Condition ratings
What should you do if two surveyors rate the same roof differently?
Read both descriptions, not only the numbers. Ratings are opinions against the RICS definitions, on the day, within what each surveyor could see. One may have entered the loft and the other may not. One may be describing the covering and the other the structure. The higher number does not automatically win, and the lower number is not a clearance.
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?
Ask each firm what they saw and what they did not. The Level 3 definitions do not say that two surveyors must print the same digit. They do say what rating 3 requires you to do: treat it as serious or urgent and get quotes before legal commitment if that is the rating you are relying on. If one report says NI and the other says rating 2, you still do not have a complete agreement. You have two inspections.
Do not average them to 2.5. There is no such rating. If the disagreement is about a real defect, get the specialist the more cautious report suggests, or get access the other lacked. There is no RICS appeal score. Do not break the tie by comparing the pair with a different country’s form, and do not break it by the fee.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- What did you see that the other inspection may have missed?
- Is your number about the covering, the structure, or both?
- What was NI in your report?
What are the typical next steps?
- Put the two paragraphs side by side.
- Do not average the digits.
- Investigate the conflict if it changes whether you will buy.
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 the more expensive survey outrank the other?
No. Fee is not seniority. Evidence and access are.
Should the seller’s surveyor decide?
Only if you have agreed to rely on that report. In England the buyer’s instruction is the buyer’s. Do not treat a seller’s survey as shared unless your solicitor says this purchase works that way.