Is a drone inspection mandatory with a RICS home survey/inspection?
You’ve found the perfect home. The excitement of imagining life in that new space is almost overwhelming. But before you get carried away, there’s a critical step you mustn’t overlook: a home survey.
We’re sure you’re more than fed up with paperwork and legal processes by now, but don’t skip this step. It’s the key to making sure what looks like your dream isn’t actually a well-disguised house of horrors.
Here at GB Home Surveys, we take our RICS home surveys up a notch by offering drone inspections. We’re often asked whether a drone inspection is mandatory when you book a RICS home survey. The short answer is no, they’re not required. But don’t pass up the opportunity for a clearer view of the property.
Traditional home surveys and their limits
When you book a RICS home survey, you’re hiring a professional to examine the property’s condition. Chartered surveyors undergo years of training and must be members of RICS to carry out these assessments. They’re experts in identifying issues with a home’s structure.
The surveyor will inspect visible areas, checking walls, ceilings, floors, windows and roofs where accessible. They’ll look for signs of damage, damp, rot, mould, invasive vegetation, structural movement and more.
However, by nature, these inspections come with limitations, especially when it comes to the roof. In a traditional home survey, the surveyor might require scaffolding or ladders to inspect high-up areas like the roof, chimney or gutters. In most cases, they’ll find a nearby vantage point (like a hill, bridge or public building) to take photos instead. These methods are effective and, combined with expert knowledge, are accurate. But they’re only accurate about the things they can see.
Drones are a fantastic way to see everything on the roof. For clarity, drone surveys aren’t required by RICS at all. However, even though they aren’t mandatory, they provide significant benefits.
How a drone inspection complements a RICS home survey
Drones don’t replace a RICS survey. They’re a supplementary tool to make the survey more thorough. At GB Home Surveys, drone inspections are an optional extra when you book your standard RICS Home Survey Level 2 or Home Survey Level 3.
Our drones capture high-resolution images of the roof, chimney and other difficult-to-reach exterior features like guttering, flashing and upstands. Of course, the main benefit of a drone is that it can go almost anywhere (adhering to CAA regulations). As long as the drone remains in the surveyor’s eyeline, they’re allowed to pilot it to any desired point. That means the chartered surveyor has far more angles from which to take photos and, later, analyse them.
This is a far more effective approach than a traditional roof survey. For example, a surveyor using a ladder might miss a slipped tile near the top of the roof or a small crack in the flashing. A drone, however, would have no issue spotting such problems.
Drone surveys are invaluable for spotting things like:
- Slipped or missing tiles near the roof ridge or in valleys
- Blocked or damaged valley gutters
- Cracked lead flashing
- Chimney stack leaning or cracking
- Moss build-up and vegetation clusters
- Water ponding on flat roofs
- Blocked or disconnected gutters at roof height
How a drone survey inspection brings peace of mind
A drone inspection isn’t a requirement, but it’s one of those things you’ll be glad you did. It gives you clear, detailed visuals of the parts of the property that are difficult (or impossible) to check from the ground. If your surveyor spots anything on the roof, chimney or gutters, the drone provides photographic evidence that shows exactly what’s going on.
That clarity makes decision-making easier. You’ll be able to factor repair costs into your budget, consider future maintenance, or even use the findings to renegotiate with the seller. If there’s a slipped tile, a crack in the chimney stack or blocked valley gutters, you’ll see it for yourself – and so will your builder, insurer, conveyancer, solicitor, lender and the current owner.
At GB Home Surveys, we include a set of drone images in every report where a drone is used. You’ll get at least four, even if we don’t uncover any major issues. These images aren’t just useful during the buying process. They’re worth holding on to. You might need them for an insurance claim, future planning application, or simply to show a tradesperson what needs sorting without having to send someone back up a ladder.
Ready for the full picture?
While a drone survey inspection isn’t mandatory for a RICS home survey, it certainly makes sense to consider one. They complement (and certainly don’t replace) the standard inspection methods. It’s a cost-effective way to better understand a property’s condition, so you can make sure your dream home doesn’t reveal itself to be a nightmare.
So, if you’re in the process of buying a home, don’t miss the opportunity to book a drone inspection alongside your RICS survey. Why take the risk of missing something important? Get in touch with GB Home Surveys today and ensure you have all the facts before making your decision.
