Survey costs
The valuation states a retention. Is that sum a builder's quote for the defect named in your survey?
No. The retention is not a builder's quote for the defect named in your survey. A retention is the lender holding money back on the loan. A builder's quote is a contractor's price for described work. The two numbers are produced by different people for different reasons. Do not paste the retention into a works budget and call it the quote. If you want the cost of the defect, ask a contractor to price the work the survey described.
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?
MoneyHelper's world is the mortgage, and a mortgage valuation is for the lender, not a structural survey. A retention sits in that lending world. It is not cash the buyer can spend, and it is not a down-valuation. Lenders use retentions when they want works done, or security improved, before they will release the held amount. The figure can be rounded, cautious, or tied to their handbook. It is not calculated by measuring slates, hours and scaffold the way a builder does. Your survey, if it named a defect, still did not price it.
Use each document for what it is. The survey tells you about condition within its limits. The valuation tells you the lender is uncomfortable enough to hold money. The builder tells you what they will charge. Mixing them produces false negotiations: asking the seller to pay the retention as if it were an invoice, or telling the builder their price is wrong because the lender chose another number. Ask the lender, through your broker, what releases the retention. Ask the builder for a quote. Leave the survey as the condition report it is.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Which defect do you think the lender may be reacting to?
- Did your report price that defect?
- What should a builder read before quoting, so they quote your findings?
What are the typical next steps?
- Ask the broker what the retention is for and how it is released.
- Get a builder's quote instead of reusing the retention.
- Do not spend the retention. It is not your cash.
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 retention is larger than a builder's quote, which one is the cost?
The quote is the contractor's price. The retention is the lender's holdback. They are not required to match.
Is a retention the same as the price being cut?
No. A retention is not a down-valuation and not a price reduction. It is money held on the loan.