The RICS Level-1 Survey is designed to give buyers of conventional and newer homes (houses and flats) a concise picture of their property without fault advice or a market valuation.

The Report is produced by an RICS surveyor who provides an objective opinion about the condition of the property at the time of the inspection. The Level-1 Report aims to tell you about:

• the construction and condition of the property on the date it was inspected;
• any defects that need urgent attention or are serious;
• things that need further investigation to prevent serious damage to the fabric of the building;
• and defects or issues which may be hazardous to safety and where further enquiries are needed.

We inspect the inside and outside of the main building and all permanent outbuildings, but we do not force or open up the fabric. We also inspect parts of the electricity, gas/oil, water heating and drainage services that can be seen, but we do not test them.

To help describe the condition of the home, we give condition ratings to the main parts (the ‘elements’) of the building, garage and some parts outside. This is a similar system to that used in the RICS Level-2 Survey.