Level 2 House Survey Checklist: Before and After the Report
This checklist helps you prepare for a Level 2 Home Survey and read the finished report. It is not an RICS-prescribed consumer form, a substitute for the report or a promise that every Level 2 inspection covers the same physical access in every property.
RICS sets a Level 2 benchmark, but the inspection is visual, access and safety affect what can be seen, and extra services outside the agreed terms need a separate contract. Your surveyor’s terms of engagement, exclusions, inspection limitations and property-specific findings therefore control the detail.
1. Check that Level 2 is the right service
Before requesting quotes, record:
- the property’s approximate age, type and construction, if known
- whether it has been extensively extended, converted or altered
- any visible deterioration, long-term vacancy or known structural concern
- whether it is conventional in form and apparently in reasonable condition
- the particular concerns you want the surveyor to consider.
RICS consumer guidance says Level 2 is most likely to suit a conventional property in reasonable condition with a simple form and layout. Age alone is not the whole test: size, condition, complexity, originality and the surveyor’s competence also matter. Use the Level 2 and Level 3 comparison if the property is older, altered, unusual, complex or neglected, and ask the proposed surveyor to confirm suitability before appointment.
The Level 2 survey guide explains the service at a higher level. This page is the practical preparation and report-reading aid.
2. Define the product and agreed scope
Confirm in writing:
- whether the instruction is survey only or survey and valuation
- the full property address and the intended client
- the proposed or agreed purchase price, where relevant
- your particular concerns, planned alterations and any known defects
- any extra service you want and whether it is included in the quoted fee
- the expected inspection date, report timing and total fee, including VAT where applicable
- who can answer a question after you have read the report.
The survey-and-valuation product includes a market valuation and reinstatement cost. The survey-only product does not. Costing repairs, schedules of works, re-inspection and detailed specific-issue reports are examples of services that may sit outside the standard terms, so an assumption in an email or phone call is not enough: check the written terms.
3. Clarify access before the inspection
Ask the seller or agent to tell the surveyor about known access restrictions, occupiers, locked areas and the arrangements for keys. Identify any roof-space or subfloor access points you know about, but do not promise that an area will be inspected: the surveyor must decide what is safe and reasonably accessible on the day.
Also send the surveyor concise details of any concern you want considered, such as a particular crack, damp patch or intended extension. RICS’s standard terms expressly ask clients to disclose particular concerns before inspection.
Do not treat an access request as an instruction to dismantle the property. The standard Level 2 service does not force or open up the building fabric, lift fitted floor coverings or floorboards, move heavy furniture, empty cupboards or roof spaces, remove secured panels or hatches, or undo electrical fittings. Visible services are inspected, but specialist tests are not part of the standard service.
4. Identify the report you received
When the report arrives, first check:
- the property address, client name, inspection date and report date
- the surveyor and firm details
- whether it is survey only or survey and valuation
- the inspection circumstances and property status recorded in the report
- the stated limitations, exclusions and terms of engagement
- whether a valuation section is present only because that product was instructed.
The RICS-branded survey-only and survey-and-valuation templates are not lettered identically because the valuation version inserts an additional section. The Level 2 survey example guide maps both report structures and explains the published blank templates.
5. Read the whole report before extracting actions
Do not read only the condition-rating summary. Work through:
- the overall opinion
- the property description and construction
- outside, inside, services and grounds findings
- limitations on each part of the inspection
- issues identified for your legal advisers
- risks to the building, grounds or people
- further investigations and the “what to do now” section
- the valuation and reinstatement cost, if that product was instructed.
The overall summary can show the worst-rated part of an element. The element commentary and limitations explain the context that the rating alone cannot provide.
6. Decode each rating without adding your own meaning
For every reported element, record the rating and the surveyor’s explanation:
- 3 identifies a serious defect and/or one needing urgent repair, replacement or investigation.
- 2 identifies a defect needing repair or replacement that is not considered serious or urgent; normal maintenance still applies.
- 1 means no repair is currently needed; normal maintenance still applies.
- NI means the element was not inspected.
- R is used in the RICS template for documents the surveyor may suggest you obtain before signing contracts.
An NI entry is not a condition rating for a defect and should not be silently converted into one. Check why the element was not inspected, whether the surveyor expresses concern and whether further investigation is recommended.
7. Turn findings into a decision list
For each material finding, capture:
| Report reference | Finding and rating | Recommended action | Who should advise or quote | When needed | Question outstanding |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Then check whether the report:
- identifies and lists reported risks and explains their nature
- identifies relevant issues for the legal adviser, such as documents or approvals to check
- recommends further investigation where the evidence shows it is needed and the surveyor could not reach a reasonably confident conclusion; inaccessibility alone is not sufficient
- says why that investigation is needed, when it should happen and broadly who should carry it out
- flags any obvious discrepancy between the EPC and the property
- advises you to obtain recommended further reports and quotations before legal commitment.
A recommendation for another specialist is not itself that specialist’s diagnosis, and a quotation is not proof of the final repair cost. Keep each uncertainty visible until the relevant information arrives.
8. Compare the findings with your purchase decision
Separate the report into four practical groups:
- matters to resolve or price before legal commitment
- legal enquiries or documents for the conveyancer
- urgent safety or deterioration risks
- future repair and normal maintenance planning.
Ask the surveyor about unclear wording rather than guessing. If a further investigation or quotation is recommended before legal commitment, obtain and consider it at that stage. The Level 2 survey cost guide explains what may affect the survey fee; it does not estimate the cost of repairs found at a particular property.
What this checklist does not establish
This checklist cannot tell you whether a particular defect exists, whether an inaccessible area is sound, what a repair will cost, whether a seller will renegotiate, or what a legal adviser or specialist will conclude. It also does not expand the agreed inspection scope.
RICS’s current service descriptions say the surveyor records significant visible defects evident during the inspection, explains relevant access limits, and recommends further investigation where the evidence shows it is needed and a reasonably confident conclusion cannot be reached. The standard says inaccessibility alone is not a sufficient reason for a referral. Those safeguards do not guarantee that every hidden defect will be found.
Comparing survey proposals
Current service: you can submit and verify a request for administrator review. Invitations, quote comparison and introductions are not currently available. A request does not guarantee a quote or local availability.
Compare the proposed product, scope, exclusions, valuation choice, access assumptions, fee and reporting timetable on the same basis. FindTheSurveyor is a marketplace rather than the surveying practice. If you post your survey job — free, an administrator reviews the brief and could invite participating surveyors whose stated service coverage and profile fit it when the comparison service is available. Submission does not guarantee an invitation, quote or introduction.
Other consumer resources are collected in the guides index.
Sources and current standard status
Sources were checked on 24 August 2026:
- RICS Home Surveys, including the current Level 2 report templates and service descriptions
- RICS Home survey standard
- RICS consumer guide to home surveys
- RICS Level 2 survey-only report template and service description
- RICS Level 2 survey-and-valuation service description
RICS’s standard page, updated 17 June 2026, says members should continue using the Home survey standard 1st edition until the 2nd edition takes full effect. The second edition remains under review, so this checklist does not treat consultation proposals as current requirements.