Survey costs
RICS does not publish a call-out charge for further investigation. Who do you ask for that charge?
Ask the firm that will carry out the further investigation. RICS does not publish a call-out charge, so there is no official figure to copy into a negotiation or a spreadsheet. The report can say more investigation is needed. It cannot name the specialist's charge. Get the charge, and what it includes, from the firm whose terms will apply on the day. Do not invent a call-out because the report was silent, and do not borrow one from a forum.
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?
Further investigation is a family of different jobs: a drain camera, an electrician, a damp firm, an engineer, a roofer with scaffold. Each firm decides how it charges for turning up, for the first hour, or for a written note. The home-survey standard does not harmonise those menus, and the consumer guide does not print a call-out that all of them must use. When the survey recommends a next step, your question to that next firm is simple: what will you do, and what will you charge if you attend and the seller then limits access. Their answer is the charge. There is nowhere else to look it up.
Keep that quote with the recommendation, not mashed into the recommendation. If you are negotiating, you may say a specialist is needed and that you have a written charge for a defined visit. You may not say RICS has set the charge at a number you preferred. If two firms differ, compare the visits, not a mythical official call-out. The original survey fee stays the survey fee. The follow-on charge starts when you appoint the follow-on firm. Silence in the PDF is not a zero, and it is not an invitation to average other people's bills.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Who is the right next firm for the investigation you recommended?
- Does your fee include their attendance, or only the recommendation?
- What should I ask them to include so the charge is clear?
What are the typical next steps?
- Ask the specialist firm for their charge in writing.
- Do not invent a call-out and attribute it to RICS.
- Compare like visits if two firms quote.
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 survey says investigate, is the call-out already priced at nothing?
No. Silence is not a zero charge. The firm you appoint sets the charge.
Can the estate agent demand the official RICS call-out?
No. There is not one. They can only see a real firm's quote, if you have one.