Mandatory home surveys could strain surveying capacity

A proposal to make property surveys mandatory before homes are listed for sale could increase demand for surveys by 40%, according to analysis from property inspection software firm Property Inspect.

The company’s research indicates that currently 58% of buyers commission a survey before completion. If surveys became mandatory at the listing stage, this would create a substantial capacity challenge for the surveying profession.

Siân Hemming-Metcalfe, Operations Director at Property Inspect, stated that the sector would need to assess whether “existing training pipelines, regional coverage and accreditation frameworks could absorb that demand without affecting turnaround times or report quality”.

“A 40% increase in survey demand is not a marginal adjustment,” Hemming-Metcalfe said. “Based on current transaction volumes in England, it would mean hundreds of thousands of additional surveys every year. That level of expansion would materially affect capacity planning, commercial models and professional indemnity exposure across the sector.”

The analysis raises questions about how seller-commissioned surveys would remain valid if properties stay on the market for extended periods. Repeat inspections could add further pressure to surveying capacity.

Hemming-Metcalfe noted that while greater transparency at listing could reduce duplication and improve certainty in a market where fall-through rates remain high, reform would need to ensure that “training standards, duty of care and lender alignment evolve alongside volume”.

Technology and workflow systems would also need to adapt to handle higher volumes if mandatory surveys are introduced. The proposal represents what Hemming-Metcalfe described as a “profound structural change” for the surveying profession, requiring rapid expansion of capacity across the sector.