Condition ratings
What does RICS still expect you to do when an element is condition rating 1?
The Level 3 description says condition rating 1 means no repair is currently needed, and that the property must be maintained in the normal way. It is not a promise the element will never wear out, and it is not a reason to skip ordinary maintenance such as clearing gutters or decorating.
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?
Ratings describe the day of the inspection. A roof that is rating 1 still needs its gutters cleared. A window that is rating 1 still needs paint if it is timber. The phrase “maintained in the normal way” is in the definition so buyers do not treat a 1 as a sealed unit. The same sentence appears in the definition of rating 2, which does need repair but not urgently. The difference is whether a repair is currently needed, not whether maintenance exists.
If you are budgeting, a row of rating 1 elements is not a row of zeroes you can ignore for a decade. Ask the surveyor, if the report is unclear, what “normal maintenance” means for that element. Do not ask them to turn a 1 into a price. RICS does not put a pound figure in the definition.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- For this rating 1 element, what maintenance do you mean in practice?
- What would change the rating if we found it on a later visit?
- Is any rating 1 in this report limited by something you could not see?
What are the typical next steps?
- Plan ordinary maintenance even where no repair is currently needed.
- Do not strip a rating 1 element out because a brochure prefers a newer product.
- If access was limited, do not treat a silent element as a 1. Look for NI.
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
Is rating 1 the same as a new-build warranty?
No. It is a condition definition. The warranty is a policy. You can have a rating 1 on an element the warranty does not cover, and the reverse.
Can a rating 1 sit next to a further-investigation sentence?
If the surveyor has written both, ask them to explain. The definition of rating 1 is that no repair is currently needed. Further investigation means they were not content to stop. The wording should be clear about which element.