Renegotiating or walking away
You want a price change based on the EPC and the survey rated the same element 1. Why is the energy recommendation not the survey's defect?
The energy recommendation is not the survey's defect because the survey marked that element 1 and did not write it up as a repair. An energy performance certificate suggests ways to use less fuel. It is not this survey's list of defects. You can still want a price change from the certificate, but the survey has not supplied a defect to hang that change on. The element the certificate discusses was not called a failing element in the report. The survey has not adopted the energy recommendation as its own finding, and it has not turned the certificate into a condition verdict.
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 energy certificate looks at how the building uses fuel and then suggests improvements. Those suggestions can include elements a condition survey is content to leave alone. Marking an element 1 is the survey refusing to call a repair on it. The certificate can still suggest a change because the change would alter energy use, not because the element has failed. The two papers have different jobs. Using only the certificate to reopen the survey reverses that. The survey has not converted a recommendation into a defect.
If you still want to talk about price, keep the energy certificate as an energy certificate. Do not tell the seller the survey found a defect it did not find. A home survey is a condition report, and this one has not endorsed the energy works. Ask the solicitor to keep the two papers apart in any discussion. A price conversation that pretends the survey condemned the element is not supported by the mark the survey actually gave.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Which element did you mark 1 rather than call a defect?
- Is the energy recommendation absent from your defect findings?
- Have you kept the certificate outside the survey's conclusions?
What are the typical next steps?
- Keep the energy recommendation out of the survey's defects.
- Do not claim the survey condemned an element it marked 1.
- Ask the solicitor to keep the certificate and the survey apart.
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 certificate describes the home as inefficient, must the survey agree?
No. The certificate is an energy result. The survey's mark on an element is a condition result. A poor energy picture does not turn an element the survey marked 1 into a defect. The report has not adopted the certificate. The two documents can disagree about what needs repair, and this survey has not changed its mark.
Can the survey be asked to rewrite a mark of 1 so it matches the certificate?
The survey records condition as it was found. An energy recommendation does not oblige a rewrite, and this report has not turned the element into a defect. If you want the energy works, that remains the certificate's suggestion. It is still not the survey's defect. A new sentence would not change what was seen.