Condition ratings
The report mentions a rating 1 next to tired paint. Has repairs the definition says are not currently needed been tested, or only named?
Named by the definition, not tested as a list of works. A rating 1 next to tired paint means no repair currently needed. Tired paint is a worn decorative finish. The rating says that wear is not, at present, a repair the condition scale is calling for. It has not tested a decorating schedule, and it has not decided that the paint must be renewed. Rating 2 would mean defects that need repair but are not serious or urgent, and that is not the mark written here. The survey has applied rating 1. It has not scheduled the decoration.
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?
Decoration and repair are different ideas on this scale. Faded paint, scuffs and an old colour scheme can look poor and still not be a defect the surveyor is required to call a repair. Rating 1 is that judgement: no repair currently needed. It is not a promise that you will like the rooms, and it is not a test that someone has already done the work. Rating 3, serious and/or urgent repair, replacement or investigation, was not used.
Tell the solicitor rating 1 means no repair currently needed, so the tired paint is not being presented as a defect to negotiate as disrepair. If you want the rooms redecorated, that is a choice, not a finding the survey failed to price. Do not treat the rating as a reason to disturb the paint. The survey has not called the coating anything but tired, and it has not put it in rating 2 or rating 3.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Is the tired paint included in the rating 1, rather than listed as a repair?
- Did you see the decoration, as opposed to testing a works schedule?
- Have you kept this item out of rating 2 and rating 3?
What are the typical next steps?
- Read rating 1 as no repair currently needed.
- Treat redecoration as your choice, not as a survey repair.
- Do not brief a lender that the paint was a rated defect.
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 rating 1 mean the paint will last?
No. Rating 1 means no repair currently needed. It is not a life for the coating and not a promise you will like the colour. Tired paint was seen and left in that mark. Rating 2, defects that need repair but are not serious or urgent, was not applied. The definition names the present position. It does not test the future.
Should a buyer still budget to decorate?
That is a personal choice, not a repair the rating demands. Rating 1 means no repair currently needed, so the survey has not put tired paint on a defect list. You may still want to decorate after you move. That want is not a rating 3 item, and the report has not priced it or required it.