New builds and warranties
A snag was marked as painted, and the crack has come back. Has that snagging line become a RICS condition rating?
No. A line on a snagging list that was marked as painted has not turned into a RICS condition rating because the crack came back. A snagging list is not a set of condition ratings. If a later home survey rates the crack, that rating is the surveyor's, made on a new instruction. The old tick-box does not promote itself.
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?
Site teams close snags by painting, filling or ticking a spreadsheet. When the crack returns, the closed line feels like a lie, and buyers want it to count as a condition rating automatically. It does not. The snagging list was never written on the home-survey scale. A painter's tick lives in the builder's list. The crack coming back is a reason to look again, and a reason to tell the builder or the warranty route. It is not a conversion of one document into the other, and it does not fill a rating box by itself.
If you still have the builder period, put the returned crack back to the builder and keep photographs. NHBC says that in the first two years the builder is liable and NHBC guarantees that obligation, where Buildmark is the policy. If you are past that, read the later section rather than waving the old snag line. Commission a survey if you want condition ratings of what is on the wall now. Ask that surveyor to look at the crack as it is, not to inherit a tick from a spreadsheet they did not write.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- If you rate the crack now, is that a new opinion rather than the old snag line?
- Will you keep the snagging list out of the rating boxes?
- What would you need to see before calling the crack serious or urgent?
What are the typical next steps?
- Photograph the returned crack and tell the builder or the warranty route.
- Do not rewrite the old snag line as a condition rating.
- Instruct a survey if you want ratings of the wall as it is today.
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 paint that has opened prove the structure has failed?
Not by itself. It proves the crack came back. Cause and seriousness need a proper look, not a revived tick-box.
If Buildmark applies, does the old snag line notify the insurer?
No. A ticked snagging line is not a claim notification. Use the route the policy actually describes.