Renegotiating or walking away
You have three contractor quotes for the same rating 3 item and they do not match. Why should the survey not be asked to average them into a price reduction?
The survey should not be asked to average those quotes into a price reduction. You have three contractor quotes for the same item the report has marked, and they do not match. The survey describes the defect and its seriousness in the surveyor’s terms. It does not price the work, and it does not blend three builders into a single figure you can deduct. Different quotes usually mean different scopes: what is included, what is provisional, and what was only glanced at. An average would invent a fourth number nobody quoted and pretend the survey had produced it.
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?
RICS points buyers towards written quotations where work is serious. The quotations are the contractors’ job. Comparing them is your job, with the solicitor if you want a reduction talked about in the negotiation. The surveyor can be asked whether a quote actually covers the defect they described. That is a scope question. It is not a request to add the three prices and divide. The report has no national price, and this page will not invent one.
Lay the three quotes beside the survey paragraph and strike out anything that is not the defect described. Ask the surveyor only if a quote has missed the item or added a different one. Negotiate from a scope you understand, not from a mean. Do not send the three prices back to the firm and ask for an average to put to the seller. The survey has already said what it can about the defect. The prices are not its arithmetic.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Does each quote cover the defect you described, or a wider job?
- What in the paragraph should a quote not be allowed to ignore?
- Are you being asked to price the work, or only to describe it?
What are the typical next steps?
- Compare the quotes on scope, and do not average them.
- Ask the surveyor only if a quote misses the defect described.
- Negotiate any reduction from a scope you understand, not from a mean.
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
If two quotes match and the third is higher, is the match the survey’s figure?
No. Two contractors agreeing with each other is still their price, not a figure the survey calculated. The report did not average the quotes and should not be asked to. A matching pair may be a useful clue about scope. It is not a survey price, and it is not automatically the reduction a seller must accept.
Can the middle quote be written into the report as the cost?
No. The survey does not adopt a contractor’s price by sitting between two others. Writing a quote into the report would make the document look as if the surveyor had valued the repair. They described a defect. The middle number remains a quote. Leave it in the contractor’s letter.