Renegotiating or walking away
The seller offers an indemnity policy for a missing certificate, and the rating 3 is a crack in the wall. What has that policy not repaired?
It has not repaired the crack. An indemnity aimed at a missing certificate is a paperwork product your solicitor has to explain. The rating 3 is a crack in the wall, which is a condition problem, not a missing form. The policy does not stitch masonry or stand in for a written quotation. What to do now advises you. It does not bill the seller, and it does not tell you to withdraw. Keep the two questions in separate notes.
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?
Missing certificates and cracked walls often arrive in the same week and then get bundled. Rating 3 means the rated element is serious and/or urgent, and that you should obtain written quotations before you enter a legal commitment. A quotation for the crack should describe the crack. An indemnity, if the solicitor says one is even suitable, speaks to the legal risk of the missing paper. It is not a builder. Accepting it does not change what the surveyor saw in the wall, and refusing it does not, by itself, repair the wall either.
Ask the solicitor what the policy would and would not cover, without letting that advice migrate into the survey. What to do now is advice to the buyer about the report. It does not invoice the seller for the crack or for the premium. If you still want the house, get the crack quotation before commitment and decide whether the policy is an extra, a substitute for nothing structural, or something you will not accept. Do not tell the lender, or yourself, that the wall is settled because the certificate gap has a proposal next to it.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Which crack is rating 3, and what did you see?
- Does any sentence in the report deal with the missing certificate, or is that a legal question?
- What would a written quotation need to say about the crack alone?
What are the typical next steps?
- Ask the solicitor to explain the indemnity separately from the crack.
- Obtain a written quotation for the crack before legal commitment.
- Do not tell the agent the rating is closed because a policy was offered.
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 policy be the quotation the rating asked for?
No. A policy is not a builder's quotation for the crack. Get the quotation as well if you mean to proceed.
Does rating 3 mean you must reject every indemnity?
No. It does not order you to withdraw. It leaves the crack to be priced. The policy is a different question for the solicitor.