Seller-side surveys
The report is addressed to the seller and the terms say reliance is limited. Why should you not assume you can rely on it as if you had instructed it?
You should not assume you can rely on it as if you had instructed it. The report is addressed to the seller, and the terms say reliance is limited. The duty described in those terms runs to the person who was the client. You were not. The survey can still be read as information about the house. It does not become your instruction, and it does not put you in the seller's place, merely because a copy was handed over.
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?
Reliance is a term of the contract between the firm and the named client. Where that client is the seller, and the terms limit who else may rely, a buyer who did not commission the visit is outside that promise. Reading the PDF does not rewrite the addressee. Handing over a copy does not rename the client, and it does not create a fresh instruction in your name. Here the paper itself says it is the seller's. Treat the limit as real.
Ask your solicitor whether the firm will extend reliance to you in writing, and do not assume the answer is yes. If it will not, instruct your own survey if you need a report addressed to you. Do not tell a lender you have a survey in your name when the terms name the seller. Keep the seller's paper as someone else's instruction until the letter says otherwise.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Is the report addressed to the seller, with reliance limited?
- Are you refusing to treat it as if you had instructed it?
- Has anyone agreed, in writing, that you may rely on it?
What are the typical next steps?
- Do not rely on the seller's report as if it were your instruction.
- Ask the solicitor whether reliance can be extended in writing.
- Instruct your own survey if you need a report addressed to you.
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 seller pays for a rewrite, are you then the client?
Only if the terms are actually changed to name you. Paying, or offering to pay, does not by itself move reliance. The report as it stands is addressed to the seller. A fresh letter would have to say otherwise. The addressee does not move by itself.
Does a thorough report overcome a reliance limit?
No. Thoroughness is about content. Reliance is about who the terms protect. A detailed seller's report is still addressed to the seller when the terms say so. You should not assume you can rely on it as your own instruction.