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Surveys
RICS Level 3 survey cost, and Level 2 beside it
The three RICS levels, what each one covers, and what named surveyors publish as their own price, quoted and dated.
A survey is the one big cost of moving that nobody has to publish a price for. The legal fee is on a firm's own website because the rules make it be. The Land Registry fee is in an order of Parliament. The search fee is on the council's page. A survey is a quotation from a surveyor, worked out job by job, and that single fact explains most of what looks like chaos when you start asking what one costs.
The levels are not three products three different firms invented. They are one standard, written by RICS, so a Level 2 means the same thing whoever carries it out. That is worth knowing before you compare two surveyors, because what changes between them is the price and not the scope.
Source: RICS, read 28 September 2026.
The three levels, and what each one actually gives you
| Level | What the report covers |
|---|---|
| Level 1Condition Report | The condition of the property, the risks and any urgent defects, with no advice on how to put them right |
| Level 2Homebuyer Report | Everything in Level 1, plus the roof space and the drainage chambers, plus advice on repairs and maintenance, as a survey on its own or a survey with a valuation |
| Level 3Building survey | The most comprehensive report: how the building is built, an analysis of the defects, the repair options, a repair timeline and what it costs you to leave the repairs undone |
What the levels are: RICS, read 28 September 2026.
Level 1, once called the Condition Report
Level 1 tells you what is wrong. It does not tell you what to do about it, and that is not a gap in the report, it is the level working as designed. It suits a conventional, newer home in good order. On anything old, altered or visibly tired it will leave you holding a list and no idea what the list costs.
Level 2, once called the Homebuyer Report
This is the middle one, written for a conventional home in reasonable condition. It comes in two versions and the difference matters on the invoice: survey only, or survey plus a market valuation and an insurance reinstatement figure. Ask which one you are being quoted for, because the cheaper number in front of you may be the one without the valuation.
Level 3, once called the Building or full structural survey
Level 3 is the one that answers the question you actually have, which is what the repairs will cost and what happens if you leave them. It is the right level for an older, larger, altered or run-down house. On a modern flat in good order it is money spent on detail you will never use.
Surveyor fees: what named firms publish
Most surveyors will not put a figure on their website at all; they send you to a quote form. These are the ones we found that do, read on their own pages. Some publish a fixed price, most a starting price or a range, and a starting price is a floor, not a quote for your house. Nobody pays us to be on this list and nothing about the order is a recommendation.
| Firm | Survey | Published price | How it is quoted | Priced for | In the firm's own words |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BeSure Surveyors | RICS Level 2 Home Survey, survey only | £375 to £475 plus VAT, by number of bedrooms | A range | 1 to 5 bedrooms | Fees: 1 bed property £375 plus VAT 2 bed property £400 plus VAT 3 bed property £425 plus VAT 4 bed property £450 plus VAT 5 bed property £475 plus VATwww.besuresurveyors.co.uk |
| CJ Bloor Property Consultants | RICS Level 2 Home Survey | £595 to £845 including VAT | A range | North West, Yorkshire and the West Midlands | a RICS Home Survey Level 2 typically costs between £595 and £845 including VAT, a Level 3 Building Survey typically costs between £845 and £1,195 including VATwww.cjbloor.co.uk |
| CJ Bloor Property Consultants | RICS Level 3 Home Survey | £845 to £1,195 including VAT | A range | North West, Yorkshire and the West Midlands | a RICS Home Survey Level 2 typically costs between £595 and £845 including VAT, a Level 3 Building Survey typically costs between £845 and £1,195 including VATwww.cjbloor.co.uk |
| e.surv | RICS Level 2 Home Survey (HomePlus) | £499 to £800 and upwards | A range | varies with size and value | The cost of an HomePlus RICS Level 2 Home Survey varies depending on factors such as size and value of the property being surveyed. However, typically the cost ranges from £499 – £800+.www.esurv.co.uk |
| Hampstead Chartered Surveyors | RICS Level 2 Home Survey | From £750 plus VAT | From (a floor) | London and Manchester | HCS Level 2 instructions currently start from £750 plus VAT.www.hampsteadcharteredsurveyors.co.uk |
| Hampstead Chartered Surveyors | RICS Level 3 Home Survey | £950 to £2,000 plus VAT | A range | London and Manchester | HCS fees are £950–£2,000 plus VAT; we confirm a fixed written fee after scoping the property and brief.www.hampsteadcharteredsurveyors.co.uk |
| Murrins Chartered Surveyors | RICS Level 2 Home Survey | £475 to £1,200 | A range | London and the South East, by size, value and location | Typically, costs range from around £475- £1,200 based on the factors stated above.www.murrins.co.uk |
| Murrins Chartered Surveyors | RICS Level 3 Home Survey | £695 to £1,595 and upwards | A range | London and the South East, by size, value and location | As a rough estimate, you can expect a fee of between £695 and £1,595+ for the survey.www.murrins.co.uk |
| SPI Surveyors | RICS Level 1 Home Survey | £400 including VAT | Fixed fee | any property value, on the firm's own wording | Our Level 1 Condition Survey is a fixed fee of £400 inc VAT, regardless of property value.spi-surveyors.com |
| SPI Surveyors | RICS Level 2 Home Survey, survey only | From £450 including VAT | From (a floor) | the lowest property values, rising with value | Our Level 2 HomeBuyer surveys start from £450 inc VAT. The exact price depends on the property valuespi-surveyors.com |
| SPI Surveyors | RICS Level 3 Home Survey | From £700 including VAT | From (a floor) | the lowest property values, rising with value | Our Level 3 Building Surveys start from £700 inc VAT.spi-surveyors.com |
Every row read on the firm's own page on 24 October 2026. Where a firm prints its price with VAT, without it, or says nothing about VAT, the row says so in the firm's own words.
