Survey costs
An agent says the survey fee should be a percentage of the purchase price. Does RICS publish that percentage?
No, RICS does not publish the survey fee as a percentage of the purchase price. An agent who names a percentage is not quoting a RICS tariff. The fee is a matter for the firm you instruct, on the property and the level you want. A friend's fee is not your quotation. MoneyHelper's point on a mortgage valuation is different again: that valuation is for the lender, and it is not a structural survey. None of those documents prints a percentage to multiply by the price.
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?
Percentage talk sounds precise and is not. It jumps when the asking price jumps, even if the inspection is the same house. RICS consumer material explains that cost varies and that you ask firms for quotations. It does not publish a percentage of price. Do not let the agent deduct their percentage from the deal and call it the survey. Ring the firms and get a quotation for this instruction, in writing, for a named level.
Keep the mortgage valuation, which the lender arranges, separate from the home survey you commission. MoneyHelper is clear that the valuation is not the structural survey. Paying one does not set the price of the other, and neither is a percentage RICS has published. If a firm quotes a fee, that quotation is the figure. The agent's formula is not. This page does not invent a fee, a percentage, or a typical bill.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Does any RICS page you rely on state the fee as a percentage of price?
- Will you quote this house and this level, rather than a formula?
- Is a friend's fee a different instruction from the quotation I need?
What are the typical next steps?
- Ask firms for a written fee for this house and level.
- Do not apply a percentage of the purchase price.
- Do not treat a friend's fee, or the lender's valuation, as your quotation.
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 three agents say five percent, has RICS said it?
No. Repeated agent talk is not a RICS publication. RICS does not publish the survey fee as a percentage of the price.
Does a higher price always mean a higher RICS fee?
No. RICS does not publish that link between price and fee. The firm quotes the instruction. The price tag is not a tariff.