Survey costs

Should the survey fee be added to the list of repairs you ask the seller to pay?

No. The fee is what you paid for advice. It is not a defect. RICS does not say the seller reimburses it. Some buyers negotiate it. That is a choice, not a rule, and it is separate from the cost of a roof. Your solicitor says what the contract allows before exchange.

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?

Mixing the fee, a rating 3 quote and a guessed redecoration produces a number nobody can check. Split them. The quote is evidence. The fee is an invoice you chose. A lender’s valuation fee is a third invoice, often non-refundable, and MoneyHelper treats the valuation as not a survey.

After exchange you generally cannot reopen the price because you dislike the fee. Before exchange you can ask. The seller can say no. Do not invent a percentage of the purchase price as “standard” for survey fees. There is no such standard on the RICS consumer pages.

What should you ask your surveyor?

Is any part of your fee a repair? No.
Which quotes are for rating 3 work?
Has my solicitor seen the figure I want to propose?

What are the typical next steps?

Negotiate repairs from quotes.
Treat the survey invoice as your cost unless the seller freely agrees otherwise.
Do not add VAT twice if the quote already includes it.

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 claim the fee on insurance?

Not as a rule stated here. Ask the insurer if you think a policy covers it. Most ordinary home policies are not survey-fee policies.

Does a failed purchase mean the firm must refund?

Only if the contract with the firm says so. Walking away from the house is not automatically a refund of the survey.