A guide for estates teams

Six facet surveys: a plain guide.

What a six facet survey is, the six facets in the guidance's own words, the A to D grades and risk-based priorities, who uses it, how often, and what to record. With a checklist for the survey.

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Covers the health estates guidance for England, with a note on Wales. Checked against the published guidance on 13 October 2026. Next review by 13 April 2027.

What it is, and where it comes from

Six questions about every building.

A six facet survey looks at an estate from six angles at once: the state of the buildings, how well they suit the services inside, how well the space is used, the quality of the surroundings, safety and statutory requirements, and environmental management. Each facet gets its own grade, so an estates team can see which buildings to keep, improve, reorganise or let go.

The method comes from the estates guidance for health buildings in England. The guidance, called land and property appraisal, describes the aim like this:

"a thorough examination of your land and property with the ultimate aim of calculating what it will cost to maintain your estate at an acceptable standard and where opportunities for adaptation and rationalisation lie."Land and property appraisal, estates guidance for health buildings in England, published 15 May 2007

It says the appraisal "should be undertaken on the basis of six facets", and calls it the first step in an estate strategy.

A short history

  • 2002: Estatecode, the estates guidance for health buildings in England, sets out the appraisal.
  • 2007: a new Estatecode leaves it out, and the appraisal is published separately. It is still on the health service's website.
  • 2023: the premises assurance model for health estates lists it among its references.
  • Now: a Welsh health board paper from October 2025 says the guidance is being updated in England. Check for a newer edition first.

The six facets

The six facets, in the guidance's own words.

The facet names below are quoted from the 2007 land and property appraisal guidance. The notes under each one summarise what the guidance says to look at.

  1. 1
    Physical condition.The state of three elements: the building inside and out, the mechanical systems, and the electrical systems.
  2. 2
    Functional suitability.How well the building supports the service in it: how the spaces relate, support facilities such as toilets and storage, and location. Usually judged by a team including the people who run the service.
  3. 3
    Space utilisation.How intensively the space is used: by how many people, how often.
  1. 4
    Quality.Three elements: amenity (privacy, dignity, comfort, signposting), comfort engineering (light, heating, ventilation, noise and odour) and design (appearance, finishes, landscaping, views).
  2. 5
    Fire and health & safety requirements.Statutory and non-statutory requirements for fire, and for health and safety: fire doors, means of escape, alarms, asbestos, Legionella, electrics. Often called statutory compliance.
  3. 6
    Environmental management.Energy, water, waste, transport and procurement. This facet replaced the older energy performance facet and widened it.

The guidance suggests it "may be useful to record the ranking for fire safety separately in view of its importance". It also warns against counting the same cost under two facets: a defect that breaches a safety requirement goes under facet 5, and poor condition that makes a space work badly goes under facet 1.

Grades A to D

Grade B is the line that matters.

Most facets are graded A to D, with each facet's own wording. Space utilisation uses four letters of its own. The physical condition grades are quoted word for word from the 2007 guidance.

Physical condition

  1. A
    As new."as new (that is, built within the past two years) and can be expected to perform adequately over its expected shelf life"
  2. B
    Sound."sound, operationally safe and exhibits only minor deterioration"
  3. C
    Major repair soon."operational but major repair or replacement will be needed soon, that is, within three years for building elements and one year for engineering elements"
  4. D
    Serious risk."runs a serious risk of imminent breakdown"
  5. X
    Added to C or D.When "nothing but a total rebuild or relocation will suffice".

The other facets, in short

  1. 2
    Functional suitability.From A, "very satisfactory, no change needed", to D, "unacceptable in its present condition".
  2. 3
    Space utilisation.E empty, U under-used, F fully used, O overcrowded.
  3. 4
    Quality.From A, "a facility of excellent quality", to D, a very poor facility needing significant investment or replacement.
  4. 5
    Fire and health and safety.From A, "building complies with all statutory requirements and relevant guidance", to D, areas dangerously below the B standard.
  5. 6
    Environmental management.A broad A to D ranking from the energy a building uses for each 100 cubic metres of its volume.

The guidance says: "Condition B is to be considered as an operationally acceptable standard for all building and engineering elements." For anything graded C or D, the survey records the cost of bringing it up to B. It admits "Much of your surveying work will rely on subjective assessment", so it asks for more than one surveyor, and the same people across every site.

Backlog and risk

How bad, and how risky.

A grade says how bad something is, not how urgent. For that, health estates use a risk-based method from 2004. It defines backlog as the cost to bring assets that are below condition B, in their physical condition or their compliance with fire safety and statutory safety law, up to condition B.

Each part below B, or due to fall below it within five years, is scored twice, from 1 to 5: how bad the consequence of failure would be, and how likely failure is. The two scores are multiplied:

  • High, 17 to 25: an urgent priority, to prevent catastrophic failure, major disruption to clinical services or safety failings liable to cause serious injury or prosecution.
  • Significant, 11 to 16: spending needed in the short term, managed as a priority.
  • Moderate, 7 to 10: close control and monitoring, with spending planned for the medium term.
  • Low, 1 to 6: handled through agreed maintenance programmes or the later years of the estate strategy.

The method asks for "an annual review of survey findings and risk assessments (at 31 March each year)", to feed the year's investment planning. The 2023 premises assurance model calls the high and significant risk backlog "critical infrastructure risk", and lists four risk types, naming the third "medium" rather than moderate.

Who uses it, and how often

Written for health estates, borrowed by others.

Hospital and health estates

The guidance was written for hospital and health estates in England. The 2007 guidance names a second purpose: data for the Estates Returns Information Collection, which compares estates across the health service. The premises assurance model asks for evidence that includes "Space utilisation studies and monitoring usage".

