Reliance Letter
A letter from the consultant extending reliance on a property condition report to a named third party, usually the lender, under the report's scope and.
By Nicolas Reimer, Founder, Baseline PCR · PCR practice; E2018-24 s11.10 · Published September 18, 2026
A PCR is prepared for its user, and its limiting conditions restrict reliance to that party. When a lender, a loan participant, a trustee or a subsequent buyer wants to rely on the same report, the consultant issues a reliance letter naming them. The letter references the report by title, date and project number, restates that reliance is subject to the report's scope and limiting conditions, adds no new opinions and does not extend the report's currency. On securitised loans the letter names the originator, depositor and trustee; lenders may also ask that professional liability insurance be stated.
Consultants price additional reliance letters per party and keep the language narrow; an open-ended extension to unnamed successors is a business decision, not a formality. See reliance letters.
Related: limiting conditions, user.
Sources
- CCPIA, Reliance Letter from a Commercial Property Inspector
- ASTM E2018-24, Standard Guide for Property Condition Assessments: Baseline Property Condition Assessment Process (ASTM International)
- Standard & Poor's, Property Condition Assessment Criteria (structured finance ratings; hosted by Partner ESI)
ASTM E2018-24 is copyrighted by ASTM International and is paraphrased here, never reproduced; buy the guide from ASTM to read the text. This page is general information for practitioners, not engineering, legal or lending advice.