Renegotiating or walking away

How do you choose between a price reduction and the seller doing the work?

Choose on who will control the repair, not on which sounds tougher. A price reduction leaves the work to you after completion, with your contractor and your timing. The seller doing the work can be sensible for a simple, specified job before you complete, and risky if the job is complex, consented or easy to do badly. RICS wants you to know the cost before you commit. It does not pick the option.

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?

Get the quote first so both options are about the same scope. A reduction smaller than the quote is not “the same as the repair”. A seller’s promise without a scope is not the quote. In a flat, you may not be allowed to repair a communal roof yourself. GOV.UK puts that kind of work with the landlord, the lease and, above the stated figures, Section 20 consultation. A price cut does not make you the freeholder.

Write the choice into the contract if you are about to exchange. Your solicitor does that. There is no RICS form. If the purchase uses missives rather than an English exchange, that solicitor’s process is the one that counts. Do not agree both a full reduction and a full repair unless you mean to pay the seller for the pleasure of doing the work.

What should you ask your surveyor?

Does the defect sit on a part the buyer will be allowed to repair?
What scope would a quote need to cover?
Are you recommending one commercial option? Please describe the defect and stop there.

What are the typical next steps?

Price the defect once.
Decide who does the work before exchange.
If it is a communal element, ask the solicitor before you assume you can instruct a roofer.

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

Is a reduction always safer?

It is safer if you do not trust the seller’s contractor. It is useless if you cannot get the work done because you do not control the roof.

Can you change your mind after exchange?

Only if the contract lets you. Assume it does not.