Age and type of house

What should a surveyor name when a 1960s or 1970s house might be system-built?

Ask for the system if it can be named, and for a clear ‘not identified’ if it cannot. ‘Non-standard’ on its own does not tell a lender, an insurer or a repairer whether this is concrete panel, in-situ concrete, steel frame or timber. A date in the 1960s does not prove a system, and it does not prove a defect.

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?

Some system houses have known repair histories. The survey can describe cracks, panel joints, corrosion staining and alterations. It cannot, from a visual visit, confirm a repair scheme was done properly unless the papers and the visible evidence support that. Naming the system is what lets the solicitor ask the right question of the lender.

Do not accept a report that says only ‘PRC type’ if the surveyor could not see the construction. Ask which clues they used: the eaves, a meter cupboard, the gable, or the seller’s word. If the name matters to the mortgage, ask the lender what evidence they want. The survey is not that evidence by guesswork.

What should you ask your surveyor?

What construction did you actually see, and where?
Which name, if any, are you prepared to put in the report?
What would a lender still need that you cannot provide?

What are the typical next steps?

Show the wording to your broker before you assume the lender will refuse the house.
Ask the seller for any repair-scheme certificate, and do not treat a missing certificate as proof of failure.
If the system is unnamed, decide whether a Level 3, or a specialist who knows that era, is the next instruction.

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

Are all 1960s houses system-built?

No. Many are ordinary brick and block. The survey has to say which this one is, or say it could not tell.

Does a system name mean the house is unmortgageable?

No. Some lenders lend on some systems, repaired or not. Ask this lender. Do not invent a refusal from the name.