Renegotiating or walking away
The builder priced the front roof slope, and the rating 3 is the rear flat roof. What should you not send the seller?
Do not send the front-slope quotation as if it priced the rear flat roof. Those are different coverings. The rating 3 attaches to the rear flat roof the surveyor described, so a figure for the pitched front slope does not answer it. What to do now advises you. It does not bill the seller, and it does not tell you to abandon the purchase. Hold that front-slope paper back until a written quotation actually describes the rear flat roof.
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 rating 3 means the element is serious and/or urgent. The practical step is to obtain written quotations before you enter a legal commitment. A quotation is useful only when it describes the same element. A builder who walked the front tiles, or who priced a re-cover of the pitched slope, has not priced the flat covering at the back. Sending that total to the seller invites an argument about a roof the report did not rate in that way, and it leaves the real item without a figure.
Label each quotation with the slope or the flat area it covers, and say whether it includes upstands, outlets or only the tiles. If the rear flat roof still has no written price, say so. Do not let the agent add the front figure to a guess for the back. What to do now is advice to the buyer. It does not invoice the seller for either roof, and it does not authorise you to invent a combined sum. One honest gap is better than a confident price for the wrong covering.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Which sentences describe the rear flat roof, as against the front slope?
- Did you see the flat covering from above, from a window, or only from inside?
- What should a quotation mention so that it is clearly about that rear roof?
What are the typical next steps?
- Withhold the front-slope quotation from the price discussion.
- Commission a written quotation that names the rear flat roof.
- Show the solicitor the survey paragraph beside the matching quotation.
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 agent turn the front-slope price into a figure for the flat roof?
No. Different coverings need their own quotations. Do not let one stand in for the other.
Does the rating 3 force you to leave the purchase?
No. It does not order you to withdraw. It tells you to get written quotations before you are legally committed.