A RICS Level 3 Building Survey is a visual, non-intrusive inspection, carried out in far more detail than a Level 2 and reported differently: for every defect you get the likely cause, the repair options, and what happens if the work is left undone. This is roughly how the inspection runs.
Outside, before anything else
The outside tells you most of what you need to know about a building. The surveyor works around the elevations looking at the walls, the roof, the rainwater goods and the ground around the building.
- Walls: construction type, pointing, render, movement and cracking, and whether any of it is recent.
- Roof: coverings, ridges, flashings, valleys, parapets and any flat roof areas.
- Rainwater goods: gutters, downpipes and where the water actually goes, which causes more damp than almost anything else.
- Ground levels, paving and drainage against the base of the walls.
- Windows, doors and external joinery, and the decoration cycle they need.
The roof space
Where it is safely accessible, the roof void is one of the most informative parts of the inspection: the structure, any alterations made to it, insulation, ventilation, water staining, and evidence of rot or insect attack.
Room by room
- Ceilings, walls and floors: level, movement, damp patterns and the condition of finishes.
- Chimney breasts and fireplaces, including whether breasts have been removed and what is supporting what remains.
- Windows: operation, condition, glazing and ventilation.
- Damp readings where the pattern suggests rising, penetrating or condensation-related damp, which need different remedies.
- Structural openings between rooms, and whether the work looks properly designed.
Services, and what the survey does and does not do
The age and apparent condition of the electrical, heating, plumbing and drainage installations are recorded. Services are not tested. Where they look old, unsafe or unusual, the report tells you to have them checked by the relevant specialist before you exchange.
Outbuildings, boundaries and the rest of the site
Garages, outbuildings, boundary walls and fences, paths and retaining structures are inspected where they form part of the property, because they carry repair costs too and are commonly overlooked.
What you get afterwards
Every element is given a condition rating of 1, 2 or 3, with anything that could not be seen recorded as not inspected and the reason given. On a Level 3 each defect also comes with its likely cause, the repair options, the consequences of leaving it, and advice for your legal advisers. The report is delivered within 3 to 5 working days of the inspection.
Is a Level 3 the right level for your property?
A Level 3 suits older property, typically built before 1850, and anything larger, altered, unusual or in visibly poor or uncertain condition. For conventional houses and flats built after 1890 and in reasonable order, a Level 2 Homebuyer Survey is usually enough. Our Level 2 vs Level 3 guide compares the two side by side, and our survey costs page sets out the fees. Where the main question is damp, a focused damp report may be the better instruction.
Still have questions? We answer 46 of the questions buyers and owners ask us most — which survey to choose, what Level 2 and Level 3 cover, fees, certificates, damp and party wall matters — in one place: RICS survey questions, answered.