The four narrative types

Each narrative in the bank carries a type that qualifies its nature. This classification structures the report and helps your client prioritize what they read. Lumos defines four types.

Deficiency

A defect, deterioration, risk, or non-compliance identified during the inspection. This is the most frequent and most visible type in the report.

A deficiency generally calls for a recommendation: immediate intervention (for safety risks), short or medium-term planning (for worsening deterioration), or simple monitoring (for items at end of life).

Each deficiency receives a severity. Severities are defined by the template and can be customized (names, colors, order, level add/remove).

The default BNQ template offers 7 levels, from least to most critical:

No problem — the inspector has not raised any significant deficiency.
Monitor — monitoring recommended to assess evolution over time.
Warning — condition deserving particular attention from the buyer.
Deficiency — correction or intervention required to prevent degradation.
Urgent — immediate intervention required.
Specialist Required — exhaustive expertise beyond visual inspection.
Hazard — health and safety at risk without immediate intervention.

Each level can be flagged “Count as Urgent Problem in the report” in the template editor, which makes it appear in the “Urgent Problems” card of the PDF summary.

Examples: Structural cracks (Structure > Foundation), Deteriorated and cracked stucco (Structure > Foundation).

Information

A neutral or descriptive fact about the building, with no defect value. Information serves to document what you observed so the client understands the report’s context.

Examples: construction material, type of heating, plumbing configuration, presence of a weeping tile, type of exterior cladding.

Information has no severity — it describes, it does not judge.

Limitation

An uninspected area and the reason. The BNQ 3009-500 standard requires the inspector to explicitly flag what was not inspected so the client is informed.

Examples: attic inaccessible due to insufficient hatch, finished basement preventing observation of structural elements, roof inaccessible due to slope or weather, electrical panel access blocked by furniture.

Each limitation explains the reason for non-inspection. The client then knows they will need to commission additional expertise if they want an opinion on these items.

Method

A description of procedure, tool, or approach used during the inspection. More common in detailed reports or specialized inspections.

Examples: description of the test method for an electrical outlet, verification procedure for a shutoff valve, observation protocol for an inaccessible roof (drone, binoculars, zoom photo).

The method demonstrates the rigor of your work to the client.

How a narrative’s type is set

When you take a narrative from the bank, its type is already set by the narrative itself. A deficiency stays a deficiency.

When you create a custom narrative, you choose the type at creation. The right type makes your report more readable.

Presence in the report

Depending on your report template, narratives of each type may appear in different places: deficiencies grouped at the top of a section, information in a descriptive thread, limitations in a callout, methods in an appendix or footnote. The template defines this behavior.