Condition ratings
The chamber was not opened, the drains are NI, and a camera is suggested. Which fact is a rating and which is a next instruction?
The NI label is the report's fact about the inspection, and the camera is the next instruction. NI means not inspected. It is not rating 1, 2 or 3, and it is not a grade of how bad the drains are. The suggestion of a camera is what the surveyor wants you to commission next. The unopened chamber is the reason they could not inspect, not a third rating hiding in the paragraph.
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?
Read the three clauses as three different kinds of statement. The chamber was not opened: that is what happened on the day, including where a cover was secured or unsafe to lift on a standard inspection. The drains are NI: that is the formal mark that this element was not inspected, and any concern should be read in the words beside it rather than invented by you. The camera is suggested: that is advice to instruct a specialist, not a finding that the pipes have already failed, and not a film that already exists.
Do not average those clauses into a homemade rating 3, and do not relax because NI sounds quieter than a number. Not inspected is a gap. If the surveyor is concerned enough to name a camera, take that sentence as the instruction to set a scope, get a written record, and only then talk about condition of the hidden run. No level guarantees concealed pipework. A rating appears only if they actually gave 1, 2 or 3 to something they could judge. Here, the judgement they withheld is marked NI, and the action they proposed is the camera.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Please confirm the drains are NI rather than a condition rating?
- Why did the chamber stay shut: secured, unsafe, or another limit?
- Is the camera only a recommendation, with nobody appointed?
What are the typical next steps?
- Record NI as not inspected, not as a defect score.
- Treat the camera sentence as the next instruction.
- Do not invent a rating from an unopened cover.
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
If they also rated the manhole surround as 2, is that the drains?
No. A rating on something they could see is separate from NI on the drains they did not inspect.
Does suggesting a camera mean the drains are rating 3?
No. A suggestion is an instruction to investigate. Rating 3 would be written as rating 3.