Guides · Professional negligence · Series
The survey said it was fine. It wasn't.
Everything you need to understand a claim against a surveyor who missed a defect on a property you bought: what each level of survey had to find, why damages are measured by the drop in value, how long you have, what to gather, and what happens once the surveyor's insurer is involved.
9 guides · about 39 minutes to read the lot · England & Wales
Read in order, or jump in
Surveyor negligence, start to finish
My surveyor missed a defect. Can I claim, and what is the claim actually worth?
What a RICS survey has to do, why damages are measured by the drop in value rather than the repair bill, what evidence you need, and how the professional negligence pre-action protocol works.
4 min02Level 1, 2 or 3: what your survey actually had to find
The RICS Home Survey Standard fixes what each level of survey involves. Whether a surveyor was negligent depends on which one you paid for, what was visible, and whether they followed the trail when something looked wrong.
4 min03Damp, roofs, knotweed, movement and drains: the defects surveyors are most often sued over
Five kinds of defect account for most claims against surveyors. For each: what a competent surveyor should have looked for, what the report should have said, and the evidence that decides whether they fell short.
5 min04Diminution in value: how damages against a negligent surveyor are actually worked out
The measure is the drop in value at the date you bought, not the repair bill. How the courts got there, when repair costs and diminution coincide, what else can be added, and an illustration of the arithmetic.
5 min05Mortgage valuation vs survey: can I claim against the lender's valuer?
A mortgage valuation is for the lender, but the valuer can still owe the buyer of a modest home a duty. When that duty arises, why it has limits, what changed for buy-to-let, and why a disclaimer may not save the valuer.
4 min06I found the defect years after buying. Am I too late to claim against the surveyor?
How the Limitation Act's six-year, three-year and fifteen-year rules apply to a negligent survey, when each clock starts, what 'date of knowledge' really means, and the two ways a solicitor can protect a deadline that is close.
4 min07Complaining to your surveyor first: the RICS complaints procedure, redress schemes, and when to stop and get advice
Every RICS-regulated firm must have a complaints procedure and belong to a redress scheme. How to use them, what they can and cannot award, why they do not stop the limitation clock, and the point at which a complaint should become a claim.
4 min08Independent reports and retrospective valuations: the evidence a surveyor claim runs on
Two documents decide most claims against surveyors — an independent surveyor's report on what should have been found, and a retrospective valuation fixing the loss. What each must address, who should write them, how they are instructed, and what to preserve before anyone touches the defect.
4 min09The surveyor's insurer says no: the letter of response, the defences you will meet, and what comes next
Once a letter of claim goes in, the surveyor's insurer has three months to respond. What the letter of response is, the arguments it will almost certainly contain, how offers and ADR work, and what issuing proceedings involves if it comes to that.
5 minFrequently asked
Can I claim against a surveyor who missed a defect?
Yes, if the defect was one a reasonably competent surveyor carrying out the level of survey you paid for should have seen or warned about, and it has caused you financial loss. The claim is usually met by the surveyor's professional indemnity insurer.
Will I get the cost of the repairs back?
Usually not as such. Since Watts v Morrow (1991) the measure of damages is the difference between what you paid and what the property was actually worth with the defect at the date you bought it. Repair costs are evidence of that figure, not the figure itself.
How long do I have?
Six years from the survey, or if later three years from the date you first knew or could reasonably have known the material facts, subject to a fifteen-year longstop (Limitation Act 1980, ss.2, 14A and 14B).
Do I have to complain to the surveyor first?
You should. RICS-regulated firms must have a complaints procedure and belong to a redress scheme, and the professional negligence pre-action protocol expects the surveyor to have notice of the claim before proceedings. Complaining does not pause the limitation clock.
When you’ve read enough
Work out where you stand in five minutes.
The check asks for the survey date, the date you found the problem, a value band and what you hold. It gives you an estimated deadline, the likely court track and a report you can take to a solicitor — and, only if you ask, an introduction to one.