrace. Tell the solicitor the product name has not settled that question. If the answer is that a Level 3 would have been the closer fit, that is a choice about a further instruction, not a defect the visit invented. Do not assume the old name either saved you or failed you. Get the level identified first.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Is the document still headed HomeBuyer, and is that a Level 2 in RICS terms?
- What about this Georgian terrace did the instructed product not open up?
- Has suitability of the product been left as a named question, not a test?
What are the typical next steps?
- Ask the firm which RICS level the HomeBuyer heading actually is.
- List what this terrace instruction did not include.
- Do not treat the product name as a verdict on suitability.
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 Georgian date forbid a Level 2?
No. RICS describes Level 2, formerly the HomeBuyer, for conventional homes that are straightforward, and Level 3 where the buyer wants more depth on an older or altered building. The paragraph names both the terrace and the product. It does not forbid the instruction that was given, and it does not prove it was the closer fit. Ask the firm which level you received.
If the report is thick, must it be a Level 3?
No. Length is not the level. A document still called a HomeBuyer has to be identified with the firm, because RICS used that name for what is now Level 2. Thickness does not settle whether it is the product RICS describes for this Georgian terrace. The survey inspected within its instruction. The heading does not regrade itself.