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: A minimum housing standard requiring a home to be free of HHSRS Category 1 hazards, in reasonable repair, with reasonably modern facilities and reasonable thermal comfort. The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 extends it to the private rented sector.
Renters’ Rights Act 2025: UK legislation (Royal Assent 27 October 2025) abolishing Section 21 no-fault evictions, applying a Decent Homes Standard to the PRS and extending Awaab’s Law to private tenancies; main provisions expected from 2026.
Awaab’s Law: A duty to investigate and remedy prescribed hazards — chiefly damp and mould — within fixed statutory timescales after a tenant reports them.
HHSRS: The Housing Health and Safety Rating System (Housing Act 2004): a risk assessment of 29 dwelling hazards; the most serious band is "Category 1", which a local authority must act on.
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.