For committees, boards and owners
What a painting condition report should tell you.
Before a committee approves a repaint, it should know the condition of what it owns. A painting condition report is how it finds out: every area rated Red, Amber or Green, every defect photographed, and a list of what to do and when. This guide explains what a good one contains, how to read it, and the questions to ask the painter who wrote it.
The one scale
A good report rates every area of every building on one scale, and prints the meaning beside each colour:
- Green — sound, no action needed.
- Amber — wear showing, plan work within one to two years.
- Red — failing, act now.
- Not inspected — the assessor could not reach it. This should be stated, never quietly left out or shown as Green.
The counts at the top (so many Red, Amber and Green) tell you the shape of the property in a glance. The building-by-building pages tell you where.
What a defect record must include
- A photo. A defect with no photo is an opinion. Every defect in the report should have at least one.
- The surface it is on. "Peeling on the fascia" is actionable; "peeling on Block A" is not. The surface is what a later quote prices.
- How serious it is. Minor or significant, so the committee can tell wear from failure.
- Where the photo was taken. A position and a direction under each photo ("facing north, from the car park") means a committee member can go and look, and next year's assessor can stand in the same spot.
Recommendations you can budget from
The useful part of the report groups what to do by when: now, within one to two years, and monitor. That grouping drops straight into a sinking fund or capital works plan. If the report lists work without timing, ask for it.
A condition report should not carry a price. Its value is that it is an impartial record of condition; a quote is a separate document, built from the same evidence once you have decided what to do. A report with a price in it is a sales document with a long introduction.
What a report deliberately leaves out
A painting condition report is a visual assessment of painted and coated surfaces made from the ground and from accessible points. It is not a structural, compliance, asbestos or lead report, and a good one says so in plain words. Where the assessor noticed something of that kind, it should be recorded so you can bring in the right specialist. Treat a report that claims more than that with caution.
Residents' privacy
Your buildings are people's homes. A photo of a failing balcony is also a photo of someone's washing, their car and the inside of their lounge. Any report you receive should have faces, people, number plates and visible interiors blurred, and the files should carry no hidden location data. If you can see a resident's face in a report photo, the painter has not done this, and you should ask them to.
Questions to ask the painter
- Which areas could you not inspect, and why?
- For each Red area, what happens if we wait a year?
- Which of the Amber items would you bring forward if the budget allowed?
- Will you repeat the same photo points next year so we can see the change?
- Can the recommended works be spread over several years, and in what order?
From report to decision
Once the committee has the report, the repaint quote — or a multi-year program that spreads the work across budget years, worst buildings first — should come from the same buildings and areas, so nothing is measured or argued twice. The painter who wrote the report already knows the site; that is a reasonable place to start, and a reasonable thing to compare other quotes against.
If your painter uses Surfacely, the report arrives as a secure link branded as their business, with a PDF to download, every photo checked for privacy before you see it, and no price anywhere in it.
Related guides
- What a good painting quote should contain
- What it costs to paint a house exterior
- Condition reports, from the painter's side
FAQ
What is a painting condition report?
A dated, photographed record of the condition of a building's painted and coated surfaces: every area rated Red, Amber or Green, every defect photographed and named by the surface it is on, and recommendations grouped by when they should happen. Committees use it to plan a sinking fund or capital works budget before approving painting.
What do Red, Amber and Green mean?
Green is sound with no action needed. Amber means wear is showing and work should be planned within one to two years. Red means the surface is failing and needs action now. An area the assessor could not reach should be marked not inspected, never shown as Green.
Should the report include a price?
No. A condition report is an impartial record of condition. The quote is a separate document built from the same evidence once the committee decides what to do. A report that carries a price is a sales document.
Is a painting condition report a structural report?
No. It is a visual assessment of painted and coated surfaces from accessible points, and a good report says so plainly. Anything structural, electrical or to do with hazardous materials that the assessor noticed should be recorded so the committee can bring in a specialist.
How often should we have one?
Yearly works well for a site on a maintenance budget, with the same photo points repeated each year so the trend is visible. Larger sites spread over a multi-year program often use the yearly report as the check that decides each year's touch-up work.
What about residents in the photos?
Faces, people, number plates and the inside of homes should be blurred on every photo in the report, and the image files should carry no hidden location data. If you can see a resident's face, ask the painter to reissue the report.