Condition ratings
The survey says it relied on a third-party damp report from two years ago. Has this visit repeated that damp test?
No. This visit has not repeated that damp test. The survey says it relied on a third-party damp report from two years ago, which means it is pointing at someone else’s findings, not redoing them. NI means not inspected, not a pass, so a test that was not repeated is not a pass from today. Rating 1 means no repair currently needed, and reliance on an old report does not establish that. The damp question stays where the older report left it.
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 damp report ages with the building. Leaks are repaired, new ones start, and a dry reading from two years ago is not the wall on the day of this inspection. Reliance is a way of saying the surveyor did not carry out that test again and is borrowing the earlier conclusion within the limits they state. You should read the old report itself, including what it did not open, rather than treating a single sentence of reliance as a fresh meter survey of the same spots.
Ask the solicitor for the third-party damp report in full, not a mention of it, and check its date, its limits and whether any recommended work was done. A lender may want a current investigation if it will not rely on a two-year-old test. Rating 3 means serious and/or urgent repair, replacement or investigation, and this visit has not carried out that fresh investigation. Do not tell the lender the damp was retested because the survey named the old report.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Which damp findings are expressly said to be relied upon?
- What did this visit itself do at those same spots?
- Where does the report say the older test was not repeated?
What are the typical next steps?
- Obtain the full third-party damp report, not just the mention.
- Check whether any work it recommended was actually done.
- Do not describe this visit as a repeat damp test.
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 naming the old firm make its findings current?
No. Naming the firm records the source the survey relied on. It does not repeat the test and it does not bring a two-year-old result up to the day of this visit. NI means not inspected, not a pass. If you need today’s moisture condition, that is a new investigation, not a sentence of reliance.
Can rating 2 be read as the damp having been retested?
No. Rating 2 means defects that need repair but are not serious or urgent. It is not a statement that a damp meter was used again. This visit relied on a third-party report from two years ago and did not repeat that test. Read the rating as written, and read the old report for what was actually measured.