Renegotiating or walking away

The seller points at several rating 1 items as a reason to ignore one rating 3. What has a rating 1 not paid for?

A rating 1 has not paid for, cancelled, or made safe the separate rating 3. Rating 1 means no repair is currently needed on that item, beyond normal maintenance. Those quiet items are not credit against a different element that is serious and/or urgent. Still obtain written quotations for the rating 3 before legal commitment. What to do now advises you and does not bill the seller. Do not run the report as a balance sheet.

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?

Sellers like to count green items and treat the count as a favour. The definitions do not work that way. Each rating belongs to the element it was given. A sound roof covering does not maintain a failed floor, and several rating 1 windows do not repair a rating 3 chimney. There is no rule that a majority of rating 1s averages the report down to a rating 2. Rating 2 itself means repairs are needed but they are not serious or urgent, which is a different sentence from rating 1 and from rating 3.

When you reply, list the rating 3 element on its own and ask for written quotations before legal commitment. Mention the rating 1 items only to show you have read them, not as a discount the seller has earned. What to do now is advice to the buyer. It does not invoice the seller for the rating 3, and it does not let the seller invoice you for the rating 1s. Normal maintenance on a rating 1 is still your affair after you buy. It is not a payment already made toward the serious item.

What should you ask your surveyor?

Which single element carries the rating 3 the seller wants you to ignore?
Which items are rating 1, and did you say no repair is currently needed?
Are you being asked to treat the ratings as credits and debits?

What are the typical next steps?

Keep the rating 3 element in its own note to the solicitor.
Obtain written quotations for that element before commitment.
Do not trade rating 1 lines for permission to ignore it.

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 a house full of rating 1s erase one rating 3?

No. Each rating stays on its own element. Counting the others does not cancel the serious one.

Is rating 1 a refund you can claim?

No. It means no repair is currently needed, apart from normal maintenance. It is not money.