Damp and moisture meters
Does a Scottish Home Report describe damp in the same way as a RICS Level 2 in England?
No. In Scotland the seller provides a Home Report, and the Single Survey inside it is a set product that a purchaser can rely on. A Level 2 in England or Wales is commissioned by the buyer and is not that product. Damp can appear in both, but the form, the valuation and the reliance are different.
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?
mygov.scot sets out the Home Report. RICS’s consumer guide describes it as a Single Survey with valuation, an energy report and a property questionnaire, and says the purchaser can rely on it. That reliance does not apply to a survey you pay for privately in England or Wales. Read the terms of the document you actually have.
The damp words still need the same scepticism about meters and causes. A category or a rating is the surveyor’s judgement on the day, not a damp-proofing specification. If you are buying in Scotland, ask the selling agent for the Home Report and read the damp comments against the questionnaire. Do not expect an English Level 2 to be waiting as well.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Is this a Home Report Single Survey, or a private instruction in England or Wales?
- Who may rely on it, according to the document itself?
- Does the damp note say the cause, or only that readings were high?
What are the typical next steps?
- Read the whole Single Survey, not the damp line in isolation.
- If you want a deeper inspection than the Home Report gives, ask a surveyor in Scotland what extra instruction is possible. Do not assume an English Level 3 exists under the same name.
- Ask your solicitor how the Scottish process uses the report. It is not the English exchange timetable.
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
Can a buyer in Scotland ignore the Home Report and pay for another survey?
You can take further advice. You should still read the Home Report, because that is the document the system gives you and the one RICS says a purchaser can rely on.
Do English condition ratings 1, 2 and 3 appear on every Scottish form?
Do not assume the traffic-light numbers. Read the categories printed on that Single Survey. They are defined in the document, not by an English Level 2 habit.