Renegotiating or walking away
You have a quotation that matches the element. Why should the solicitor send any price proposal, rather than the surveyor?
Because the quotation matches the element, any price proposal should go out from the solicitor, not from the surveyor. The surveyor reported condition. They were not instructed to negotiate the purchase price, and a proposal is a contract point. The figure you hold is useful only if it describes the same element the report marked. Your solicitor can attach that figure to a clear proposal. The surveyor should not be asked to turn their wording into an offer the seller is pressed to accept.
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?
A quotation that names the same element is the paper you can actually use. A price proposal is different: it says what you want changed in the purchase, and on what terms. That message belongs with the solicitor, who knows whether you are still free to ask, what the contract currently says, and how an offer should be recorded. The surveyor has already done the inspection. Asking them to email a price reduction confuses a condition report with a negotiation.
Show the solicitor the survey sentence and the matching quotation side by side, and ask them to send any proposal in their own words. If the quotation covers a wider job than the rated element, say so before it is forwarded. Do not let the agent rewrite the proposal as a round demand the surveyor never made. The survey advises you. It does not instruct the seller, and it does not replace the solicitor as the person who sends the figure.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Which sentence in the report does this quotation answer?
- Does the quotation include work outside the element you rated?
- What should I withhold from the agent until the solicitor has seen it?
What are the typical next steps?
- Give the solicitor the survey paragraph and the matching quotation.
- Ask the solicitor to send any price proposal.
- Do not ask the surveyor to negotiate the purchase price.
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 the surveyor refuse to send a price demand to the seller?
Yes. Negotiation is not the inspection. The solicitor should send any proposal you still want made, and the surveyor should not be asked to send it.
What if the quotation names a different element?
Do not send it as the figure for the rated item. Ask for a quotation that matches before any proposal goes out.