Survey costs
What did the visit record about the fee for a Level 3, about a crack in a lintel, and about a builder's price the fee is not?
The Level 3 fee is the charge for the survey, not a price for the crack in the lintel and not a builder's quote. The visit recorded the crack as a condition item and recorded that a fee was discussed or charged for the Level 3. It did not record a builder's price, because that price is a different document the fee is not. No repair cost has been fixed. MoneyHelper's point that a mortgage valuation is not a structural survey does not turn this Level 3 fee into either a valuation or a builder's tender.
Last reviewed 24 October 2026. Written for buyers in England and Wales unless this answer says otherwise. No named surveyor has signed this page. It is general guidance, not a report on your house, and not legal advice.
What is the fuller explanation?
A Level 3 is the more detailed home survey product, and the fee pays for that inspection and the report. The crack in the lintel is something the surveyor could see and describe: where it sits, how it looks, and what further look it may need. Description is not a tender. A builder's price comes from a builder who has been asked to price specified work. Until that request exists, there is no builder's price for the report to adopt or correct.
Ask the solicitor to treat the fee, the crack and any later builder's quote as three papers. If you want a price, give a builder the survey wording and ask for a quote for stated work. Do not ask the survey firm to invent that quote, and do not send the fee to the lender as if it were the cost of repair. The Level 3 has not priced the lintel. It has only recorded the crack.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Where in the report is the lintel crack described?
- Does any sentence give a builder's price for that crack?
- What work would a builder need to be asked to price?
What are the typical next steps?
- Keep the Level 3 fee separate from the crack.
- Ask a builder to price stated work if you need a figure.
- Do not send the survey fee to anyone as a repair cost.
Costs vary with the building and with who you instruct. Where this page does not cite a published figure, ask the surveyor, a relevant specialist, or your solicitor for a written quote. Do not treat a forum average as the price.
Also asked about this
Has the survey priced the lintel crack?
No. The survey recorded the crack as a condition item. Pricing it would be a builder's quote, which this fee is not. No repair figure has been produced. Do not treat the charge for the Level 3 as the cost of dealing with the lintel.
Is the fee a quote a builder would honour?
No. The fee pays for the inspection and the report. A builder has not tendered, and nothing in the fee binds a builder. If you want a price, instruct a builder against the wording in the report. The survey has not done that.