Choosing a survey level
Is the energy report, together with inside a Scottish Home Report, any evidence on the single survey, which is the other document in the pack, or only a note of what was visible?
The energy report inside a Scottish Home Report is not evidence about the single survey. They are different documents in the same pack. The energy report comments on energy performance. The single survey is the survey document a purchaser is pointed to in Scotland. Neither one is an English Level 2 that you instruct yourself. The pack has not decided that a good energy note means the single survey found no defects, and a home survey you might still want in England is a separate product. Read each document for what it actually covers.
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 report looks at how the dwelling uses energy and at recommendations in that document. It does not open structure, trace damp or replace the single survey's condition comments. Seeing both files in one Home Report can make them feel like one verdict. They are not. The single survey has its own scope and its own limits. A sentence about insulation or glazing is not a finding copied from the single survey, and it is not proof the fabric was tested.
Ask the solicitor to walk the pack as separate papers: the single survey, the energy report, and the property questionnaire. Do not assume you can reorder an English Level 2 in place of the Home Report, and do not treat the Home Report as that English product. If an energy point worries you, check whether the single survey mentions the same element. Where it does not, the energy note stands alone. A lender may read the pack in its own way.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Which comments sit in the energy report rather than in the single survey?
- Does the single survey mention the same element, or only the energy report?
- Is anyone treating the Home Report as an English Level 2 you instruct yourself?
What are the typical next steps?
- Read the energy report and the single survey as separate documents.
- Ask your solicitor to keep their findings apart.
- Do not treat a Scottish Home Report as an English Level 2.
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 a purchaser still ask questions about the single survey?
Yes. The single survey is the survey document in the Home Report a purchaser is pointed to. Questions should be about what that document says and what it could not see. They should not be aimed at the energy report as if it were the survey. The pack does not turn an energy recommendation into a repair decision.
Does the property questionnaire verify the energy report?
The property questionnaire records what the seller states. It does not test the energy report and it does not rewrite the single survey. Where a seller's answer and an energy note disagree, your solicitor can ask for clarification. The home survey documents have not decided which sentence is the condition of the house.