What this table is not. It is not a price list for the country. It is what a handful of firms chose to publish, each for the area and the kind of house it names. The only firm we found printing a full tariff is the one that prices by bedrooms. Everyone else is telling you where their quotations start or tend to land.
Level 2 vs Level 3 survey cost
Four of those firms publish a figure for both levels, which is the only honest way to compare the two: the same firm, the same area, the same basis for VAT.
| Firm | Level 2 | Level 3 | Priced for |
|---|---|---|---|
| CJ Bloor Property Consultants | £595 to £845 including VAT | £845 to £1,195 including VAT | North West, Yorkshire and the West Midlands |
| Hampstead Chartered Surveyors | From £750 plus VAT | £950 to £2,000 plus VAT | London and Manchester |
| Murrins Chartered Surveyors | £475 to £1,200 | £695 to £1,595 and upwards | London and the South East, by size, value and location |
| SPI Surveyors | From £450 including VAT | From £700 including VAT | the lowest property values, rising with value |
At every one of the four, the Level 3 figure starts above the Level 2 figure, and at one of them the top of the Level 2 range is exactly where the Level 3 range begins. That is the pattern RICS describes: Level 3 is a longer inspection and a longer report, and the surveyor prices the time.
Why there is no price list, in RICS's own words
There is no set price for a survey, because the surveyor quotes for the job in front of them. A survey fee is a quotation, not a published price. RICS says so itself: the surveyor works out how long the job will take and prices that. So the figure you are given is not wrong for being different from the figure your friend paid, and there is no fee order to appeal to. This is the opposite of the Land Registry fee, which is set by Parliament and identical everywhere.
Source: RICS, read 28 September 2026.
So two honest quotations on the same house can differ, and neither of them is a trick. What is worth checking is that both are for the same level, and for a Level 2 that they are both either with the valuation or both without it. A cheaper number for a smaller job is not a saving.
Which level is worth paying for
RICS puts it as a question about the building rather than about your budget: the age, the size, the condition, the complexity and how much of the original house is still there. A conventional modern home in good order is what Level 1 was written for. A conventional home in reasonable condition is what Level 2 was written for. Large, older, run-down, unusual or heavily altered, or major works planned, is what Level 3 was written for.
Being a first-time buyer changes none of this. It changes the tax and nothing else, which is set out on the first-time buyer costs page.
Where the survey sits on the bill
The survey is not a conveyancing disbursement. Your conveyancer does not order it and does not pay it on your behalf; you appoint the surveyor and you pay them. It lands in the same few weeks as the searches and the deposit, which is the part worth planning for. Everything your conveyancer does bill you for, every figure sourced, is on the conveyancing fees page.
Questions people ask
How much does a house survey cost?
There is no set price, because a surveyor quotes for the particular job rather than charging from a scale, and most surveyors publish no price at all. Of those that do, BeSure Surveyors prices a Level 2 at £375 to £475 plus VAT, by number of bedrooms. SPI Surveyors publishes £400 including VAT for a Level 1, from £450 including VAT for a Level 2 and from £700 including VAT for a Level 3.
How much does a RICS Level 2 survey cost?
On the firms' own pages we read: BeSure Surveyors, £375 to £475 plus VAT, by number of bedrooms; e.surv, £499 to £800 and upwards; CJ Bloor, £595 to £845 including VAT; Murrins, £475 to £1,200. With a valuation added it costs more.
How much does a Level 3 survey cost?
On the firms' own pages we read: CJ Bloor, £845 to £1,195 including VAT; Murrins, £695 to £1,595 and upwards; Hampstead Chartered Surveyors in London, £950 to £2,000 plus VAT; SPI Surveyors, from £700 including VAT.
Level 2 vs Level 3 survey cost: how much more is a Level 3?
At every firm we found publishing both, Level 3 starts higher. CJ Bloor publishes £595 to £845 including VAT for Level 2 against £845 to £1,195 including VAT for Level 3. Hampstead Chartered Surveyors publishes from £750 plus VAT against £950 to £2,000 plus VAT. The gap is the extra time a Level 3 takes.
What is the difference between a RICS Level 2 and a Level 3 survey?
A Level 2 describes the condition, flags the problems that matter and advises on repairs and maintenance, with a more extensive look at the roof space and drainage than a Level 1. A Level 3 goes further: how the building is built, an analysis of the defects, the repair options, a repair timeline and the consequences of not carrying the repairs out.
Is a mortgage valuation the same as a survey?
No. A RICS Level 2 can be taken as a survey on its own or as a survey with a market valuation and an insurance reinstatement figure, and it is worth knowing which of the two any figure quoted to you covers. A valuation on its own is not a report on the condition of the house.