Renegotiating or walking away
What should you do if two contractors quote wildly different sums for the same survey paragraph?
Ask whether they priced the same work. One may have included scaffold, VAT and making good. The other may have priced a patch from the pavement. RICS does not average quotes, and a rating does not contain a figure. The quotation you rely on before commitment should describe the defect the survey described.
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?
Send both firms the same paragraph and the same photographs of the whole defect, not a crop. Ask each what they excluded. A low quote that excludes access can be the expensive one once the scaffold is added. A high quote that replaces the whole elevation for a single cracked sill is not the survey’s instruction. There is no official midpoint.
Your solicitor should not be asked to pick a builder. You may go back to the surveyor and ask, as a clarification, whether a quote answers the defect. They are not obliged to manage the tender. Do not demand the higher figure from the seller because it is higher, or the lower one because it helps the deal. Explain the scope.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Does this quote match the element you described?
- What would you expect a competent quote to include, in scope rather than price?
- Are you willing to look at a quote and say if it answers the defect?
What are the typical next steps?
- Give both contractors the same page.
- Compare scope before you compare totals.
- Do not average the two numbers and call the average the survey’s cost.
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 one quote is zero, is the survey wrong?
Not yet. Ask what that contractor looked at. A refusal to see the loft is not a rebuttal.
Should you get a third quote?
If the first two do not describe the same job, yes. There is no RICS quota.