Survey costs
Can one contractor quote for the damp, the wiring and the drains because the survey listed all three?
They can send a price, but it is not one trade and not one survey follow-up. A damp investigator, an electrician and a drainage firm answer different questions. A single firm that offers all three in one afternoon may be selling work rather than diagnosing. The survey’s job was to say which questions are open. It was not to appoint a main contractor.
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?
Ask each specialist to answer the sentence that names them, in writing, with what they will open. A combined “home health check” that repeats the survey is money spent twice. An EICR is not a drain camera. A drain camera is not a damp meter.
Add the invoices up only after you have them. Do not add the survey’s page count. There is no bundle discount published by RICS. If you cannot afford the investigations before exchange, say so to your solicitor and decide whether to proceed with the gap. Do not pretend the gap is closed.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Which sentence in your report points to which trade?
- Did you intend one firm to do all of this? If not, say so.
- What would you leave unopened?
What are the typical next steps?
- Commission the investigation that changes your decision first.
- Refuse a combined quote that does not separate the answers.
- Do not start the repairs before exchange unless you own the house or the seller has agreed in writing.
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 the free survey from a damp company the specialist report?
A free visit that ends in a quote for injection is a sales visit. The Property Care Association expects a cause before a treatment. Do not file it as the investigation the survey asked for unless it actually diagnoses.
Should you get three quotes for every rating 2?
Rating 2 is not described by RICS as urgent. Quote what you need for your decision. A long list can still be expensive. It does not each require three tenders before the weekend.