Condition ratings
Do NI, together with a locked outbuilding, count as evidence on a pass the letters NI do not mean, or only as a note of what was visible?
No. NI, together with a locked outbuilding, is only a note that the outbuilding was not inspected. The letters NI do not mean a pass. On the RICS scale, NI means not inspected, not a pass. Rating 1 would mean no repair is currently needed, and that rating was not given, because the inside was not seen. The lock is why. Nothing in the shed, garage or store was graded. The survey recorded the limit. It did not decide the condition behind the door.
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?
An outbuilding can hide a roof, a wall, stored damp and sometimes a drain or a consumer unit. If the key is missing, the surveyor stops at the door. The correct mark is NI, not a friendly rating borrowed from the parts of the house that were open. Locked is an access fact. It is not evidence that the interior is new, dry or safe. Reading NI as a pass is the error. The letters are the opposite of a clearance: they say the inspection did not happen.
Ask for the key and, if the outbuilding matters, ask the firm whether they can return once it is open. Tell the solicitor NI is not a pass and not rating 1. Do not tell a lender the outbuilding was satisfactory. Until someone inspects the inside, its defects are unknown. The report has done what it should by refusing to grade a room it could not enter. Do not add a lifespan or a clean bill the letters do not contain.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Which outbuilding was locked, and was any part of it seen from outside?
- Does the report use NI rather than rating 1 for that building?
- Can a key be provided for a further inspection?
What are the typical next steps?
- Read NI as not inspected, not as a pass.
- Do not describe the locked outbuilding as rating 1.
- Arrange access if the inside needs to be inspected.
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 NI the same as rating 1?
No. Rating 1 means no repair is currently needed. NI means not inspected, not a pass. The locked outbuilding was not given rating 1, because the inside was not seen. The letters are a limit. They are not a clean result and not a repair judgement.
What would allow the inside to be graded?
Access. A key and a return visit, if the firm agrees, would let the inside be inspected and then rated. Until then NI stands. Do not fill the gap with an assumption. The survey has not seen the interior and has not graded it.