Condition ratings
Do rating 3, together with a loose parapet stone, count as evidence on serious or urgent repair, which is the RICS sense of that rating, not a price, or only as a note of what was visible?
Yes. Rating 3, together with a loose parapet stone, is the surveyor's judgement of a serious and/or urgent repair, replacement or investigation. That is the RICS sense of the rating. It is not a price. The loose stone was what was visible: an element at the edge of the roof that is not securely in place. The rating records the seriousness. The survey has not costed the work and has not turned the stone into a bill. Read the rating as condition. Read any later quote, if you obtain one, as a separate document.
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?
A parapet stone that has loosened can fall, and it can open a path for water into the wall below. That is why a surveyor can mark it rating 3: serious and/or urgent repair, replacement or investigation, not a distant maintenance item. Rating 2 would have meant a defect that needs repair but is not serious or urgent. Rating 1 would have meant no repair currently needed. Neither of those was the mark. NI would have meant not inspected, not a pass, and the stone was inspected.
Tell the solicitor there is a rating 3 on a loose parapet stone and that no cost has been fixed. If you want a figure, ask a mason or a roofer to look and to quote. Do not invent one from the rating. Make the stone safe as a matter of urgency in whatever way your advisers recommend, without pretending the survey has already priced it. The RICS meaning is seriousness or urgency of repair, replacement or investigation. It stops there.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Which stone is loose, and where on the parapet?
- Does the report mark it rating 3 rather than rating 2?
- Has any contractor's price been obtained, separate from the rating?
What are the typical next steps?
- Read rating 3 as serious and/or urgent, not as a price.
- Arrange for the loose parapet stone to be dealt with as urgent.
- Obtain any cost from a contractor, not from the rating.
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
Has a repair cost been fixed by the rating?
No. Rating 3 means a serious and/or urgent repair, replacement or investigation. It is not a price. The loose parapet stone is the defect that was seen. The survey has not costed it. A contractor's quote, if you need one, is a different document and has not been created by the rating.
What does rating 3 mean here, as against rating 1 or 2?
Rating 3 means serious and/or urgent repair, replacement or investigation. Rating 2 would mean defects that need repair but are not serious or urgent. Rating 1 would mean no repair currently needed. The loose stone was rated 3. NI was not used, because the stone was inspected. No price and no lifespan were added.