A building survey is a walk through a property with a trained eye, element by element, room by room. Roof, walls, windows, services, damp, movement. The surveyor forms a view on each, gives it a condition rating, and photographs the evidence. Then comes the tax: three hours at a desk turning that into a report the buyer will read and the firm will stand behind. The best report is the one where the ratings and photos were captured in the room, not stitched together on Thursday from a folder of images. So the real question about a building survey report app is not the feature list. It is whether it gets the record written while you are still on site.
Guide · Professional Services
Building survey report app for the UK.
A practical guide to recording RICS building and condition surveys in the field, from paper and generic audit apps to a WhatsApp workflow. Capture condition ratings and photos room by room, and leave site with the write-up substantially done.
14-day free trial. No card required.
The point
The app does not make the survey valid.
The chartered surveyor does. An app just makes the record easier to complete on site, harder to miss an element, and faster to turn into a report. A good tool means the condition ratings and photos are captured room by room as you walk the property, not reconstructed at the desk from a camera roll.
The three levels
One workflow, every survey level.
Level 1
Condition report
The basic survey under the RICS Home Survey Standard. Condition ratings on the main elements, little advice or detail. Fast to capture, fast to report.
Level 2Homebuyer survey
The mid-level survey, with or without a valuation. More detail on defects and their cause, with photos and advice tied to each element.
Level 3Building survey
The most detailed survey, for older, altered or unusual properties. Full element-by-element inspection, repair options and priorities.
Condition ratings
Rate 1, 2 and 3 as you inspect.
Rating 1 means no repair is presently needed. Rating 2 means a defect needing attention but not serious or urgent. Rating 3 means a defect that is serious or needs urgent attention. Record the rating against each element at the point of observation, with a photo, not from memory that evening. Rating 3 items surface on the office dashboard as you enter them.
Run surveys on WhatsApp
No app install. No training.
Surveyors use the phone they already have. Text, voice note or photo. The report generates itself. Setup to first live workflow usually takes under a week.
The short version
- The RICS Home Survey Standard defines three survey levels: Level 1 condition report, Level 2 homebuyer survey, Level 3 building survey.
- Building elements are given condition ratings: 1 (no repair needed), 2 (defects to attend to, not urgent), 3 (serious or urgent).
- Capturing the rating and a photo against each element on site produces a better and more defensible report than a desk write-up.
- A dated, timestamped photo per element is the record that defends the surveyor in a professional indemnity dispute.
- Per-report pricing beats per-seat for firms with a mix of field and office staff, because adding people is free.
- The app captures the survey and speeds the write-up. It does not replace the chartered surveyor's judgement or a specific RICS report template.
The standard
The RICS Home Survey Standard and its three levels
The RICS Home Survey Standard, mandatory for RICS members since 2021, sets a consistent framework for residential surveys. Level 1 is a condition report, giving condition ratings on the principal elements with limited advice. Level 2 is the homebuyer survey, available with or without a market valuation, with more explanation of defects. Level 3 is the building survey, the most thorough inspection, suited to older, larger, altered or unusual homes.
An app should not force a single rigid form on all three. Quickler runs the level as a workflow: the surveyor picks the level, and the prompts, the depth of detail and the elements covered follow from it. It is a capture and reporting aid, not a certified RICS template, and it does not decide the level or the ratings for you.
Condition ratings
Recording ratings 1, 2 and 3 correctly
The condition rating is the heart of the survey. Rating 1 means the element is in a condition where no repair is presently needed. Rating 2 means a defect that needs attention or repair but is not serious or urgent. Rating 3 means a defect that is serious or needs urgent attention or investigation.
The ratings matter because clients and their solicitors read them first, and they drive the buyer's decisions and negotiations. The rating should be assigned against each element at the point of observation, with a supporting photo, not reconstructed later. Quickler captures the rating and the photo element by element and flags rating 3 items for the office as they are entered. It records your rating; it does not choose it for you.
On site versus office
Capture in the room, not from the camera roll
The evening write-up is where surveys lose their edge. Photos get mislabelled, small defects drop out, and the surveyor half-remembers which crack was in which room. A rating captured in the room, with the element in front of you, is more accurate and carries more conviction than one assigned days later from a folder of images.
Quickler lets the surveyor dictate each element as a voice note or a line of text, attach the photo there and then, and move on. You leave the property with the survey substantially recorded and the write-up mostly done. It does not replace your professional judgement about what a defect means or how serious it is; it captures that judgement while the evidence is in front of you.
Evidence and PI
The photo record that defends the rating
Building surveys generate professional indemnity claims when a buyer later says a defect was missed or under-rated. The surveyor's defence is the record: what was inspected, what was found, how it was rated, and a dated photograph to prove it. A camera roll with no times and no notes does not do that job.
Quickler stamps every photo with the time it was taken and the element it belongs to, and keeps the survey as an ordered evidence trail: surveyor, property, date, every element and rating in sequence. That supports a defensible file, but it is not a substitute for competent inspection or adequate cover, and it is not legal advice. Check your PI terms and current RICS guidance.
Pricing
Per report, not per seat
Most survey apps charge per seat. For a surveying practice that is the wrong shape: the office manager who reads one report a month pays the same as the surveyor who files four a week, and every associate you add costs more.
Quickler charges per report, with unlimited users on every bundle. Bundles run from Quickler 50 at 50 pounds a month for 50 reports, up to Quickler 500 at 500 pounds a month for 500 reports. Add as many surveyors, consultants, managers and admins as you like; you pay for the reports you file, not the people who could file them. Pricing is approximate and shifts, so check the current pricing page before you commit.
Questions, answered
What is a building survey report app?
It is a tool that helps a surveyor record a RICS building or condition survey on site and produce the report: capturing the survey level, condition ratings and photos element by element. Options range from paper and dictation, to generic audit apps, to conversation-based tools like Quickler that run the survey over WhatsApp so there is no app to install.
What are the RICS survey levels and condition ratings?
The RICS Home Survey Standard sets three levels: Level 1 (condition report), Level 2 (homebuyer survey, with or without valuation) and Level 3 (building survey). Building elements are rated 1 (no repair presently needed), 2 (defect needing attention but not urgent) or 3 (serious or urgent defect). Always follow current RICS guidance for the detail of each level and rating.
Does the app replace a RICS report template?
No. Quickler captures the ratings, findings and photos on site and speeds the write-up, but it is not a certified RICS report template and it does not make the survey valid. The chartered surveyor's competence and judgement do that. Follow current RICS guidance and your firm's own report format, and treat this as general information, not legal or professional advice.
Can I do a building survey over WhatsApp?
Yes. Quickler's survey workflow runs over the WhatsApp Business API. The surveyor receives each prompt in their existing WhatsApp chat, records the rating and photo for each element with text, a voice note or an image, and the completed report generates automatically. No separate app or login is required, and Quickler manages the WhatsApp Business API account on the firm's behalf.