A house with a later extension may need more than one construction description. A note saying “solid walls” might apply to the original building, while the rear addition has a different form of construction. If the handover does not identify those boundaries, a well-written draft can still describe the wrong part of the property.

For surveyors using outsourced Level 2 report writing, a simple record of the building’s distinct parts helps keep descriptions, defects and recommendations in the right place. It also makes uncertainty visible before a general sentence is repeated across the report.

Confirm the instruction is suitable first

The RICS Level 2 inspection scope, checked on 9 November 2026, describes the service as suited to a range of conventionally built properties, with age and type dependent on the member’s knowledge and experience. The inspecting surveyor must determine the appropriate service for the property and instruction.

Mapping the building for a writer is a production aid. It does not establish that a property is suitable for Level 2 or resolve an uncertain construction assessment. Identify any question that needs your decision before asking the drafter to complete the description.

Name the building parts consistently

Use clear names such as “original two-storey house”, “rear single-storey extension” and “side porch”, then use those names throughout the notes. Add the elevation or rooms served where needed. This is more useful than several references to “the rear”, which may describe different walls, roofs or additions.

Record construction dates as approximate where that is your assessment. If a date comes from the seller or a supplied drawing, attribute it. A reported extension date and an inspection-based age estimate should not silently become the same fact.

Give each description a boundary and a basis

For each distinct part, supply four things:

  • Extent: identify where the part starts and ends, and which elevations or rooms it includes.
  • Construction assessment: state the wall, roof or floor description you want used, distinguishing different elements where necessary.
  • Basis and limits: identify the visible evidence or reviewed information behind the description, together with anything concealed or unconfirmed.
  • Local advice: locate the finding and specify which part of the building your recommendation concerns.

This is a suggested handover structure, not an RICS-prescribed form. Do not ask the writer to complete missing construction details from a building’s apparent age or from the finish shown in one photograph.

A worked example: original house and rear addition

In a fictional handover, the surveyor’s notes identify solid masonry to the original house and cavity masonry to the rear kitchen extension. Those are the surveyor’s supplied assessments. The original walls are rendered, the extension has exposed brickwork and a local defect is recorded at the junction between them.

The drafter can describe the two parts separately and locate the junction finding. The exposed brick finish should not become the reason for assuming cavity construction: that assessment must already come from the surveyor’s evidence. The draft should also avoid describing every external wall as solid merely because the original house forms most of the property.

If the note only says “cracking at old/new junction”, ask which elevation is affected, what was observed and what assessment and advice the surveyor intends. A junction is a location, not a diagnosis. Do not select a cause or recommend structural work from the label alone.

Keep recommendations tied to the affected part

Check whether advice for one wall, roof or floor has been broadened during drafting. A repair recommendation for the original rendered frontage should not automatically extend to the brick-faced addition. Similarly, an access restriction in one roof void should remain attached to that void.

Our roof-space handover guide covers separate voids. Where an EPC gives a construction description that differs from the inspection assessment, use the EPC discrepancy workflow to preserve the precise conflict and your conclusion. Neither source should overwrite the other by default.

Read the property description against the element sections

Before approval, compare the opening property description with the walls, roofs, floors and relevant limitations. Confirm that the same names identify the same parts throughout. Review the summary and overall opinion for any broad statement that loses an important distinction.

Return an unresolved boundary or construction question through the drafting query log. Once answered, check every affected section rather than correcting only the first occurrence.

The Survey Edit prepares Level 2 drafts from your inspection notes, photographs, supplied template and instructions. Clear descriptions of the building’s distinct parts help the writer preserve your findings. You retain the professional judgement, review and amend the complete draft, approve the advice and issue the final report. Discuss the handover for your next Level 2 drafting instruction.

You inspect. We write.