Subsidence, settlement and heave
What should you ask for if the survey suspects movement and an insurer may already have been involved?
Ask your solicitor to ask the seller for any claim, monitoring, underpinning guarantee or refusal, and do not expect those papers to be inside the home survey. A survey records the cracks it can see. The Association of British Insurers explains subsidence claims for people who already have cover. A buyer’s visual report is not that claim file.
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 past claim does not prove the house is still moving, and the absence of a claim does not prove it never moved. Sellers may have repaired privately. The surveyor was not given the insurer’s photographs unless someone handed them over. ABI’s description of subsidence is downward movement. It does not tell you this crack is insured, and it does not say a buyer can take over a seller’s claim.
Your own insurance, after you own the house, is a separate application. Do not assume the seller’s insurer will cover you. There is no RICS price for an insurer’s monitoring. If the survey recommends an engineer, that is a further quote. Do not deduct an underpinning figure before an engineer has said underpinning is the repair.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- What did you see that made you mention movement?
- Were you shown any older reports or studs on the wall?
- Are you advising an engineer, an insurer, or only recording the crack?
What are the typical next steps?
- Tell your solicitor to ask about claims and guarantees in writing.
- Tell your future insurer the facts you actually have, not a guess.
- Do not start monitoring on a house you do not own without the seller’s agreement.
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
Does a guarantee mean the movement has stopped?
It means whatever the guarantee says, for the period it says. Read the exclusions. The survey has not enforced it.
Will the lender read the claim file?
The lender applies its own rules. The survey does not speak for the lender.