Survey finding
Cracks flagged in your survey
Cracks come in many forms and most UK homes have some. The job is to tell which are cosmetic from which suggest movement worth a closer look. This page explains the typical surveyor framing and the questions that lead to a confident decision.
Last updated: 6 May 2026. Editorially reviewed: 20 May 2026.
Finding
Cracks
What this usually means
Cracks are extremely common in UK homes. Most are hairline cracks in plaster caused by normal seasonal movement, drying out, or vibration. Wider cracks, diagonal cracks across openings, or cracks where walls meet (especially with displacement) are a different category and may suggest structural movement. The width, length, location, and pattern matter more than the count.
Why it matters
Cosmetic cracks usually have no impact on buying decisions. Structural cracks can affect insurance, mortgage, and value. The only reliable way to tell the difference on a specific property is a professional assessment, and surveyors flag cracks precisely so that the right level of follow-up can be decided.
Ask your surveyor
- Check:Which cracks did you consider cosmetic and which would warrant further investigation, and why?
- Check:Are any of the cracks large enough to fall outside category 1 (hairline) on the BRE/Burland scale?
Ask the seller
- Check:When did the cracks first appear, and have they been redecorated, filled, or grown since?
- Check:Have any structural investigations or insurance claims been made at the property?
Next steps
- •If the surveyor flagged anything beyond hairline, consider a chartered structural engineer's view, particularly for diagonal cracks across openings.
- •Photograph any flagged cracks at the time of viewing or survey, so future change can be tracked.
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Flood, subsidence, EPC, crime, schools, transport, broadband, tenure, age, listed status and price checks where data is available.
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Settlement cracks , often sits near cracks on a survey and is the next thing to check.
How MyPropertyScan produces this guide, and what it is not
Published by MyPropertyScan and written by Ziad Nasr, who is accountable for its accuracy. No page here is written or reviewed by a chartered surveyor, conveyancer or regulated adviser, and we do not claim otherwise.
This page is not:
- Chartered surveying — we do not inspect properties or produce RICS Home Survey reports
- Legal advice — we do not act as conveyancers or advise on title, tenure or contracts
- Mortgage or insurance advice — we are not regulated by the FCA and give no recommendations
Figures and process steps come from the published UK datasets and standards listed on this page, not from professional practice. Pages are updated when source coverage, survey cost assumptions, or lender and legal requirements materially change. Dataset limitations are set out on the methodology page.
Spotted something out of date or wrong? Email hello@mypropertyscan.com and we will correct it and change the update date.
Sources used
We use UK public and specialist sources where they are available. Public datasets can be incomplete, delayed, or missing for some addresses. Treat them as a starting point, not as a replacement for professional advice.
Source standard: preference goes to official government datasets, statutory bodies, professional standards, and primary dataset publishers. We cite the source family on the page and explain coverage limits rather than filling gaps with unsupported estimates.
- Professional standard: RICS Home Survey StandardRICS standard for condition-based residential surveys in the UK.
- Learn more from: RICS consumer guide to surveysConsumer-facing guide to survey types and when each level is appropriate.
- Official guidance: GOV.UK buying or selling your homeGovernment overview of the home buying and selling process.