Property, Survey & Damp Glossary
Plain-English definitions of the terms used across property and damp surveying — each linked to the free tool or guide in the ProSurvey Apps suite where one applies.
Surveys & reports
- RICS Home Survey Standard
- The RICS framework for residential surveys at three levels: Level 1 (Condition Report), Level 2 (HomeBuyer Report) and Level 3 (Building Survey).
- Condition rating (1, 2, 3)
- The RICS traffic-light rating for building elements: 1 = no repair needed; 2 = defects not serious/urgent; 3 = serious or urgent defects needing repair or investigation.
- Snagging
- Recording defects in a new-build property’s workmanship or finish for the developer to rectify, usually around completion.
- Schedule of condition
- A factual, photographed record of a property’s condition at a point in time, often attached to a lease to limit a tenant’s repairing liability.
Compliance & regulation
- Decent Homes Standard
- The current social-housing standard covers hazards, repair, facilities and thermal comfort. The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 creates powers for a future private-rented-sector standard; its detailed requirements and commencement remain subject to implementation.
- Renters’ Rights Act 2025
- UK legislation that reforms private renting and creates powers to introduce a Decent Homes Standard and Awaab’s Law requirements in the private rented sector. The detailed standards and private-sector Awaab timetable are not yet in force.
- Awaab’s Law
- Phased requirements for prescribed hazards in English social housing, including investigation, written-summary and works timescales. A future private-rented-sector extension is provided for in legislation but its commencement remains to be set. Scotland has its own version, below.
- Awaab’s Law (Scotland)
- The Investigation and Commencement of Repair (Scotland) Regulations 2026, in force from 6 October 2026 for social and private landlords: once aware of damp or mould, investigate within 10 working days, give the tenant a written summary within 3 and start any repairs needed within 5. It covers damp and mould only.
- Repairing Standard (Scotland)
- The standard every privately rented home in Scotland must meet under the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006. From 6 October 2026 it includes a requirement that the house is substantially free from damp and mould, enforced through the First-tier Tribunal.
- HHSRS
- The Housing Health and Safety Rating System (Housing Act 2004): a risk assessment of dwelling hazards, 29 originally and 21 in England since June 2026; the most serious band is "Category 1", which a local authority must act on.
- HHSRS baseline indicators
- A checklist of reasonable building measures introduced with England’s revised HHSRS in June 2026, from drainage and heating to fire safety. Falling short of one marks a deficiency to assess; they are not minimum standards and do not produce an HHSRS score.
- Rental minimum standards (Victoria)
- The 15 standards every residential rental property in Victoria, Australia, must meet, in Schedule 4 of the Residential Tenancies Regulations 2021, including that all rooms are free from mould and damp caused by or related to the building structure. From 13 October 2026 rental providers must keep records showing they were met.
- PAS 2035
- The UK standard for domestic retrofit, defining the Retrofit Coordinator and Assessor roles, risk paths and process for whole-house energy-efficiency retrofit.
- Approved Document K
- Building Regulations guidance (England) for protection from falling — including stair rise, going, the 2R+G step rule and pitch.
- Approved Document F
- Building Regulations guidance (England) for ventilation — whole-dwelling rates and minimum extract rates for wet rooms.
Dilapidations & leases
- Dilapidations
- Breaches of a tenant’s lease covenants on the condition of a property — repair, reinstatement and decoration — usually assessed at lease end.
- Scott Schedule
- A tabular dilapidations format with the landlord’s item/cost, the tenant’s response/cost and the determination — used in dispute resolution.
- Section 18 cap
- Under s.18(1) Landlord and Tenant Act 1927, disrepair damages cannot exceed the diminution in the landlord’s reversion value — capping terminal dilapidations claims.
Damp & condensation
- Rising damp
- Ground moisture travelling up a wall by capillary action (typically to ~1 m), controlled by a damp-proof course.
- Interstitial condensation
- Condensation forming within the layers of a construction when moist air reaches its dew point inside it — assessed by the Glaser method (BS EN ISO 13788).
- Dew point
- The temperature at which air becomes saturated and condensation begins; any surface at or below it collects condensation.
- Mould (surface water activity)
- Mould can germinate where surface relative humidity (water activity) is sustained above roughly 0.75–0.80, even before liquid condensation forms.
Defects, measurement & energy
- BRE Digest 251
- BRE guidance classifying masonry cracking into six categories of damage (0–5) by ease of repair, with crack width given only as a guide.
- Japanese knotweed
- An invasive plant assessed for residential property under the RICS 2022 four-category management framework (A–D).
- GIA / GEA / NIA
- RICS floor-area bases: Gross Internal Area, Gross External Area and Net Internal Area (usable area, deducting stairs, WCs, plant and common parts).
- IPMS
- International Property Measurement Standards — a globally consistent measurement basis adopted by RICS to make floor areas comparable across countries.
- U-value
- The rate of heat transfer through a building element (W/m²K); lower is better. Calculated to BS EN ISO 6946.
- EPC / MEES
- The Energy Performance Certificate rates efficiency A–G; the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard requires at least E to let, with a proposed move to C for rentals by 2030.
Explore the free survey tools & calculators across the suite, or the dedicated property and damp glossaries.