New builds and warranties
A reservation fee was paid before the survey existed. Does that fee stop you from acting on a rating 3?
No. Paying a reservation fee before the survey existed does not mute a condition rating 3 and does not erase it from the report. Rating 3 means the matter is serious and/or urgent, and the advice that follows is to obtain written quotations before you enter a legal commitment. The fee is a contract question for the solicitor. It is not a gag on the rating.
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?
Reservations are commercial agreements with their own rules about refunds, deadlines and what happens if you do not proceed. This page does not invent those rules and does not promise the fee comes back. What it does say is that money already paid does not change the meaning of the rating and does not stop you taking the next sensible steps: read the report, get quotations, and ask your solicitor what the reservation still allows you to do. Rating 3 still means the matter is serious and/or urgent. A fee receipt is not a gag, unless the contract you signed says something your solicitor confirms.
Show the solicitor the rating and the reservation together. Ask what you can still require the builder to do, and what you cannot reopen. Do not hide the rating from yourself because the fee felt final. Act on the rating by getting quotations and advice before you take the next legal step the contract allows. Let the contract, not the survey, say what the fee itself can still do. The inspection does not refund the fee and does not force the builder to cut the price.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Does the rating 3 stand even though the fee was paid earlier?
- Which items are serious or urgent enough that quotations should come first?
- Are you leaving the reservation's refund rules to the solicitor?
What are the typical next steps?
- Get written quotations for whatever the rating 3 describes.
- Ask the solicitor what the reservation still lets you do.
- Do not ignore the rating because the fee has already left your account.
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 fee mean you must complete whatever the survey says?
The fee does not answer that. The reservation does, and your solicitor reads it. The rating still stands.
Is a rating 3 automatically a price cut?
No. It is a reason to get quotations and advice before you commit further. It is not a calculated reduction.