Condition ratings
The report places red amber green labels, a non-RICS scorecard and RICS ratings 1, 2 and 3, which those colours are not in one paragraph. Which of those were inspected, and which were merely named?
Red, amber and green labels were named on a non-RICS scorecard. They are not RICS ratings 1, 2 and 3, and they were not inspected as those ratings. RICS rating 1 means no repair is currently needed. Rating 2 means defects that need repair but are not serious or urgent. Rating 3 means a serious and/or urgent repair, replacement or investigation. NI means not inspected, not a pass. The colours do not carry those meanings. The scorecard was a different labelling. Nothing on the visit converted a colour into a RICS rating.
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?
Firms that are outside RICS sometimes use traffic-light words because they are easy to scan. Easy is not the same as the RICS scale. Amber might mean anything that firm wants it to mean, and the report may not say. A buyer who has seen RICS reports will reach for rating 2 when they see amber. That reach is the mistake this paragraph is marking. The colours were named. The RICS definitions were named beside them so the difference is clear. No defect was re-graded by the comparison.
Read the scorecard only with the legend that firm printed, and do not translate colours into ratings 1, 2 and 3. If you need a RICS home survey, that is a different instruction with those ratings and with NI where something was not inspected. Tell the solicitor which product you actually have. Do not add lifespans to either set of labels. A colour is not a remaining life, and a RICS rating is not one either.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- What legend does this scorecard give for red, amber and green?
- Does any page claim those colours are RICS ratings?
- Which product were you actually instructed, RICS or another?
What are the typical next steps?
- Read the colours only against that firm's own legend.
- Do not translate them into RICS ratings 1, 2 and 3.
- Commission a RICS survey if you need those ratings.
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 amber mean rating 2?
No. Amber is a colour on a non-RICS scorecard. Rating 2 means defects that need repair but are not serious or urgent, and that meaning belongs to the RICS scale. The colour was named. It was not inspected as rating 2. Do not translate it.
Can green be read as rating 1?
No. Rating 1 means no repair is currently needed, on the RICS scale. Green is not that rating. NI, where a RICS report uses it, means not inspected, not a pass. None of those meanings transfers onto a colour. The scorecard stays a different product.