Survey costs
Why should you not add an EPC fee to a survey quote and call the total the survey?
Because an EPC is an energy certificate, required when a home is sold in England, and it is not a RICS home survey. The assessor does not rate the roof as rating 1, 2 or 3. The surveyor does not produce the EPC unless the quote says they will, as a separate task. Adding the two prices invents a product nobody is going to deliver.
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?
In Scotland the energy report is one part of the Home Report, beside the single survey, and it is still not the inspection. mygov tells you to get estimates for repairs. The EPC’s rough running cost is not that estimate. RICS’s fee words are about surveys. They are not an EPC price list, and this page will not invent the certificate’s price.
If a firm offers both, ask for two lines: the level, and the EPC. If you only need the survey, do not pay for a second energy model because it was bundled in a sentence. Do not send the EPC to a builder as the specification for a rating 3 gutter.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Is an EPC included, and is it priced separately?
- Which document will contain the condition ratings?
- Are you the energy assessor, the surveyor, or both?
What are the typical next steps?
- Keep the invoices separate in your own notes even if one firm does both.
- Do not negotiate repairs from the EPC.
- In England, the seller usually already has to produce the EPC. Do not buy a duplicate without a reason.
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
Does a cheap EPC upgrade the survey?
No. A lower energy-certificate fee does not add a Level 3.
If the seller has an EPC, do you need another for the survey?
Not for condition. The survey stands on the inspection. The existing EPC is the energy document, if it is still valid.