SurveySorted
Menu
Sign in

Seller-side surveys

Can a seller in England remove pages from an earlier buyer’s survey before showing it to the next buyer?

They should not. That report was written for the person who instructed it. Deleting pages does not create a new survey, and it does not create a Home Report. The next buyer should not rely on the PDF unless the firm confirms in writing that they may. In Scotland, use the Home Report the seller must provide where one is required, and do not confuse the two documents.

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?

Agents sometimes forward a previous survey to ‘save time’. A shortened copy is worse than a full one you are still not entitled to rely on, because you cannot see the limits that were removed. If you are the seller, pass the approach to your solicitor. If a later buyer wants a report they can use, they instruct their own, or the firm agrees to address a reliance letter to them.

RICS’s consumer material distinguishes the English buyer-commissioned survey from a Scottish Home Report, which a purchaser can rely on. Forwarding a private PDF is not how you opt into the Scottish system. Do not staple an EPC to the edited survey and call the bundle a Home Report either.

What should you ask your surveyor?

  • If I instruct you, who else may rely on the report without a further letter?
  • What should a seller hand over instead of editing someone else’s PDF?
  • Which limits would be misleading if a page were removed?

What are the typical next steps?

  1. If you are selling, ask your solicitor before you circulate another buyer’s report.
  2. If you are buying, instruct your own survey or get a written reliance letter. Do not negotiate on a document with missing pages.
  3. In Scotland, ask for the Home Report rather than a private English-style PDF.

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 the surveyor address the same report to a new buyer?

Only if the firm agrees, in writing, for this new client. The agent’s forward button is not that agreement.

Is an edited report better than no report?

It is a poor source. You cannot see what was taken out. Commission a report you are allowed to use.

Sources