Condition ratings
Rating 1 is on decorations that look tired. Why does RICS still call that no repair currently needed?
RICS still calls it no repair currently needed because that is what rating 1 means, and tired paint is not a defect that needs repair. Rating 1 is no repair currently needed. The decorations look worn, which is ordinary ageing of a finish, not a failure of the element underneath. The survey has seen the tired paint and has still given rating 1. It has not said the surface must be redecorated as a repair, and it has not added a lifespan to the paint.
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?
Condition ratings separate defects from things you maintain in the normal way. Scuffed paint, faded colour and old paper can look poor in a photograph and still not be a repair item. Rating 2 would be a defect that needs repair but is not serious or urgent. Rating 3 would be serious and/or urgent repair, replacement or investigation. Tired decoration does not climb that scale because it looks weary. The rating is about repair need, not about whether you would choose to decorate.
Tell the solicitor rating 1 on decorations is not a works item. A lender should not be shown tired paint as if it were a structural defect. If you want to redecorate, that is a choice, not a survey requirement. Do not add a life in years the rating does not contain. NI would mean not inspected, not a pass, and that is not what this rating is. Here the decorations were seen, and no repair is currently needed.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Is the rating 1 on the decoration only, or also on the plaster behind it?
- What would move this item from rating 1 to rating 2?
- Has anyone added a lifespan the rating does not state?
What are the typical next steps?
- Read rating 1 as no repair currently needed.
- Do not present tired paint to the lender as a structural defect.
- Treat redecoration as your choice, not as a survey repair.
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 tired paint become rating 3 because it photographs badly?
No. Rating 3 means serious and/or urgent repair, replacement or investigation. A weary colour is not that. Rating 1 means no repair currently needed, which is why RICS still uses those words for decorations that look tired. Photographs can make old paint look worse. They do not change the rating the surveyor gave after seeing the element.
Is rating 1 a promise the decoration will last a set number of years?
No. The survey has not added a lifespan. Rating 1 means no repair currently needed, and the property is maintained in the normal way. It is not a guarantee of how long the paint will look fresh. Fading later is maintenance, not a hidden expiry the rating failed to print.