Structural survey: when does the outcome still count?

There are three points at which a survey report can still change what you do: before your final offer, during your cooling-off period, and before the deadline in a survey condition. Which one applies depends on how far along you are, and each has a different deadline.

In a structural survey, a surveyor walks round the house and writes down what he can see of its condition. He does not open anything up, so whatever sits behind a wall or under the floor stays out of sight. Whether the report also puts a repair figure against each defect varies from surveyor to surveyor, so ask when you request the quote.

Each of the three has its own deadline

Any survey you commission before your final offer comes out of your own pocket, including on houses you end up not buying.

A deadline is only any use if the report lands before it. With the cooling-off period that is tight, because three days has to cover both the inspection and the write-up. How that period runs, and what can push it back, is set out in the cooling-off period. Then ask your estate agent or the notaris to confirm the exact day yours ends.

Before you book, ask the surveyor how many days he needs after the inspection to produce the report. Work back from your deadline to the latest day he can visit. If that day has already gone, ring round other surveyors to see whether any of them can still get a report to you in time.

A survey condition only ends up in the purchase agreement if the seller agrees to it. How to word that clause is set out in conditions for withdrawal.

If the report arrives after your cooling-off period or the date in your survey condition has passed, it no longer gives you grounds to pull out. You will know what you are taking on, but you are committed.

You can also decide to skip the survey altogether. While your cooling-off period is running you can change your mind, because during those days you can still pull out without giving a reason. If you are buying with NHG, that choice is not always yours: your valuation report can call for a structural report.

What the surveyor covers, and what he does not

When you ask for a quote, find out which parts of the house the surveyor goes over and what he leaves out. Anything outside the brief will not be in the report, which means the report says nothing about it either way. That list is in the quote, so read it before you book.

If your surveyor uses the Model bouwkundig rapport from the Nationale Hypotheek Garantie (NHG), the Dutch national mortgage guarantee, you know up front what you are getting. He assesses the visible parts of the building at the very least: the foundations, the crawl space, the roof, the walls and the exterior window frames among them. For each defect he sets out what is wrong and what putting it right would cost, split into what cannot wait and what can. That estimate covers repair rather than full replacement, and leaves out demolition, propping, scaffolding and any knock-on damage. So the figure in the report is not the whole bill.

The same model asks him to note what further investigation he thinks is needed, either specialist work or parts he could not get to. Read those notes first, because that is where the things you still do not know are listed. You can have that work done before your deadline, or price the risk into your offer.

So a report with no major findings does not mean there is nothing wrong. It means the surveyor saw nothing on this visit.

What it costs, and why quotes vary

In October 2026 Perfectkeur charged €465 for a full structural survey. That is one firm’s rate, not a market price. What you pay only becomes clear from the quotes you get for your own house.

Surveyors price their work in different ways. Some charge one national rate whatever the house. Others work in packages and add a surcharge per cubic metre above a certain size. A rush job can cost extra too.

Get a few quotes and tell each firm when you need the report by. Then compare them on four things:

• The house the rate covers. What size or volume is the price based on, and what is added if yours is bigger?
• What gets inspected. Which parts does the surveyor go over, and what is left out?
• The cost estimate. Does the report put a figure against each defect, and does it separate what has to be done now from what can wait?
• The turnaround. How many days after the inspection do you get the report, and what does it cost to have it sooner?

You commission the survey, so the bill is yours. Where that amount sits among everything else you have to fund yourself is set out in own funds when buying a house.

Defects in the report do not entitle you to a discount

Once you have the report you can ask the seller to drop the price or to put things right. That is a request for a new agreement. He has to agree to it, and he is free to say no.

If you do come to an arrangement, put it in writing. A sale between private individuals has to be recorded in writing, and that applies just as much to a lower price or a promise to repair. So put it in the purchase agreement itself, or in an addendum you both sign. A promise over the phone or in a message gives you very little to fall back on.

If the purchase goes ahead, the report becomes your to-do list. Start with the repairs that cannot wait and spread the rest over the following years. Anything you simply want to improve belongs in your renovation budget, not in maintenance.

Before you book a surveyor

Start with your deadline: your final offer, the end of your cooling-off period, or the date in your survey condition. Then pick the surveyor whose quote and turnaround fit that date, and get the delivery date in writing when you book. That way your decision does not hang on a turnaround that turns out to be longer than you were told.

If you are buying with NHG, the choice is not always yours. Your valuation report can call for a structural report, for instance if the valuer judges the condition of the house to be poor. The valuer will flag it, but he does not produce the structural report himself.

If your valuation report does call for one, NHG sets requirements in 2026 for the report and for whoever writes it. Check before you book that the surveyor you have in mind meets them. When that obligation kicks in, and exactly what it requires, is set out in a mortgage with NHG. What a valuation does and does not cover is in the valuation of a house.