Seller-side surveys
The terms of engagement say the report is for you. Why should the seller not treat it as advice the firm gave them?
Because the terms say the report is for you, and the seller was not the client. Advice is given to the person the firm agreed to advise. The seller did not instruct this survey and is not named as someone who may rely on it. If they read a copy, they are reading a document written for you, under limits that point at you. They should not treat the findings, the ratings or the suggestions as advice the firm gave them. The firm has not taken them on as a client by the fact that a house they own was inspected.
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?
Reliance is the right to depend on the report if something in it is wrong. The terms put that with you. A seller who plans works as if the firm had advised them is using a document outside the engagement. The inspection happened because you asked for it. The duty follows that request. Showing the seller a paragraph is not a new letter of engagement. The words they read stay words written for you.
If the seller wants advice they can rely on, they instruct their own survey. Your solicitor can say that plainly if the point is pressed. Do not invite the seller to sue on your report, and do not let an agent describe your survey as the firm's advice to both sides. If you share extracts, you can add that the report is addressed to you under the terms. That sentence keeps the engagement where it was written. It does not need to be unkind. It needs to be accurate.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Who do the terms name as the person who may rely on the report?
- Was the seller a party to the engagement?
- Does sending the seller a copy change who the advice was for?
What are the typical next steps?
- Point the seller back to the terms if they treat the report as theirs.
- Share extracts only as your document, addressed to you.
- Suggest their own instruction if they want advice they can rely on.
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 the seller paid half the fee, are they now advised?
Not unless the terms say so. Splitting a bill does not rewrite who may rely on the report. The engagement you were given says the report is for you. A contribution to cost, if one was made, is a private arrangement. It is not a second client the firm has accepted.
Can an agent rely on the report because they forwarded it?
No. Forwarding is delivery. It does not make the agent, or the seller, the person the firm advised. The terms limit reliance to you. Anyone else who wants to depend on a survey needs their own terms, not a copy of yours.