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Seller-side surveys

What is different for a seller in Scotland, where a Home Report is part of marketing?

In Scotland the seller obtains a Home Report before marketing. mygov.scot explains that system. RICS describes the pack as a Single Survey, an energy report and a property questionnaire, and says the purchaser can rely on the Single Survey. A seller in England has no equivalent duty. Do not mix the two jobs.

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?

If you are selling in Scotland, instruct the Home Report properly and complete the questionnaire honestly. Buyers will read both. A valuation sits inside that product in a way an English Level 2 valuation may not. Your solicitor runs the Scottish process. This English-and-Welsh site can explain the words. It does not replace Scottish legal advice on missives.

If you are buying in Scotland, use the Home Report you are given and ask questions about it. You are not waiting for the seller to be kind. If you are buying in England, do not demand a Home Report. You instruct your own survey if you want one. The reliance rules are different. RICS says so.

What should you ask your surveyor?

  • If this is a Home Report instruction, who may rely on it?
  • What must the questionnaire cover that the inspection will not discover?
  • How should a buyer in Scotland read limits in the Single Survey?

What are the typical next steps?

  1. Follow the Scottish Home Report route if the house is in Scotland.
  2. Answer the questionnaire carefully. It is part of the pack buyers see.
  3. If you are used to England, stop and get Scottish advice before you copy an English seller’s habits.

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 Scottish seller refuse to show the Home Report?

The system is built around providing it. Ask your Scottish solicitor what you must do. Do not take an English “surveys are optional” answer north of the border.

Does the buyer still ask questions?

Yes. Reliance is not a ban on questions. The questionnaire and the survey can be read together.

Sources