Every UK home survey now follows one standard — the RICS Home Survey Standard, mandatory since March 2021 — and comes in exactly three levels. The names are deliberately plain: Level 1 is a condition report, Level 2 is a survey (the old "HomeBuyer Report"), Level 3 is a building survey (the old "full structural"). The level decides how deeply the surveyor looks, what they are allowed to comment on, and what you pay.
Picking the wrong level cuts both ways: a Level 1 on a Victorian terrace tells you almost nothing you could not see yourself, while a Level 3 on a five-year-old flat mostly documents that a new flat is a new flat. This guide sets out what each level covers, what it costs, and the rule of thumb surveyors themselves use.
The three levels at a glance
All three levels use the same traffic-light condition ratings — 1 (no repair needed), 2 (defects needing attention but not serious), 3 (serious defects, act urgently) — applied to each element of the building: roof, walls, floors, damp, services and so on. What changes between levels is depth and advice.
- Level 1 — Condition Report. A visual once-over confirming the property’s state and flagging urgent defects and legal matters for your conveyancer. No advice on repairs, no valuation. Suited to conventional, newer homes in visibly good order.
- Level 2 — Home Survey (formerly HomeBuyer Report). Everything in Level 1 plus advice on defects, maintenance and the surveyor’s view on anything needing further investigation. The sensible default for conventional homes built after about 1900 in reasonable condition. Optionally includes a market valuation.
- Level 3 — Building Survey (formerly full structural survey). A thorough inspection of accessible parts of the structure, with analysis of why defects have happened, repair options and consequences of leaving them. The right call for pre-1919, extended, altered, unusual or visibly tired buildings.
- Rule of thumb: the older and odder the building, the higher the level. A 1930s semi in good nick suits Level 2; a Victorian terrace with a loft conversion and a bowing bay deserves Level 3.
Sources: RICS — Home Survey Standard · GOV.UK — how to buy a home
What each level costs
Fees vary with property price, size and region — London and the South East sit at the top of each range — but typical 2026 figures look like this:
- Level 1: roughly £300–£500.
- Level 2: roughly £400–£800.
- Level 3: roughly £600–£1,500+, rising with size, age and complexity.
- Set against the cost of missing a defect — a re-roof runs £5,000–£12,000, underpinning far more — the step up from Level 2 to Level 3 on an older house is cheap insurance.
The mortgage valuation is not a survey
The valuation your lender arranges — often free, often never shown to you in full — answers one question: is the property adequate security for the loan? It can be a drive-by or a desktop exercise. It does not inspect the roof space, lift drain covers or comment on damp. Buyers who "had a survey done by the bank" almost always had no survey at all.
Treat the two as unrelated: the valuation protects the lender’s money; a survey protects yours. Cash buyers, with no lender in the process, are the group most likely to skip a survey entirely — and the group with the least protection when something surfaces later.
Which level for which property
Surveyors choose by age, construction and visible condition. As a buyer you can pre-empt the decision with a simple sort:
- Post-2000, conventional construction, good order → Level 1 (or, on a new build, a snagging inspection instead — it is designed for defects a builder must fix).
- Roughly 1900–2000, conventional, reasonable condition → Level 2.
- Pre-1919 of any condition → Level 3. Solid walls, timber floors and older roofs fail in ways only a deeper inspection reads.
- Any age but extended, converted, altered, thatched, timber-framed, steel-framed or non-standard → Level 3.
- Visible movement, cracking, damp staining or a "project" listing at any age → Level 3, and ask whether a structural engineer should follow.
Data first, survey after the offer
A survey happens after your offer is accepted and costs hundreds of pounds per property — you cannot survey a shortlist. What you can do for every candidate is check the recorded facts first: sale history, floor area and £/m² against the street, EPC trajectory, flood and ground risk, planning designations. That desk check is how you decide which properties deserve a viewing, an offer and ultimately a surveyor’s fee.
The two work in sequence: data narrows the field and tells the surveyor where to look; the survey then examines the physical building your data flagged. Neither replaces the other.