Seller-side surveys
A Scottish house has been marketed since before 1 December 2008. What Home Report exemption might apply, and which energy document is still required?
An exemption might apply because the house has been marketed since before 1 December 2008, which is one of the cases mygov.scot lists. Confirm with your solicitor that the history matches that case, and do not add conditions the page does not state. The energy document still required is an EPC. Being outside the Home Report is not a statement that the house is in good condition, and it is not an invented expiry date.
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?
Long marketing is a factual test, not a vibe. You need to be able to show the property has been marketed since before 1 December 2008, not merely that it was once for sale in 2007 and then withdrawn for years. The solicitor is the person who should match your evidence to the exemption. Other exemptions, such as dual use, a seasonal holiday home that cannot be used all year, a new home to a first occupier, or a newly converted home not yet used as such, are different gates. Do not stack them because one date looks old.
If the exemption holds, stop there on the Home Report and still provide the EPC. If it does not hold, a required Home Report has three parts and is provided within nine days of being asked, or the buyer may go to trading standards. The cited page does not give the pack an expiry in a number of days, so do not invent one while you are also relying on a 2008 date. Condition is untouched either way. Urgent and future attention do not arise from an exemption. They arise when a single survey uses those words.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- What evidence shows continuous marketing since before 1 December 2008?
- Has the solicitor agreed that this exemption, and not another, is the one in play?
- Where is the EPC that is still required?
What are the typical next steps?
- Show the solicitor the marketing history back to before 1 December 2008.
- Do not treat the exemption as a comment on condition.
- Provide the EPC whether or not a Home Report is required.
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 the 2008 exemption cancel the need for an EPC?
No. If the sale is exempt from a Home Report, an EPC is still required.
Should you invent a day-count expiry for a pack you never refreshed?
No. The cited page states no expiry in a number of days. Do not invent one.