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Seller-side surveys

What does GOV.UK require a seller in England to have about energy, and why is that not a survey?

GOV.UK says you need an Energy Performance Certificate when you sell, and that a certificate lasts 10 years. That is an energy rating. It is not a RICS condition survey, and it does not describe damp, structure or roofs. In Scotland the Home Report is a separate duty, with its own exceptions.

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?

Sellers sometimes think that because they have paid for an EPC they have “had a survey”. Buyers who hear that should ask to see the survey, not the EPC. In England and Wales you do not have to commission a condition survey in order to market. You do have to deal with the EPC rules on GOV.UK. A buyer will usually instruct their own Level 2 or Level 3, and they cannot be told that your EPC answers their questions.

If you are the seller and you do commission a survey, decide in advance whether you will show it. A report addressed to you is not automatically something the buyer may rely on. RICS’s consumer material on Scottish Home Reports is different: there, the purchaser is intended to rely on the pack. Do not import that reliance into an English sale without advice.

What should you ask your surveyor?

  • If a seller hands you an EPC and calls it a survey, which document is actually missing?
  • If you are the seller, what will you not be able to answer from the EPC alone?
  • What, in Scotland, would the Home Report add that an EPC does not?

What are the typical next steps?

  1. As a seller in England, get the EPC the selling rules require, and do not describe it as a building survey.
  2. As a buyer, instruct the level of survey the house needs.
  3. If a Scottish Home Report exists, read all three parts, not only the energy page.

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 10-year-old EPC still count?

GOV.UK says a certificate is valid for 10 years. Check the date. An expired certificate is not a survey either.

Can the buyer’s surveyor rely on your EPC?

They may read it. They should check the loft themselves. If they could not, the limitation in their report stands.

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