Structural survey on house - who should pay?

[Hoppybunny]

Long story very short our buyers home buyers survey didn't get off the driveway and deemed a full structural survey necessary. The estate agents are suggesting that we must pay for this as the vendor. I have found limited information to support thier rationale online, does anyone have any experience of this?

Surely buyers pay for their survey??

Buyers pay. That's why houses are caveat emptor.

Buyers pay.

The buyer pays, ours was done last year when we part exchanged ours for a new build.

Buyers definitely pay. Your Estate Agent is ill-informed …

Buyers definitely pay!

Assuming you are in England or Wales.

Buyers pay as they want to benefit from the surveyor’s work.

If you are in Scotland I think it is the vendor. Anywhere else it is the buyer.

Yes based in England, thank you I will challenge it

buyers pay.

the survey is the property of the person who commissions it and cannot be shown to anyone else (that's what it said on the front of mine, anyway). So agent is talking bollocks, or hasn't noticed that the idea of 'sales packs' fell over years ago.

just tell agent that, and that if they continue to talk bollocks you'll be finding a competent one.

Sounds like a try on.
Could be buyers were persuading solicitor that the survey was not their responsibility and he is having a go on their behalf.

buyers pay. If you pay and it misses something they cannot claim.

Do you mean they need a full buildings survey (commonly wrongly referred to as a full structural survey) or a structural engineer's report?

Two different things.

If it's the former then buyer should definitely pay, if it's the latter there is an argument that it might be wiser for the vendor to pay.

It really does depend on exactly what the issue seems to be.

Picking up from Milduras point. If you're selling an older property, you might be well to commission a structural engineer to check it out for your own interests/peace of mind/to prove that buyers aren't trying it on to get a discount (happens far too often)

In our experience we've found standard building surveys are commissioned by less qualified people who aren't able to comment on certain things that a fully qualified structural engineer would be able to do so, and thus on their report it would simply read, suggest structural report, often making people concerned theres an issue when actually there isn't.

But yes, the people buying the house are liable for the cost.