Does every condition rating 2 entitle you to a price reduction?

What is the fuller explanation?

The negotiation, before exchange in England and Wales, is contractual. The rating is evidence of condition. Your solicitor sends any proposal. A seller may say that a rating 2 is ordinary upkeep and refuse. They may be right about a worn carpet and wrong about a leaking gutter that was under-rated. Read the words. Do not convert every 2 into a line on a spreadsheet with a forum price.

There is no RICS percentage for a house with ten rating 2s. If you need money off, use quotes for the items that matter. If the only issue is that you would redecorate, keep that as your cost. Do not rename a finding from another report’s own key as an English rating 2. Read that key.

What should you ask your surveyor?

• Which rating 2 items are repairs a buyer should understand, and which are wear?
• Which items are actually rating 3?
• Are you expecting the seller to pay for maintenance?

What are the typical next steps?

1. Separate upkeep from defects before you write to the agent.
2. Get quotes where the cost would change your decision.
3. Do not demand a reduction equal to a new interior.

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?

• Does a condition rating on a garage apply to the house?
• If an agent says the survey was “satisfactory”, which RICS rating is that?
• What should you check if you reserved a new-build plot before the survey exists?
• Guide: Should you renegotiate, or walk away?
• 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)