RICS Home Survey — Level 2
Level 2 sample report
A homebuyers survey example on the official RICS template: condition ratings 1, 2 and 3 for every element, the surveyor’s overall opinion, and the issues your legal advisers will need.
Read the report before you book one.
Not a template or a summary. These are real reports, written by our surveyors on site, on the same templates yours would arrive on: a homebuyers survey example on the RICS Level 2 template, a building survey report at Level 3, and a Red Book valuation. The client, address and dates are redacted and the photographs deliberately obscured. Everything else is exactly what we deliver.
RICS Home Survey — Level 3
Level 3 sample report
A sample building survey report: everything the Level 2 covers, plus how each defect arises, what follows if it is left, and the remedial options.
RICS Valuation
Valuation sample report
A Red Book valuation report example: the figure, the comparable evidence behind it, and the basis and assumptions stated in full.
Sections reproduced from the RICS Home Survey templates appear with the permission of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, which owns the copyright.
What a report actually contains.
The questions people ask before opening one, answered from these three reports rather than in general terms.
What does a homebuyers survey report look like?
A RICS Level 2 report works through the property element by element: each part of the building is described, given a condition rating, and followed by what that rating means for you. It ends with the surveyor’s overall opinion and a section of issues to pass to your legal advisers. The Level 2 sample above is the whole document, so you can see the order it runs in.
What do condition ratings 1, 2 and 3 mean?
Rating 1 means no repairs are required. Rating 2 covers issues that need fixing or replacement but are not considered urgent or severe. Rating 3 identifies defects requiring urgent repair, replacement, or immediate investigation. Every rated element in the samples carries one.
How long is a home survey report?
Length follows the property rather than a page target, but these three are representative: the Level 2 sample runs to 67 pages, the Level 3 to 92 pages, and the valuation to 25. A Level 3 is usually longer because it traces each defect to its cause and sets out the remedial options, not because it covers more of the building.
Are these real reports?
Yes. Each one was written by one of our surveyors on a real instruction. The client, address, dates and the surveyor’s RICS number are removed, and the photographs are deliberately obscured, with a note on the cover saying so. Nothing else has been edited, shortened or tidied for publication.
Which level of report would I get?
A Level 2 suits a conventional home in reasonable condition; a Level 3 suits older, altered or unusual properties, or one where something has already been flagged. If you tell us the property when you ask for a quote, we will say which we recommend, and we will tell you when the cheaper one is the right one.