Condition ratings

If a rating 2 says a crack should be monitored, has the surveyor already monitored it?

No. The survey is one visit, so a sentence that says monitor the crack is advice about what could happen next, not a record that monitoring has been carried out, and not a soil test. The rating stays the rating they gave, unless they change it. You cannot turn the word monitor into a result.

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?

Rating 2 means repair or replacement is needed but the defect is not serious or urgent. Surveyors sometimes add that a crack should be watched, which is a recommendation, not a completed programme. They did not install studs and come back, unless the report expressly says they are relying on earlier readings, and even then you should ask whose readings. One attendance cannot show whether a crack is still moving. Do not tell the insurer that monitoring has cleared the wall.

If you need monitoring, agree who will do it, how it will be recorded, and whether you can wait before you are legally committed. The what to do now note reserves written quotations before commitment for rating 3, not a pretend graph for every rating 2. There is no RICS fee hidden in the verb monitor. Do not ask the seller to knock money off for a monitoring exercise that has not been priced and may not be needed. Ask the surveyor what they actually saw on the day.

What should you ask your surveyor?

Are you recommending future monitoring, or reporting monitoring already done?
What did this single visit show on the crack?
Does the rating stay 2 unless something more serious was seen?

What are the typical next steps?

Do not say the crack has been monitored if it has only been seen once.
Ask who would monitor it if you decide that is necessary.
Keep rating 2 and rating 3 apart when you write to the agent.

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 the word monitor make it rating 3?

Not by itself. The number is the surveyor’s. If the words and the number disagree, ask them to reconcile the line.

Can you start monitoring before you own the house?

Only with the seller’s agreement. The survey does not give you a right to alter their wall.