Survey costs
Does the RICS home-survey guidance set the fee for an EICR that the report has recommended?
No. The home-survey guidance does not set the fee for an EICR. Recommending an electrical condition report is not the same as pricing one. The electrician who will test the installation sets that charge under their own terms. RICS has not published a tariff for it. Ask the electrical firm what the test includes before you treat any number as comparable with another firm's quote.
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 home survey can note the age and visual condition of fittings it could see, and it can tell you that a proper electrical test is outside that visit. It does not become an electrical certificate, and it does not attach a fee to the certificate it recommends. The guidance describes survey levels. It does not publish electricians' charges. If two electricians quote differently, compare how much of the installation they will inspect, whether the power must be off, and what form of report you receive.
Do not subtract a guessed testing fee from the purchase price and say the survey required that deduction. The survey required a further look, or advised one, depending on the wording. The price of that look is for the firm doing the test. There is no national tariff hiding in the recommendation. If the seller already holds paperwork, your solicitor can ask for it. That paperwork, if it exists, is still not a fee set by the home-survey guidance.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Are you saying the electrics were tested, or only seen?
- What limitation should I pass to the electrician with the instruction?
- Does recommending an EICR mean your fee already included one?
What are the typical next steps?
- Instruct an electrician separately if you want a test.
- Compare electrical quotes only when the scope matches.
- Do not invent an EICR fee and deduct it from the price.
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 surveyor sign the electrical certificate?
No. The certificate, if you commission one, comes from the electrical contractor, not from the home-survey PDF.
Is a verbal comment on the consumer unit a priced test?
No. A comment is not a test fee, and the guidance has not turned it into one.