Non-standard construction
How should a buyer separate concrete block, a house outside the area the RICS note maps and a reason to ignore deterioration the survey can still see when all three are mentioned together?
Separate three things. Concrete block the survey can still see is one. A house outside the area the RICS note maps is another. A reason to ignore deterioration is not available from that geography. RICS guidance on the mundic problem is for surveyors in the south west. Being outside it does not wipe a crack, a crumbly face or a damp concrete section the visit recorded. The home survey does not drill cores or award Class A, B or C. Cornwall Council describes a core test and does not provide it. Visible deterioration stays a condition note.
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?
Mundic is a regional concrete problem. RICS guidance is for surveyors in the south west. A house outside Devon is not brought into that note by worry, and it is not excused from ordinary condition either. If the survey can see concrete that is deteriorating, that seeing stands. It is not a core, not a class, and not a pass. This block has not been cored. Do not ignore what was visible because the house sits outside the note. Not every concrete house must be tested.
Ask the solicitor to treat the visible deterioration as a condition item in the report, not as a mundic class and not as something cancelled by the address. If a core test is ever considered, Cornwall Council describes that test and does not provide it, and it may be the wrong tool outside the area the guidance is for. Do not ask this survey to award a class. It has not drilled anything. Read what it could see, and take advice before you commission any sampling.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- What deterioration in the concrete block did the survey actually see?
- Has anyone claimed a class for concrete that was not cored?
- Is the address being used to ignore a defect that was visible?
What are the typical next steps?
- Keep visible concrete deterioration as a condition note.
- Do not ignore it because the house is outside the mapped area.
- Do not ask the home survey to award Class A, B or C.
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
Did this home survey drill the block and award a class?
No. A home survey does not drill cores or award Class A, B or C. RICS guidance on the mundic problem is for surveyors in the south west. This visit recorded what it could see. It did not sample the block. Cornwall Council describes a core test and does not provide it.
Does being outside that area mean the concrete can be ignored?
No. Geography is not a reason to ignore deterioration the survey can still see. The house being outside the area the RICS note maps separates it from that guidance. It does not delete a visible defect. The condition note stands, without a class and without a core.