A rating is a standardized, widely accepted objective or subjective assessment of the quality of any structure, group of structures, module, or other built entity. More than one rating can be assigned to any entity, depending on how many rating systems are applied to it. Third party ratings can be connected to entities, as well as automatic ratings determined by widely accepted algorithms.

The assessment follows an established rating system. Different systems can produce separate ratings for the same built entity without those ratings being interchangeable.

A rating concerns assessed quality. Condition separately describes repair, freshness, and currency against market expectations at a particular time.