Why is lease incorporation status important?

An SoC is only legally protective if incorporated into the lease. The status (annexed-qualified / unqualified / pre-signing / evidential-only / party-wall annex) records contractual force.

Does SoC use CR1/CR2/CR3 ratings?

No. SoC uses severity grades (Good/Sound/Fair/Poor/Defective) without implying repair urgency. CR ratings belong to RICS Home Surveys.

Pre-lease · Party wall · Litigation

Schedule of Condition — the factual baseline that protects you in disputes

A photo-dense, dated record of property condition at a specific moment. Severity-graded (Good / Sound / Fair / Poor / Defective), no opinions. Used for pre-lease tenant protection, party wall pre-works, and litigation evidence.

Start Free Trial See Pricing

14-day free trial · All 15 templates included · £35/month

What's in the report

Sections A–G — concise structure, dense photo evidence per item.

AInspection detailsSurveyor, instructing party, date, weather, methodology, areas not inspected, BS 7913 compliance flag for heritage.
BProperty & lease contextProperty address, tenure, lease incorporation status (annexed-qualified / annexed-unqualified / pre-signing / evidential-only / party-wall annex / TBD), party identification.
CConstruction & layoutConstruction era, materials, accommodation schedule, listed-building flag, conservation area status.
DExternal condition recordPer element: severity grade (Good / Sound / Fair / Poor / Defective), measurement, evidence photo, crack patterns and widths to BRE Digest 251 if present.
EInternal condition recordPer element: severity grade, measurement, evidence photo, room-by-room layout. Unlimited records per section.
FServices condition recordVisible services: heating, electrics, plumbing, drainage. Photographic record — no testing, no opinion.
GSurveyor's declarationSigned declaration, qualifications, no-opinion attestation, RICS-aligned AI disclosure.

Three things people use this for

Same template, different downstream defence.

Pre-lease

Tenant protection

Annex an SoC to the lease so dilapidations claims at lease-end can only be brought against further deterioration — not pre-existing condition. Especially valuable on FRI leases where the tenant takes on full repairing obligations.

Party Wall etc. Act 1996

Pre-works baseline

Recorded before notifiable works begin (Section 1, 3, or 6 notice). Establishes the adjoining owner's property condition at the start, so any subsequent damage can be attributed correctly. Often annexed to the Party Wall Award.

Litigation

Evidence trail

Used in housing disrepair claims (HHCR), boundary disputes, building defect litigation. The factual, opinion-free format means it survives expert-witness scrutiny on a balance of probabilities.

Schedule of Condition FAQs

What's the difference between an SoC and a Building Survey?

A Building Survey contains opinions and recommendations — CR1/CR2/CR3 ratings, defect causation, repair advice. A Schedule of Condition is factual only — severity grades describing what is observable at a moment in time. SoC has no recommendations and no condition rating; it's evidence, not advice.

Why is the "lease incorporation status" field important?

An SoC is only legally protective if it's incorporated into the lease. The field (annexed-qualified / annexed-unqualified / pre-signing / evidential-only / party-wall annex) records whether the SoC has actual contractual force or is just evidential. A "qualified" annex means the tenant's repairing obligation is qualified by reference to the SoC photographs — the strongest form of tenant protection.

Does the SoC use CR1/CR2/CR3 ratings?

No. SoC uses severity grades (Good / Sound / Fair / Poor / Defective) which describe factual condition without implying repair urgency. CR1–CR3 belong to RICS Home Surveys (Levels 1, 2, 3), which include opinion. Mixing the two on a Schedule of Condition would undermine its evidential purpose.

Does it support BS 7913 heritage requirements?

Yes. A heritage flag in Section A switches on BS 7913:2013-aware photo density expectations and conservation-appropriate description prompts. Useful for listed buildings, conservation areas, and heritage assets where the SoC may inform a future approved-works application.

Can the AI help with an SoC?

Yes — AI drafts the per-element factual descriptions from your short on-site notes. Strict-literal mode is essential here: an SoC's evidential value depends on no inference, so the AI never adds materials, measurements or causes you didn't observe.