Choosing a survey level
The flat is in a large block with cladding. What should you ask about whether a Level 2 will comment on the block the way a Level 3 would?
Ask the firm, in writing, what a Level 2 on this flat will say about the block and the cladding, and what a Level 3 would add. A large clad block is not an ordinary house, and the two levels are not written to the same depth. A Level 2 can comment on what is in its scope and can record limits. It is not commissioned as a full building survey of the whole block. The survey you have not yet instructed has not decided the cladding. The question to ask is where each level stops.
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?
Level 2 and Level 3 are different RICS products. Level 2 is aimed at a conventional property and will flag what it cannot conclude. Level 3 is the more detailed building survey, better suited where construction is complex, altered, or hard to see. Cladding on a large block raises questions about the external wall, the balcony zones, and the common parts, many of which a flat inspection cannot open. Ask which of those the firm will comment on, from where, and which it will leave as not inspected.
Ask whether the fee for either level includes the external wall, the roof of the block, and the common hall, or only the flat itself. Ask what documents the firm wants first, such as any cladding note already in the management pack, and what it will not interpret. Do not assume the cheaper level has quietly covered the block because the flat inside looks straightforward. Scope is what you agree, not what you hope.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- What will a Level 2 say about this block and its cladding, and from where?
- What extra comment on the block would a Level 3 include that Level 2 would not?
- Which parts of the block will you mark as not inspected at the level I choose?
What are the typical next steps?
- Ask in writing how far Level 2 and Level 3 each go on this clad block.
- Agree whether the fee includes the external wall and common parts.
- Do not assume the flat inspection has described the whole block.
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 Level 2 have to stay silent on cladding?
No. Silence is not automatic. A Level 2 can record cladding it sees and the limits of that look. What you should ask is whether those comments will be as full as a Level 3 on this large block. The level you have not agreed has not yet said anything about this cladding.
If the rooms look ordinary, can the block be left out of the question?
No. Ordinary rooms do not describe the wall outside them. The cladding is on the block, and a large block is the setting of this flat. Ask the firm what each level will say about that wall. Looking only at the living room would miss the question the block actually poses.