Choosing a survey level
If you buy a Level 2 as survey only, where is the reinstatement figure?
Nowhere, unless someone added it. RICS says a Level 2 can be survey only, or survey plus a market valuation and a reinstatement figure. The survey-only product does not include those numbers. Reinstatement is an insurance rebuild figure, not a repair budget and not the price you are paying.
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 look for a rebuild number to hand to an insurer and find the report never offered one. That is not a defect in the house. It is the product they bought. A valuation-included Level 2 is a different instruction and usually a different fee. A condition survey is not secretly a valuation, and a lender’s valuation is not secretly this survey.
Do not invent a rebuild cost from the purchase price. Ask the firm for a valuation instruction if you need the figure, or ask an insurer what they require. There is no RICS tariff for adding it later. Do not assume every UK report splits the survey from the valuation the way an English Level 2 can. Ask which product you are holding.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Does this quote include a valuation and a reinstatement figure?
- If not, what would a separate instruction cost?
- Are you describing condition only?
What are the typical next steps?
- Decide before you book whether you need the numbers.
- Do not use the purchase price as the rebuild cost.
- Do not use a reinstatement figure, if you later get one, as the repair budget.
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 market value the same as reinstatement?
No. One is what the home might sell for. The other is a rebuild figure for insurance. Neither is the cost of the defects.
Can the lender’s valuation supply the reinstatement number?
Only if that valuation includes it. Many do not give you the detail. Ask the lender. Do not assume.