Renegotiating or walking away
What is the difference between money the solicitors hold back and a lender’s retention?
A lender’s retention is the lender keeping back part of the mortgage until a repair is done. It is not cash you can spend, and it is not a price cut. Money the solicitors hold is a contract term the two sides agree, if they agree it, about the price. A condition rating does not create either arrangement. RICS tells you to get quotes before commitment. It does not draft the retention.
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?
Buyers ask for both and then cannot explain which pot is which. The seller may agree to a price reduction, or to do the work, or to leave money with the solicitors until an invoice is paid. The lender may separately retain. Those can stack in ways that leave you short. Your solicitor has to say what the contract and the mortgage offer actually do. The surveyor does not.
There is no RICS standard retention percentage. Do not invent one from a rating 3. If the lender retains and the seller also cuts the price by the same quote, you may be asking to be paid twice. Choose. A Scottish missive is a different document. Do not paste an English retention clause into it from this page.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Are you recommending a retention? You should not draft one.
- Which defects would a quote need to cover if a solicitor asked?
- What is condition, as against the mortgage?
What are the typical next steps?
- Ask your solicitor which mechanism, if any, you are using.
- Ask the broker what the lender is retaining, separately.
- Do not spend a lender retention as if it were a grant.
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 retention the same as a down-valuation?
No. A down-valuation changes what the lender thinks the home is worth. A retention holds back funds against a repair. You can have one, both, or neither.
Can the surveyor hold the money?
No. They are not the solicitor and not the lender.