A short instruction such as “get quotes” can become surprisingly vague in a finished report. Which defect needs pricing? What is already established, and what still needs investigation? Has the surveyor agreed to provide cost advice at all?
When Level 2 report drafting is outsourced, the writer needs those boundaries before preparing the wording. The aim is to make the surveyor’s recommendation actionable while keeping estimates, contractor quotations and technical findings clearly separate. A drafting service should never fill a blank with a plausible repair price.
Start with the service that was actually agreed
The published RICS Home Survey Level 2 survey-only template excludes reporting the cost of putting defects right from its standard scope. It also says extra services require a separate contract. A writer should therefore not add a cost schedule merely because the client would find one useful.
Section 4.8 of the Home Survey Standard addresses optional cost advice: competence, an explained basis, clear limitations and formal quotations before legal commitment matter. The inspecting surveyor must first establish what has been commissioned and how any separate advice should be delivered. The drafting brief should reflect that decision.
Sources checked on 31 October 2026. RICS’ current standards page continues to direct members to the first edition pending the second edition taking effect.
Separate three different kinds of wording
| Item | What it does | What the writer needs |
|---|---|---|
| Recommendation to obtain quotations | Directs the client to establish the price of the work identified by the surveyor. | The affected element, intended action, relevant contractor competence and timing. |
| Surveyor’s cost guidance | Provides separately agreed guidance within the surveyor’s competence and stated scope. | The surveyor’s approved figures, basis, date, inclusions, exclusions and limitations. |
| Contractor’s quotation | Records a contractor’s offer for its stated scope and conditions. | The document, source, date and the surveyor’s instructions on how it should be described. |
This table is a suggested production aid, not a prescribed RICS form. A contractor’s price does not establish the cause of a defect, and an approximate allowance from a previous job does not become evidence for this property.
Give each quotation request a clear subject
Begin with the settled element paragraph. Identify the defect and location, then carry through the surveyor’s intended next step. “Obtain quotations for repairs” is much less useful than an instruction tied to the loose covering at the rear roof slope or the defective rainwater outlet already described.
Do not let the writer turn that request into a detailed repair specification. If the surveyor has not established the repair scope, the draft should preserve that uncertainty and the intended assessment. Our guide to clear defect recommendations explains how to connect a finding with the next action.
Keep investigation and pricing in the right sequence
Sometimes the work cannot be priced meaningfully until its extent is understood. If the surveyor has recommended a focused investigation, the writer should not describe the outcome or the final repair cost as known. Record the assessment required and the surveyor’s instructions for obtaining quotations once the necessary scope has been established.
For example, a fictional note might identify a defective drainage arrangement but leave its underground route unconfirmed. The draft can preserve the recommendation to establish an appropriate solution and obtain a written quotation. It should not invent excavation lengths, a replacement system or a total price. The inspecting surveyor decides the investigation and advice; see our guide to justifiable further investigations.
Do not import figures from another property
A previous report, online article or generic price list may look like a convenient shortcut. It does not establish the access arrangements, extent of work, materials or contractor terms for the subject property. Even apparently similar defects can involve different work.
Instruct the writer to leave cost figures out unless the surveyor has supplied and authorised them for the agreed service. Where separate cost guidance has been commissioned, preserve the surveyor’s stated assumptions rather than silently adding VAT, scaffolding, making good or professional fees. If the treatment of an item is unclear, raise a question rather than choosing a figure.
Attribute any quotation that is supplied
Record who provided the quotation, its date, the work covered and whether the surveyor has reviewed the complete document. A seller’s description of a price is reported information; it is not the same as an inspected quotation. A document for one roof area should not be described as covering the whole roof.
Keep the distinction visible in the draft and use the drafting query log for incomplete documents or conflicting descriptions. The writer should not declare a quotation adequate, current or comprehensive without the surveyor’s instruction.
Check the client’s next step before approval
The Level 2 template’s quotation guidance recommends obtaining written reports and quotations before legal commitment, including at least two quotations from experienced, appropriately insured contractors. The recommendation should be read alongside the property-specific advice, not left as an isolated piece of standard text.
During review, the inspecting surveyor should check that each request identifies the relevant defect, preserves unresolved scope, names the appropriate type of specialist where needed and gives consistent timing. Any figures must match the authorised source and agreed service. Remove unsupported totals, and ensure the overall opinion does not imply that the full repair budget has been established when it has not.
Keep drafting support and cost judgement separate
The Survey Edit provides surveyor report typing and outsourced Level 2 drafting support from your inspection notes, photographs, template and instructions. We can organise your quotation requests, preserve supplied exclusions and flag missing information in the draft.
The inspecting surveyor determines the findings, scope of advice and recommendations, reviews and amends the wording, approves it and issues the report. Enquire about drafting support for your next Level 2 report and explain any separate advice that needs to be kept distinct from the report’s standard scope.
You inspect. We write.