Seller-side surveys
The buyer asks the seller to warrant that every condition rating is correct. What should the seller not sign?
Do not sign a warranty, a side letter, or a contract sentence that says every condition rating is correct. Those ratings are the surveyor's opinions in a report written for the buyer. You did not inspect the house as their surveyor. What to do now advises the buyer. It does not make you the author of the ratings. Point them back to their surveyor if they dispute a mark. Signing would make you answer for sentences you did not write.
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?
The request usually arrives as a short line the agent calls standard. It is not standard in the RICS material. A rating 1 means no repair is currently needed, beyond normal maintenance. A rating 2 means repairs or replacements are needed but they are not serious or urgent. A rating 3 means serious and/or urgent, with written quotations before legal commitment. NI means not inspected. Warranting all of those at once means warranting limits, judgements and gaps. You cannot know that an NI space is fine, and you should not sign as if you had been up the ladder.
Your solicitor can say the buyer relies on their own report. That is the opposite of you guaranteeing it. What to do now is advice to the buyer about next steps. It does not ask the seller to underwrite the PDF. If you know a fact the surveyor could not see, discuss disclosure with your solicitor rather than folding it into a blanket warranty of the ratings. A blanket warranty is the thing not to sign. A careful reply that you are not the surveyor is the thing to send.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Which ratings would the proposed wording make you guarantee?
- Does the draft include NI items as if they had been inspected?
- Are you being asked to sign as the author of someone else's report?
What are the typical next steps?
- Refuse any wording that warrants the buyer's condition ratings.
- Ask your solicitor to reply that the buyer relies on their own surveyor.
- Do not sign a side letter that restates the same warranty.
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 you disagree with a rating, should you warrant the rest?
No. Do not warrant any of them. Disagreement is not a reason to adopt the others as your promise.
Does the buyer lose the report if you refuse?
No. The report remains theirs. Refusal only means you will not guarantee their surveyor's marks.