Choosing a survey level
The house is named as non-standard and the quote is for a Level 2. What limit in a Level 2 should you ask the firm to talk through before you instruct?
Ask the firm to talk through the limit that a Level 2 is described for conventional homes in reasonable condition, while this house is named as non-standard. Level 2 gives repair and maintenance advice, but it is not the fuller account of how an unusual building is put together that a Level 3 is for. It will not open the hidden system. That scope limit is what you need to hear before you instruct, so you do not buy a report that keeps stopping at the lining of a frame it was not set out to explain.
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?
RICS points Level 1 and Level 2 at houses built in a common way from common materials. Non-standard construction is the unusual building a Level 3 description is written for. The difference is not that Level 3 dismantles the house. Both are visual unless you agree otherwise. The difference is depth: how the system is described, what the hidden parts mean, and what happens if you do not repair. A Level 2 on a named system can be honest and still be the wrong product if you needed that depth.
Say the system name, if you already know it, when you ask the firm for the quote, and ask them to explain in writing what this Level 2 will not cover. If they think Level 3 is the one that fits, that is the conversation to have now. Your solicitor and any lender will later read whatever you instructed. They cannot add the missing description. The home survey, once booked at Level 2, will not become a Level 3 on the day the frame proves awkward.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- What will this Level 2 not describe about a non-standard house?
- Will the inspection open the frame, or stay visual?
- Do you think Level 3 is the product that fits this named system?
What are the typical next steps?
- Ask the firm to explain the Level 2 limit before you instruct.
- Name the non-standard system in that conversation.
- Do not expect a Level 2 to deepen into a Level 3 after the visit.
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 the fee is lower, is the Level 2 limit unimportant?
No. A lower fee is a price for a different scope. It does not remove the limit on a non-standard house. Ask what that Level 2 will not describe before you choose it. A lower fee still leaves that scope limit in place.
Can the surveyor name the system and stop, even at Level 2?
They can report what they can see at the level instructed. Naming a system is not the same as the fuller Level 3 account of how it is built and how repairs would be approached. That is the limit to talk through.