What Do Category 1, 2 and 3 Mean on a Scottish Home Report?
Every Scottish Home Report contains a Single Survey, and every Single Survey rates each part of the property — roof, walls, windows, chimneys, and so on — on a scale of 1 to 3. If you've just opened your first Home Report and hit a wall of these ratings, here's what they actually mean.
Category 1: No repair presently needed. The element is in reasonable condition for its age and just needs normal maintenance. This is the result you want to see.
Category 2: Repairs or replacement needed, but not urgent or serious. This covers a lot of normal wear and tear — ageing pointing, a worn gutter, tired paintwork. It's not a reason to walk away, but it's worth knowing about, because "not urgent" repairs add up.
Category 3: Urgent repairs or replacement needed now. This is the rating that should stop you and make you ask questions. A Category 3 means the surveyor believes the issue will get worse — and more expensive — if it's left. It doesn't automatically mean the property is a bad buy, but it does mean you need to understand the likely cost and timeline before you offer, and possibly get a specialist (roofer, structural engineer, damp specialist) to look at it.
A single Category 3 on a minor element is a very different situation to several Category 3s clustered around the roof or structure. The rating tells you urgency — it doesn't tell you cost, and it doesn't tell you how it should change your offer. That's the bit most buyers actually get stuck on, and it's exactly what Croft's free overview does: it reads every rating in your report and translates it into plain English, with a rough sense of what each Category 3 or 2 might cost to put right.
This is general information, not a substitute for advice from your own surveyor or solicitor on your specific report.
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