Survey costs
The survey invoice lists disbursements. Why is that word not a repair cost for the house?
Not a repair cost. Disbursements on the survey invoice are the firm's outlaid costs of doing the inspection, not a price for repairing the house. The word sits on the surveyor's bill. It does not describe a builder's job, and it does not become the cost of a rated defect because it appears under a serious heading. Ask the firm what the disbursements were for. Do not send that line to the seller as if it were a quotation for works. Repairs, if you need them priced, are a separate quotation from someone who does the repair.
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?
An invoice for a survey can include the professional fee and items the firm has paid while carrying out the instruction. Those items are disbursements. They might be expenses of the job. They are not the cost of replacing a roof, treating a wall, or rebuilding a chimney. Mixing them up lets a small line on a fee note masquerade as a works price. The survey advises you about condition. Its invoice closes the firm's account. It does not price the building's defects.
When you talk to the solicitor about money, keep the survey invoice in the fee pile and any contractor's quotation in the works pile. Do not add disbursements to a repair total, and do not subtract them from the purchase price as if they were the defect. RICS does not turn a firm's disbursement line into a national repair tariff. If a line is unclear, ask the firm to name it.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- What does each disbursement on this invoice refer to?
- Which lines are your fee, as against anything you paid out?
- Is any line a cost of repairing the building?
What are the typical next steps?
- Ask the firm to name each disbursement.
- Keep the survey invoice separate from repair quotations.
- Do not present disbursements as the cost of defects.
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
Can you deduct disbursements from the price as repair money?
No. Disbursements are not repair costs. They belong to the survey invoice, not to a builder's price for putting the house right.
If the invoice is large, has the survey priced the works?
No. The size of the fee note is not a repair quotation. Price the defects separately if you need figures for them.