What is a Home Report and do I need one?
In Scotland, almost every home put on the open market needs a Home Report before it can be advertised. The seller arranges and pays for it. It contains three parts: a single survey with a valuation, an energy report, and a property questionnaire you complete yourself.
What is inside a Home Report
The single survey is carried out by a chartered surveyor and includes a condition assessment, an accessibility audit and a market valuation of your property. Elements are graded by repair category, and those categories are what buyers and their solicitors read most closely.
The energy report gives the EPC rating and recommendations for improving efficiency. The property questionnaire is completed by you and covers council tax band, parking, alterations, factoring arrangements, any history of flooding and similar matters.
Why the valuation figure matters so much
Buyers' lenders generally rely on the single survey valuation. That makes it the anchor for negotiation: an offers-over strategy set far above it asks buyers to fund the gap in cash, and most will not.
It is worth dealing with obvious maintenance — visible damp, missing slates, defective windows — before the surveyor visits rather than after. A repair category recorded in the report is used in negotiation for the life of the marketing period.
Exceptions and timing
Some property is exempt, including certain new-build and right-to-buy sales, and property sold off-market. If you think an exemption might apply, take advice from a solicitor before marketing.
There is no fixed statutory shelf life, but lenders and buyers become uneasy with an older report, and a refresh or a transcription to the buyer's lender may be needed if a sale takes a long time. Ask your surveyor how they handle that before you instruct.
Common questions
- Can I sell without a Home Report?
- Only where an exemption applies or the property is not marketed to the public. For an ordinary open-market sale you need one.
Lothian Property is a property information and professional-introduction service operated by Maybury Scotland Limited. Lothian Property is not an estate agency. Where requested, we may connect homeowners with independent estate agents and other property professionals. How we work.
Written and reviewed by The Lothian Property team, Edinburgh property research team. General information about the Scottish selling process — not legal advice.