Choosing a survey level
Can you copy a Level 2 reinstatement figure onto a Level 3 that did not include a valuation?
No. The reinstatement figure belongs to the instruction that included it. A Level 2 can be survey only, or survey plus market valuation and reinstatement. If the Level 3 terms did not include a valuation, that report does not contain a reinstatement figure, and you cannot paste one across from a different job.
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?
Buyers sometimes hold an old Level 2 with a valuation and later commission a Level 3 as survey only, then lift the rebuild number because it looks official. It is official for the report that produced it, on that date, for that instruction. MoneyHelper describes reinstatement as an insurance rebuild figure. It is not a repair budget and it is not the purchase price. Moving it onto a Level 3 pretends the Level 3 surveyor adopted it. They did not, unless their report says they did.
If you need reinstatement, ask for it in the Level 3 terms before the inspection, or ask the insurer’s route for a rebuild figure. Do not type the Level 2 number into the Level 3 PDF. RICS does not publish a bridge that makes the two documents one. Repairs the Level 3 describes are still repairs. They are not calculated by subtracting anything from a reinstatement figure that was never in that report.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Does this Level 3 include a valuation and a reinstatement figure?
- If not, are you content to leave the Level 2 figure in its own report?
- Are you clear reinstatement is not the price and not the repair total?
What are the typical next steps?
- Keep each figure inside the report that states it.
- Ask for reinstatement in the terms if you need it on the Level 3.
- Do not send a lender a hybrid PDF you have edited.
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 both reports give a reinstatement figure, which do you use?
Use the one instructed for that purpose, and ask your adviser if they differ. Do not average them.
Does survey-only Level 2 have the figure?
No. Survey only means the valuation and reinstatement were not part of that product.