What does an R mark mean next to papers the survey tells you to request?

What is the fuller explanation?

People add R to the rating numbers and think the house “scored badly”. There is no score. An R against replacement windows means ask for the competent-person certificate or the building-regulations approval. It does not mean the glass has failed. If the glass has failed, that will be a condition rating on the window element.

RICS’s “What to do now” advice is about acting on the ratings, including written quotes before commitment where a rating 3 needs repair. It does not turn R into a price. Your solicitor collects the papers. The surveyor does not chase the council for you.

What should you ask your surveyor?

• Which items are R, and which are condition ratings?
• Which papers do you expect the solicitor to request?
• Is any R also a visible defect? If so, where is the rating?

What are the typical next steps?

1. Send the R list to the solicitor. Do not send it to a builder as a specification.
2. Send rating 3 items for quotes.
3. Do not average R with 1, 2 and 3.

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

Which pages should you read next?

• Why should you read the limitations before you read the condition ratings?
• If the survey’s photo looks worse than the wording, which one do you act on?
• Should you tell the agent you will publish the survey if the seller will not cut the price?
• Guide: What do condition ratings 1, 2, 3 and NI mean?
• All UK home survey questions

Sources

• RICS: Description of the RICS Home Survey Level 3 (condition rating definitions)
• RICS: What to do now (consumer PDF linked from the RICS home survey guide)
• RICS: RICS Home Surveys (Home Survey Standard)