In Wales, a health board paper from 30 October 2025 lists the six facets as physical condition, functional suitability, space utilisation, quality, statutory compliance and environmental management, under the Welsh edition of Estatecode from 2018. It adds that "The delivery of 6-facet surveys is currently under review at an All Wales level".

Universities, councils and other public estates

Other public estates take the parts they need. The University of Bath said in 2019 that it commissions a condition survey every 5 to 10 years, and asked the surveyors to "give their view on the Functional Suitability of all spaces". Councils commission condition surveys too, as our building condition survey guide shows.

How often

"It is recommended that a detailed property appraisal is completed every five years or whenever there has been a major change in the property portfolio, whichever is the earlier."Land and property appraisal, 2007

Between surveys, the appraisal "should be kept up to date, and reported to the board at least annually".

What to record

Block by block, part by part.

The guidance surveys an estate in blocks, ideally whole departments, then adds them up to the whole estate. It asks for a standard form for each facet, so every block is recorded the same way.

Before the survey, it asks for an up-to-date drawing of each block with room layouts and room numbers, the block's age and past upgrades, and maintenance records for major plant. The 2004 risk method lists what to note on the survey, "supported by suitably marked-up drawings and/or photographs":

  • The building: its type of construction and its parts.
  • The services: the type and maker of each engineering system.
  • Grades: a physical condition grade for each building and engineering part, and a grade for fire safety and statutory safety.
  • Defects: any failures or damage seen.
  • Time left: for parts in condition B, how many years they will stay at B, and the remaining life of each block.

Both documents then ask for the cost of bringing anything below B up to B.

In our view, a photo and a note of exactly where for every defect does the most to make a grade checkable later, by a colleague, a contractor or the next surveyor.

The checklist

A checklist for each block.

Use it to plan a survey, or as a check that your own forms cover everything. Agree with your client which facets are in scope first. Free to use and change.

Before the survey

  • Which facets are in scope, and how much detail
  • Blocks agreed, ideally whole departments
  • Up-to-date drawings with room numbers
  • Each block's age and past upgrades
  • Maintenance records for major plant
  • The asbestos register and site safety rules

1 Physical condition

  • Structure, roof, external and internal fabric
  • Fittings, external works and drainage
  • Mechanical systems: heating, water, ventilation, lifts
  • Electrical systems: supply, alarms, fixed plant, controls
  • A grade A to D for each part, X where it applies

2 and 3 Function and space

  • How the spaces relate to each other
  • Toilets, storage, seating and waiting space
  • Location, parking, transport and lifts
  • Each space: empty, under-used, fully used or overcrowded
  • Visits at different times of the working day

4 Quality

  • Amenity: privacy, dignity, comfort, signposting
  • Comfort: light, heating, ventilation, noise, odour
  • Design: finishes, landscaping, views

5 Fire and safety

  • Compartmentation, fire doors and means of escape
  • Alarm and detection systems
  • Asbestos, Legionella and the electrical supply
  • Fire safety graded separately, if you choose

6 Environmental management

  • Energy use for the block
  • Water, waste and transport
  • Procurement

Before you sign off

  • A grade for every part, or not inspected and why
  • A photo and a note of where, for each defect
  • The cost to bring C and D items up to B
  • A risk score for each item below B
  • No cost counted under two facets
  • Anything urgent told to the client the same day

Where SurveyNest fits

The condition evidence, building by building.

SurveyNest does not carry out a six facet survey. It helps with the evidence behind the physical condition facet, and keeps it with each building.

See the Lite mobile app See Pro

Lite is invite only for now. Pro is available on request.

  1. 1

    Lite: rate each part

    Lite covers the whole building. It holds 38 parts in 5 groups: outside, inside, services, fire safety and grounds. Rate each part urgent, repair needed, no repair, or not inspected.

  2. 2

    Lite: photos and notes

    On every defect, up to 400 a survey. No signal in the plant room? It saves on the phone. Choose AI drafting if you want it: the report comes back as a draft, and a person checks it before issue.

  3. 3

    Pro: the whole record

    Survey evidence, condition reports and EPC checks, building by building. Pro keeps condition reports beside each building's maps, thermal pictures, specifications and documents, and adds an EPC and DEC check for a building.

What SurveyNest does not do: it does not assess functional suitability, space utilisation or quality, and it does not give the A to D grades, risk scores or backlog costs. Lite's ratings are its own scale, not the guidance's grades. Compliance judgements stay with your surveyor and the competent people you appoint, and an EPC and DEC check is not an environmental management assessment. Lite and Pro record what your surveyor sees.

Questions

Six facet surveys, answered.

What is a six facet survey?

An appraisal of an estate under six headings: physical condition, functional suitability, space utilisation, quality, fire and health and safety requirements, and environmental management. It comes from the estates guidance for health buildings in England and is used to plan investment and an estate strategy.

How often should a six facet survey be done?

The guidance recommends a detailed appraisal every five years, or sooner after a major change to the estate. It should be kept up to date and reported to the board at least annually.

Is it only for hospitals?

It was written for hospital and health estates, and Wales has its own edition. Other public estates, such as universities and councils, borrow parts of the method, for example condition surveys and reviews of how well spaces suit their use.

Can SurveyNest carry out a six facet survey?

No. Lite records each part's condition with photos and notes, and Pro keeps condition reports, maps, thermal pictures, documents and an EPC and DEC check building by building. Grading, suitability, space use, risk and costs stay with your surveyors.

Sources

Where these facts come from.

Every fact about the facets, grades and risk method comes from these documents, read on 13 October 2026. The 2002 Estatecode could not be found online, so the facets are quoted from the 2007 guidance adapted from it. This guide is not professional advice.

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