What is a Level 2 Home Survey?
A level 2 Home Survey inspection is used to assess a pre-owned home whether that's a flat or a house.
It serves to highlight defects and provide information on the repair required to resolve the issue and implication of not doing so. On-going maintenance is also mentioned. It is best used for smaller and conventional properties in good condition.
The turnaround time for the Level 2 report is between 3 to 5 working days from the date of inspection.
What's included in the inspection?
The inspection will include a visual and non-intrusive assessment of the property elements that exclusively serve it. A more general assessment will take place for any shared elements.
In practice, a Level 2 survey is typically instructed to assess flats. Therefore, external elements like the roof and any high level elements are unlikely to be visible due to access restraints or poor visibility. Internal common parts will be assessed generally.
For houses, we only accept instructions where they are relatively small in size and built after 1980 given the likelihood of fewer defects and a conventional build. Otherwise, a Level 3 Home Survey is better suited to anything outside these parameters.
As an example, a brief assessment of elements listed below will take place, if present:
Case Study
East London, Newham E6
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External
Chimney stacks
Roofs
Rainwater goods
Walls
Windows
Doors
Joinery and fences
Balconies or terraces
Internal
Attic space
Ceilings
Walls
Floors
Chimney breasts
Kitchen
Joinery (door, skirting board etc)
Bathroom
With regards to services, we will attempt to operate the lights, heating and view drainage by running the taps. This shouldn't be mistaken for tests. Additional tests and inspections should be undertaken before committing to purchase.
White goods will not be tested. If this is important, ensure you clarify their condition at the time of viewing or instruct a technician for a detailed assessment.
Any concerns or suspected asbestos will be highlighted however this can only be clarified via specialist testing. An asbestos sampling contractor will need to be instructed.
The inspection of damp and mould is a common undertaking of any survey. Specialist timber preservation contractors will only be recommended where additional intrusive inspection and/or treatment is required.
The client had instructed a Level 2 Home Survey for a flat at a recently constructed development.
We noticed one of the window cills externally was missing which revealed a void between the external wall and the window frame. Voids to the partition wall between the communal staircase and corridor were also found.
The client was informed about these matters due to the safety risk and potential for hidden defects, especially considering the developer had claimed building control approval was obtained whilst we were on site.
Ultimately, we recommended against proceeding with the purchase. Further concerns were later highlighted by the conveyancer.
The client had instructed another survey of a flat a few months later within a different development which did not reveal significant issues.
What does this mean?
All modern blocks will have a gap between the outer and inner wall. In addition to the gap (cavity) containing insulation, structurally supporting components and water repelling sheets, there should be barriers installed to resist fire from spreading.
In this instance, whilst our view of the cavity was hindered, the use of a cavity barrier should have been immediately obvious given the window cill was missing. As such, the block fell foul of The Building Regulations.
The issue can therefore result in reduced thermal efficiency, water ingress resulting in dampness and more importantly, allow fire to spread into the property.
Whilst an argument can be made that additional fire barriers are in place between junctions and floor levels, this is not comforting given the clear issue of workmanship/design found.
The voids to the partition wall serving the communal staircase can also allow fire and smoke to spread which would hinder safe escape, adding to our concerns.
Further investigations were recommended which would require an intrusive assessment and site progress images from consultants, including building control. The client was advised about the impracticality of the developer agreeing to this as well as the matter of any ‘new build warranties’ dealing with the issue which may take several years to resolve.
N.B. If the window cill had been present externally, the issue of the missing cavity barrier would not have been identified. This should serve as a reminder of the limitations of any type of survey that is non-intrusive.
N.B. The compartmentation issue for the wall serving the communal staircase and walkway was an additional issue related to fire safety but easily resolvable. Still concerning given that several flats were already occupied and the development reported to be finished.