Reading the report
Which condition rating do the surveyor’s words describe?
This checker repeats the RICS definitions of condition ratings 1, 2 and 3, and of NI and the document mark R. You pick the sentence that matches the report. It shows that meaning, and what the mark is not. It does not re-rate your house, and it does not invent a repair price.
Last reviewed 24 October 2026. Written for buyers in England and Wales unless a source says otherwise. No named surveyor has signed this page. It is general guidance, not a report on your house, and not legal advice.
Check a mark
Nothing is stored. This does not look at your report, and it will not produce a cost.
What if the report already prints 1, 2, 3 or NI?
Use the printed mark. The checker is for the moment you cannot see it, or you cannot tell a condition rating from the document mark R. It is not a second opinion, and it cannot see the photograph the surveyor took. The longer guide on condition ratings is the page to cite.
Why will the checker not show a cost?
RICS does not attach a price to a colour. Two rating 2s can be entirely different jobs. A cost without a quote would be a number we invented. The cost guides on this site explain what can be looked up, and they label ranges as ranges. This tool stays with the definitions.
Can you send this result to the seller as the survey?
No. The seller’s surveyor wrote the report. This page only restates published definitions against a sentence you selected. If you think the surveyor has mis-labelled something, ask them. Do not paste a web result over their rating.
Common questions
Can this checker change a rating you disagree with?
No. Disagreement goes back to the surveyor, in writing, while you can still use the answer. The checker has no file and no photograph. It will not upgrade a 3 to a 2 because the defect sounds manageable.
The report has many ratings. Do you run the checker once?
Once per element you do not understand. The house does not have a single rating. RICS does not add them into a score, and neither does this page.
Does it work on a Level 1, which has less advice?
The definitions of 1, 2, 3 and NI are the same scale. Level 1 often gives you less help under the number. The checker will not invent the repair advice Level 1 was never going to include.
Does the same scale apply to a Scottish Single Survey?
Scottish Home Reports use their own categories. Do not force this England-and-Wales RICS scale onto a Single Survey. Read the category definitions printed in that pack.
The letter R is next to a request for guarantees. Is that a rating 3?
No. R is the document mark. Your solicitor asks for the papers. The condition of the element, if it has one, is a separate number.
NI is printed but the sentence sounds worried. What do you pick?
Pick NI, and read the sentence. NI plus a recommendation to investigate is not a hidden rating 1. The checker’s NI result says that in the same words as the ratings guide.
The words mention safety. Is that automatically rating 3?
RICS includes serious safety issues in the rating 3 definition. If the surveyor printed a different number, ask them why before you overwrite it. Safety is not a prompt for you to improvise a rating.
Is the result advice to renegotiate?
No. A rating 3 is a prompt to get quotations before commitment. Whether you renegotiate is the other tool and the renegotiation guide. This checker stops at the definition.
Sources
Key facts
- Rating 1
- No repair is currently needed. The property must be maintained in the normal way.
- Rating 2
- Defects that need repairing or replacing but are not considered to be either serious or urgent. Normal maintenance still applies.
- Rating 3
- Defects that are serious and/or need to be repaired, replaced or investigated urgently. RICS says obtain written quotations before legal commitment.
- NI
- Not inspected. Not a pass.
- R
- A document request, not a condition rating.
- Limit of this tool
- If the report already prints a number, that number is the rating. This page only helps when the words and the number have come apart in your reading.