RICS Homebuyer Survey in Cardiff

If you are buying a home in Cardiff or the Vale of Glamorgan, a RICS home survey is one of the few pieces of independent advice you will receive before exchange. A mortgage valuation protects the lender. A survey is for you.

The Welsh Surveying Co provides RICS Home Survey Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3 (building survey) inspections across Cardiff and the surrounding area. We are chartered surveyors — not an estate-agency add-on — and we report in plain English so you can decide whether to proceed, renegotiate, or walk away.

Book a survey or email Lydia with the address and property type.

Why Cardiff property needs a proper look

Cardiff’s housing stock is mixed, and that mix is exactly why a one-size-fits-all inspection is a poor idea.

Victorian and Edwardian terraces in Roath, Cathays, Plasnewydd and Canton often have solid walls, original timber floors, and roofs that have been patched rather than renewed. Many have been converted into flats or houses in multiple occupation. A Level 1 condition report may be enough for a recently refurbished, conventional house in good order. It is rarely enough for a converted terrace with a loft extension and a damp-smelling cellar.

Nineteen-thirties and post-war semis in the northern and eastern suburbs are more conventional, but they still hide issues: poorly ventilated subfloors, ageing wiring, replacement windows that have shortened the life of the lintels, and roofs coming to the end of their covering.

Cardiff Bay, the city centre and newer estates bring a different set of questions: leasehold arrangements, external wall systems on some blocks, snagging on relatively new homes, and the quality of the original build. A recently completed home is not automatically a low-risk home.

The Vale — Penarth, Dinas Powys, Barry, Cowbridge and the coastal villages — adds coastal exposure, older stone and render, and a higher share of listed or conservation-area buildings.

None of this is a reason not to buy in Cardiff. It is a reason to instruct a surveyor who will look at the fabric, not just the floor area.

Which RICS survey level for a Cardiff home?

The RICS Home Survey Standard sets out three levels. The right one depends on age, construction, alterations and your own appetite for risk — not on the purchase price alone.

Level 1 describes the condition, flags obvious risks and urgent defects, and is aimed at conventional properties in good condition. It does not generally tell you how to put defects right. See RICS Homebuyer Survey Level 1.

Level 2 is the report most buyers of a straightforward house or bungalow will need. It gives more detail on condition and on repairs and maintenance that are likely to be required. See Level 2.

Level 3 is the building survey: the most comprehensive inspection, with in-depth analysis and advice on defects, repairs and options. Choose it for large, older or unusual buildings, heavily altered houses, listed property, or where you plan major works. See Level 3.

If you are unsure, read our guide to Levels 1, 2 and 3 and tell us what you are buying. We would rather talk you out of the wrong product than sell you the cheapest one.

A mortgage valuation is not a substitute. Lenders instruct valuers to check that the security is adequate. They do not produce a report for the buyer on damp, roof coverings, movement or services. Mortgage valuation versus a RICS survey explains the difference.

What we look at

A home survey in Cardiff typically considers roofs, chimneys, rainwater goods and the loft space where it is accessible; walls, render, pointing and signs of movement or damp; floors, joinery and visible structure; windows and doors, including condensation and replacement units; services that are visible and accessible — heating, electrics, plumbing — without carrying out specialist tests; outbuildings, drainage covers where they can be lifted, and the site; and anything you have asked us to pay particular attention to.

We do not open up the building or move furniture as a matter of course. If we cannot see something, we say so. That honesty is the point of instructing an independent surveyor. For the limits of a visual inspection, see what a RICS home survey covers — and what it does not.

Flats need extra care: the condition of shared roofs and communal areas, the terms of the lease, and whether a building-safety issue may sit with the block rather than the individual demise. Share the lease and any management packs when you instruct us.

How to instruct us

Email lydia@thewelshsurveyingco.co.uk with the address, the property type and the level you think you need — or ask us to recommend one. You can also book a survey online.

We cover Cardiff, the Vale of Glamorgan and the wider region. If you are buying further west, see our Swansea homebuyer survey page. For Gwynedd, Conwy, Anglesey and Denbighshire, see North Wales.

Buying an older stone house rather than a city terrace? Damp, roofs and listed buildings is a practical starting point before you book.