Renegotiating or walking away
The quotation excludes VAT and scaffolding. Why is the figure on the front not yet the figure to discuss?
Because the quotation excludes VAT and scaffolding, the figure on the front is not yet the figure to discuss. Two items the contractor has named as outside that number are still missing from it. Until they are written in, or a revised quotation says what is included, the front figure is an incomplete sum. Do not invent how VAT is charged, and do not invent a scaffolding price. The discussion waits on a figure that actually contains the excluded items, or states them.
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?
A front-page total is easy to forward to the agent as 'the cost'. Here the page has already told you it leaves out VAT and scaffolding. Sending it on as if it were the bill starts a negotiation on a number the contractor has not stood behind. RICS advice on what to do now is aimed at you, the buyer, obtaining proper quotations before you are committed. An incomplete quotation is not yet that document.
Ask the contractor to reissue the quotation so that VAT and scaffolding are either included or set out as their own lines, in writing. Compare that paper with the defect the survey described, and check it is the same element. Then, and only then, is there a figure you might discuss with the solicitor. Do not chip the price from the front total of a quote that excludes the access and the tax the contractor refused to put in.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Which exclusions does the quotation already name on its face?
- Does the front figure include scaffolding, or has it left access out?
- What would a revised quotation need to show before it is discussable?
What are the typical next steps?
- Do not discuss the front figure while VAT and scaffolding are excluded.
- Ask for a revised quotation that states those items in writing.
- Check the revised paper still describes the defect in the survey.
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 you add a round sum for scaffolding and start talking?
No. A round sum you invented is not the contractor's figure. The front total is not discussable until scaffolding and VAT are set out by them.
If VAT is written as excluded, is the front figure the net price to negotiate?
No. Excluded means it is not in the figure. Do not treat that front number as the one to discuss, and do not invent the VAT treatment.