What is a Home Report in Scotland?

A Home Report is the document pack a seller in Scotland must have ready before their property can be marketed. It contains a survey and valuation, an energy report and Energy Performance Certificate (EPC), and a property questionnaire¹. The seller arranges it and pays for it, and then gives a copy to anyone who is interested in buying².

That is the key difference from the rest of the UK. In Scotland the valuation and survey are provided upfront as part of the seller's Home Report, rather than the buyer commissioning their own after an offer is accepted⁴. It means you can see what a surveyor thinks of the property, and what they think it is worth, before you decide whether to make an offer.

The report is required for properties in Scotland only⁶. If you are buying in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, there is no equivalent document and you will normally arrange and pay for your own survey and valuation.

What a Home Report is and when it is needed

The Home Report is a single pack with three parts. The survey and valuation gives the surveyor's view of the property's condition and its value. The energy report and EPC covers energy efficiency. The property questionnaire is the seller's own answers about the home, covering things such as council tax band and any alterations¹.

Shelter Scotland sets out what a Home Report tells you: the value of the property, its size, layout and location, its age and building materials, its condition and any serious repair issues, any alterations, the council tax band, and its energy efficiency and accessibility⁹.

It is needed before marketing starts. Sellers must arrange a Home Report before they can market their property, and it is legally needed for the seller to arrange one before marketing¹⁰. Bank of Scotland puts it plainly: sellers have to provide one of these before the property can be put on the market⁶.

There are two exceptions. Home reports are not a requirement for private sales or new build properties⁸. For a new build, an energy performance certificate should still be obtained even though a Home Report is not needed⁹.

Sellers in Scotland must provide a Home Report

The duty sits with the seller, and it is not optional. In Scotland, sellers must provide a Home Report which includes a survey, Energy Performance Certificate and Property Questionnaire¹¹. If you are selling in Scotland, you will need to get a Home Report¹². Sellers in Scotland have to provide a report to buyers on the condition of their property¹³.

The seller also covers the cost. In Scotland, the seller covers the cost of the survey rather than the buyer². The seller then provides a copy of the Home Report to any potential buyer³. Before you buy a house, the seller will give you a Home Report¹⁴.

Lenders expect to see it too. Halifax states that in Scotland sellers must send a Home Report including a survey, Energy Performance Certificate and Property Questionnaire¹⁵. Lloyds Bank says the same: in Scotland sellers must have a Home Report which includes survey, Energy Performance Certificate and Property Questionnaire¹⁶.

For a seller, the practical point is timing. The report has to be in place before the property is advertised, so the cost and the wait for a surveyor both come before any buyer sees the listing. For a buyer, it means the survey work is already done and paid for by the time you are looking.

The valuation, and which lenders accept it

The valuation is one of the three parts of a Home Report, and it gives a figure for what the property is worth⁸. The survey element also sets out the property's condition, the repairs required and its energy efficiency rating⁸.

That valuation matters beyond your own reading of it, because lenders use it. Halifax states that any loan it makes will be subject to the property valuation contained in the Home Report for properties in Scotland, or a satisfactory property valuation by a surveyor of its choice⁶.

Not every lender takes the same approach, and this is where buyers can be caught out. Scottish Building Society says that for property purchases in Scotland it can normally use the property valuation contained in the sellers' Home Report provided that it is no more than 3 months old¹⁷. The same rule appears on its professional mortgages and its retirement interest-only mortgage pages⁷.

Metro Bank takes the opposite position. It states that it cannot currently accept a home report for residential purchases in Scotland, and that the customer will need to pay for its standard valuation¹⁹.

The age of the report matters. Skipton Building Society requires customers in Scotland to have a valid home report, no older than 90 days, before making a mortgage application²¹. A report that has been sitting on a shelf while a property fails to sell can go stale for lending purposes.

Repairs, condition and what the survey does not cover

The Home Report sets out the condition of the property and any serious repair issues⁹. Official guidance for the First Homes Fund is blunt about the consequence: check the Home Report before you buy, because you will need to pay for any repairs it flags²².

That is the practical weight of the survey section. It is not a list of suggestions. It is the surveyor's view of what is wrong with the building, and once you own it, the cost of putting it right sits with you.

What the survey is not is a full structural investigation. It is a condition report, and it may not uncover everything, particularly problems that are hidden behind walls or under floors. A buyer who wants more than the Home Report gives can commission their own additional survey, at their own cost, in the same way a buyer elsewhere would.

