How to Renegotiate a House Price After a Survey

Nothing is fixed until exchange

An accepted offer in England is "subject to contract". GOV.UK's guide to buying a home describes exchange of contracts as the official legal commitment, and until then either side can change its terms or walk away. The RICS consumer guide to home surveys says that if a survey finds problems you can often renegotiate the price to reflect the cost of necessary repairs, or decide not to buy at all.

That does not mean every survey justifies a lower price. Sellers will push back on a request that looks like a tactic, and a sale can fall through over it. The strongest requests are specific, costed and made once.

When asking for a reduction is reasonable

• The defect was not visible at viewing or disclosed in the listing, and it was not reflected in the price you offered.
• It needs repair soon, not just maintenance: a failing roof covering, movement cracks, a defective drain, rot, damp from a clear cause, or unsafe electrics.
• The surveyor has recommended further investigation, and that investigation has confirmed the problem and its cost.
• The cost is significant against the price, not a few hundred pounds of decoration.

It is weaker where the issue is cosmetic, was obvious when you viewed, or is typical of the age of the house and already priced in by the market. Ask your surveyor how serious each item is before you decide what to raise.

Turn the survey into numbers

A survey tells you what is wrong. It does not usually tell you what fixing it will cost: RICS describes estimated repair costs as an optional extra on a Level 3 survey. To negotiate, you need written figures.

Survey finding	Further check	Who prices the repair
Cracking or movement	Structural engineer's inspection, crack monitoring	Builder, against the engineer's scheme
Roof or lead defects	Closer inspection from a ladder or scaffold	Roofing contractor or builder
Damp	Diagnosis of the cause by an independent damp specialist	Builder, for the actual cause (gutters, ground levels, leaks)
Drainage concerns	CCTV drain survey	Drainage contractor
Old wiring	Electrical installation condition report	Registered electrician
Old boiler or gas appliances	Gas safety check	Gas Safe registered engineer

Make each quote itemised, tie each item to the survey paragraph it answers, and say whether it includes VAT. Two quotes for the larger items carry more weight. Access for a contractor visit is normally arranged through the estate agent.

Three ways to settle it

Option	How it works	Suits	Watch out for
Price reduction	The contract price is lowered by an agreed amount	Most cases; you control the repair and the builder	You fund the repair after completion, and the mortgage amount may change
Seller does the works	The seller repairs before exchange or completion	Small, well-defined jobs	You do not choose the contractor; ask for the specification, invoices and any certificates, and check the work
Retention	Part of the price is held back by the conveyancers until agreed works are done	Works that cannot be done before completion	Needs clear written terms; your lender may have its own rules

A lender can also make its own retention, holding back part of the loan until it is satisfied that repairs are done. That is the lender's decision, made from its valuation, and it is separate from anything you agree with the seller.

Timing: raise it before exchange

Book the survey as soon as your offer is accepted so you have results, quotes and a decision while the searches and enquiries are still running. Raise everything at once rather than in instalments. After exchange you are legally bound at the agreed price, so a problem found later is yours to fix.

What the estate agent must pass on

The agent acts for the seller, not you, but the rules on offers protect you. Under the Estate Agents (Undesirable Practices) (No. 2) Order 1991, an agent must forward accurate details of any offer to the seller promptly and in writing, including conditional offers, unless the seller has said in writing that it does not want offers of that kind. A revised offer after a survey is an offer. The Property Ombudsman's Code of Practice for Residential Estate Agents goes further: agents must tell sellers about all offers until exchange and confirm each offer in writing to the seller, and to the buyer who made it, within two working days.

Since 6 April 2025, consumer protection law on unfair commercial practices has been in Part 4 of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, which replaced the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008. Leaving out "material information", the information an average consumer needs to take an informed decision, is a misleading omission under section 227. The TPO Code gives major structural defects as an example of material information and says an agent who learns of it cannot ignore or suppress it. In practice, a serious defect found by your survey may have to be disclosed to the next buyer if your purchase falls through, which is one reason sellers often negotiate.

If you think an agent has not handled your offer properly, complain to the agent first, then to its redress scheme, such as The Property Ombudsman.

Keep your conveyancer and lender informed

• Conveyancer: tell them as soon as a new price or terms are agreed. They amend the contract, draft any special conditions for seller works or a retention, and report the change to your lender.
• Lender: a mortgage offer is based on the price and the lender's valuation. A lower price can change your loan-to-value and the amount you can borrow, and the lender may ask for the offer to be reissued.
• Re-valuation: when told about defects or a price change, a lender may instruct its valuer to look again, and the valuation can come down as well as stay the same. Which? notes that appealing a down valuation is hard, and that renegotiating is often more practical.

What other buyers did

In the Which? home movers survey of 1,831 recent buyers (February 2016, published October 2016), two thirds of buyers whose survey found problems either negotiated a lower price (43%) or had the seller fix the issues before exchange (24%). Another 15% tried and failed, and 8% pulled out. Which? did not publish an average reduction in that article, and we do not quote one.

How Alstruct helps

Our pre-purchase advice turns the surveyor's findings into a written, itemised budget for the repairs and for the works you plan, which you can use to renegotiate with the seller. It costs from £500 + VAT, credited in full if you appoint Alstruct for the works within six months of the report. We price works alongside your surveyor; we do not carry out surveys or value the property. Our guides to bay window problems, leaking lead valleys and basement damp show the kind of defects surveys raise in London houses.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources

• GOV.UK: how to buy a home
• RICS: Home surveys consumer guide
• legislation.gov.uk: Estate Agents (Undesirable Practices) (No. 2) Order 1991, Schedule 3
• legislation.gov.uk: Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, section 227 (misleading omissions)
• GOV.UK: CMA unfair commercial practices guidance (CMA207)
• The Property Ombudsman: Code of Practice for Residential Estate Agents
• Which?: two thirds use problems revealed by house surveys to renegotiate (25 October 2016)
• Which?: down valuations, what to do if the property you are buying is deemed overpriced (22 November 2020)

This guide is general information, checked against the sources above on 13 November 2026. It is not legal or survey advice: ask your conveyancer and surveyor about your own purchase.