A total of 349 residential building audits were performed in seven European countries to collect data on the degradation of building elements (architectural and installations). The buildings cover typical architectural typologies, sizes, constructions and installations, at different states of deterioration. The data was collected based on a standardized methodology for building audits. Follow up analysis revealed the most important influencing factors on the deterioration of existing residential buildings throughout Europe and estimated service lives of various building architectural elements and electromechanical installations. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.