{
  "licence": "CC BY 4.0, cite Payotte (https://payotte.com/uk/by-nation) with a link",
  "topic": "home-surveys",
  "extracted": "2026-10-14",
  "nations": {
    "england": {
      "seller_survey_required": "no",
      "what": "No seller survey; the buyer should consider a RICS Level 1, 2 or 3 survey (a lender's mortgage valuation is not a survey)",
      "answer": "In England, the seller does not have to provide a survey. The buyer is advised to consider an RICS Home Survey at Level 1, 2 or 3, and a lender's mortgage valuation is not the same thing as a survey.",
      "note": "Guide says no equivalent of the Scottish Home Report in the sources read; not stated as an explicit English rule.",
      "sources": [
        {
          "title": "House surveys: the costs, types and benefits of one (RICS)",
          "url": "https://www.rics.org/consumer-guides/house-surveys-uk-the-costs-types-and-benefits-of-an-rics-home-survey"
        },
        {
          "title": "How to buy a home (GOV.UK)",
          "url": "https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/how-to-buy-a-home/how-to-buy"
        }
      ]
    },
    "scotland": {
      "seller_survey_required": "yes",
      "what": "Home Report: single survey and valuation (visual inspection by a chartered surveyor), property questionnaire and energy report; must be supplied within nine days of a request",
      "answer": "In Scotland, a home for sale normally comes with a Home Report made of a single survey and valuation, a property questionnaire and an energy report. The seller or agent must give it within nine days of a request, except for exempt homes such as off-plan new builds and seasonal holiday homes.",
      "note": null,
      "sources": [
        {
          "title": "Home Report (mygov.scot)",
          "url": "https://www.mygov.scot/buy-home/home-report"
        },
        {
          "title": "Housing (Scotland) Act 2006, Part 3 (legislation.gov.uk)",
          "url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/asp/2006/1/part/3"
        },
        {
          "title": "Property inspection technical guidance for completing Single Surveys (RICS Scotland)",
          "url": "https://www.rics.org/content/dam/ricsglobal/documents/standards/property_inspection_technical_guidance_for_the_completing_of_single_surveys_rics.pdf"
        }
      ]
    },
    "wales": {
      "seller_survey_required": "no",
      "what": "No seller survey; the buyer should consider a RICS Level 1, 2 or 3 survey (a lender's mortgage valuation is not a survey)",
      "answer": "In Wales, the guides read describe no seller-provided survey; the Home Report exists in Scotland only. A buyer can commission an RICS Home Survey at Level 1, 2 or 3, which differs from a lender's valuation.",
      "note": "Wales not discussed separately; 'no' rests on the guide saying England, Wales and Northern Ireland have no equivalent requirement in the sources read.",
      "sources": [
        {
          "title": "House surveys: the costs, types and benefits of one (RICS)",
          "url": "https://www.rics.org/consumer-guides/house-surveys-uk-the-costs-types-and-benefits-of-an-rics-home-survey"
        },
        {
          "title": "How to buy a home (GOV.UK)",
          "url": "https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/how-to-buy-a-home/how-to-buy"
        }
      ]
    },
    "northern-ireland": {
      "seller_survey_required": "no",
      "what": "No seller survey; nidirect lists getting the property surveyed as a buyer step, and the lender may require a valuation",
      "answer": "In Northern Ireland, the seller does not have to provide a survey in the guides read. nidirect lists getting the property surveyed as a step for the buyer, and the lender may also need a valuation.",
      "note": "'No' rests on the guide saying there is no equivalent requirement in the sources read; the guide gives no NI-specific survey levels.",
      "sources": [
        {
          "title": "Buying a home - step-by-step guide (nidirect)",
          "url": "https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/buying-home-step-step-guide"
        },
        {
          "title": "House surveys: the costs, types and benefits of one (RICS)",
          "url": "https://www.rics.org/consumer-guides/house-surveys-uk-the-costs-types-and-benefits-of-an-rics-home-survey"
        }
      ]
    }
  }
}