For comparison, a marine surveyors' report is the equivalent step when buying a houseboat, to make sure the boat is in good condition and ready to live in²³. The principle is the same: an independent look at condition before you commit.

Home Reports apply to Scottish properties only

A Home Report is required for properties in Scotland only⁶. Sellers in Scotland have to provide a report to buyers on the condition of their property¹³. There is no equivalent duty on sellers in England, Wales or Northern Ireland.

The wider Scottish housing framework is separate in the same way. Shelter Scotland's guidance on benefits for two homes, mortgage repossession, Housing Benefit, Discretionary Housing Payment, mortgage arrears, Local Housing Allowance, moving house and affordable homeownership schemes all state that the content applies to Scotland only²⁴. The Warm Home Discount (Scotland) Regulations 2026 extend to Scotland only³².

If you are buying south of the border, the process is different. Guidance for household budgets notes that it covers Scotland and that you will need different advice if you live in England and Wales³³. The reverse also holds: summaries covering England and Wales note that you will need different advice if you live in Scotland³⁴.

Buying in England or Wales instead

A Home Report is a Scottish requirement, and there is no equivalent document in England or Wales. In those nations the buyer normally arranges and pays for their own survey and valuation after an offer is accepted, rather than the seller providing one upfront.

That difference is the subject of ongoing reform discussion. The system used in Scotland, where valuations and surveys are provided upfront as part of a seller's home report, has been reported as a comparison point for proposed changes to home buying and selling in the rest of the UK⁴.

For a buyer in England or Wales, the practical consequence is cost and timing. You pay for the survey yourself, and you usually commission it after your offer is accepted, which means you can be some way into the process before you find out what a surveyor thinks of the property. In Scotland that information is in front of you before you offer.

If you are buying in Scotland, the wider process is set out in Buying a home in Scotland. If you are buying elsewhere, see How to buy a house in England: step by step or Buying a home in Wales.

Reading the Home Report before you offer

The seller will provide a copy of the home report to any potential buyer³, and before you buy a house the seller will give you a Home Report¹⁴.

The Scottish offer process assumes you have read it. If you find a home you are interested in buying and are happy with its Home Report, you tell your solicitor, who will formally note your interest with the seller³⁶. Being happy with the Home Report is a step in the process, not an afterthought.

Your offer itself will set out a brief description of the home, the date you want to collect the keys and move in, the price you want to pay, any items you want to buy from the seller, and any other conditions you have³⁶. Shelter Scotland's guidance on making an offer in Scotland applies to Scotland only³⁷.

Who pays for the Home Report, the buyer or the seller?

The seller pays. In Scotland, the seller covers the cost of the survey rather than the buyer². The seller then provides a copy to any potential buyer at no cost to them³.

That is worth contrasting with the costs a buyer does carry. A buyer in Scotland still pays for their own conveyancing, their mortgage costs and any property tax due. If a lender will not accept the Home Report valuation, the buyer may also have to pay for a separate valuation, as Metro Bank's position shows¹⁹.

There are other situations where a valuation report cost falls on a borrower rather than a seller. Vida Homeloans' buy-to-let terms for Scotland state that the borrower must pay the cost of a Valuation Report if one is obtained for compulsory purchase or when a Default is occurring or reasonably believed to be occurring³⁸. Help to Buy equity loan valuations work differently again: you choose a surveyor, and arrange and pay for the report yourself³⁹.

For the Home Owners' Support Fund, the survey report is the property of the Scottish Government and has no purpose outside the scheme⁴⁰.

What protects a buyer, and where it stops

The Home Report itself is the main protection, because it puts an independent surveyor's view of condition and value in your hands before you commit. The seller's legal duty to provide it, and the requirement that it be in place before marketing, are what make that work¹⁰.

Where it stops is at the limits of the survey. It is a condition report, not a guarantee, and it will not catch everything. It also does not remove the need for your own checks: the repairs it flags become your cost if you buy²².

If something goes wrong with the buying process, Complaining when buying a home goes wrong sets out the routes. For the legal work itself, see Conveyancing: the legal work when you buy a home. If you are worried about a valuation coming in below the price you agreed, What happens if the valuation is lower than the price I agreed? covers the options.

Free, impartial help is available. Shelter Scotland provides housing advice for people in Scotland, and its pages on mortgage repossession and arrears are written for Scottish law²⁵. If you are struggling with housing costs, Debt: a complete guide to help, solutions and your rights sets out the options.