Survey costs
You add a contingency because the loft was NI. Is that contingency a figure the report printed?
No. The contingency is not a figure the report printed. You added it because the loft was NI, and NI means not inspected. The PDF recorded that limit. It did not choose your allowance, add a tax line, or certify the sum. Keep the allowance in your own notes, labelled as yours. If you mention it to the seller, say it is your contingency for unseen loft work, not a number taken from the survey.
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?
Not inspected is a honest stop. The surveyor is telling you the loft was outside what they could safely or reasonably do on that visit, not handing you a budget for what might be up there. Fitted carpets and closed voids have the same kind of limit elsewhere: what was not opened was not judged. Your contingency may be prudent. It is still a private guess. Two buyers could add different allowances to the same NI line and neither allowance would be the report's. There is no national tariff that converts NI into a sum of money.
Do not ask the surveyor, after the event, to adopt your figure so it looks official. If you want the loft inspected, that is a further instruction, and only if access is safe. A hatch is not an invitation to pretend the space was seen. Until it is seen, any money you hold back in your own sums should stay described as a contingency for unknown loft condition. The rating language does not include your contingency as a fifth score alongside 1, 2, 3 and NI.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Why was the loft NI, and what would need to change for it to be inspected?
- What can you say, and not say, about the ceiling below?
- Confirm the PDF contains no contingency sum of mine?
What are the typical next steps?
- Label the loft allowance as your contingency.
- Do not tell the seller the PDF printed that sum.
- Arrange a further look only if access can be made safe.
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 surveyor agrees the loft is a risk, have they agreed my sum?
No. Agreeing there is a limit is not agreeing a contingency. The sum remains yours.
Does NI mean the loft is defective and already priced?
No. NI means not inspected. It is not a priced defect.