Subsidence, settlement and heave
You have read that policies often carry a subsidence excess. Why is that excess not the cost of repairing the crack the survey described?
The excess is not the cost of repairing the crack the survey described. You have read that policies often carry a subsidence excess, which is a policy term about what the policyholder may bear if a claim is paid. It is not a builder's price, and it is not this report turned into money. The survey has described a crack. It has not priced a repair, and it has not read your policy.
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?
An excess and a repair live in different documents. The policy, if it responds to subsidence at all, sets an excess in its own wording. The survey sets out condition: what cracked, where, and what further look it wants. Subtracting one from the other needs a figure the report does not contain, and this note will not invent one. Association of British Insurers material on subsidence is not a quotation for this wall. The crack remains a defect description.
Ask the solicitor or the broker what the policy actually says, including whether subsidence is covered and what excess applies, and keep that answer off the survey. Do not present the excess as the repair cost to a seller or a lender. If a repair must be priced, that is a builder or an engineer specifying work, which has not happened here. The survey still has not costed the crack.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Have you kept the policy excess separate from the crack description?
- Has the survey left the repair unpriced?
- Are you avoiding any figure for what the crack would cost to repair?
What are the typical next steps?
- Do not treat a subsidence excess as the repair cost.
- Ask the broker what the policy actually says about subsidence.
- Get a specification before anyone talks about the price of works.
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 the crack is small, is the excess the only sum that matters?
No. Size of crack does not convert an excess into a repair cost. The survey has not priced the work. The excess is a policy term you have read about, not a builder's price for this crack. The two ideas must not be swapped.
Does naming subsidence in the report open a claim?
No. A condition note is not a claim and not an admission that the policy will pay. The excess, if your policy has one, is still not the repair cost. The survey has not costed the crack and has not conducted the claim.