New builds and warranties
Can you still renegotiate a new build if you have paid a reservation fee?
Often the reservation fee holds a plot for a short time and is separate from being legally bound. Whether you can renegotiate or walk away, and whether the fee is refundable, is in the reservation agreement. Read it with your solicitor. A survey finding does not automatically refund the fee.
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?
Do not treat a reservation as exchange. In England and Wales exchange of contracts is the usual moment you become bound, unless you have signed something earlier that says otherwise. New-build reservation forms vary. Some fees are refundable. Some are not. The form wins. The survey is the reason you might want to renegotiate, not the legal power to do it.
If the survey or the snagging list shows something serious, ask the solicitor what leverage you have before the deadline. Ask the developer for a written response. A price change, a repair, or a release from the reservation are all possible outcomes. None is guaranteed. There is no standard “survey reduction” on a new build.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Which findings are serious enough that I should show the developer before I commit?
- Which are ordinary snags that a builder expects to fix?
- What should I not describe as structural if you did not?
What are the typical next steps?
- Read the reservation agreement with the solicitor the day you receive the survey.
- Ask the developer, in writing, about anything serious.
- Decide before the reservation expires. After exchange the conversation is much harder.
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
Is a reservation fee the deposit?
Not necessarily. The deposit at exchange is a different sum. Ask the solicitor what you have paid and what it counts as.
If the developer refuses to repair a snag, can you walk away and keep the fee?
Only if the agreement says so. Many snags are not a right to cancel. Serious misdescription might be different. That is legal advice, which you should take on the documents.