Commercial Property Valuation Cost: What You Will Pay and What Drives the Fee
- As a broad guide, a single small commercial unit starts from around £1,000 to £2,000 plus VAT.
- Larger multi-let buildings commonly fall between £2,500 and £7,500, with complex assets and portfolios priced individually.
- The number of tenancies, the purpose of the valuation and the quality of the information you supply move the fee more than floor area alone.
- For a loan, the lender instructs the valuer and the borrower pays, so you may not get to choose who does it.
Nobody publishes a price list for commercial valuations, and anyone who quotes without asking questions is guessing. The fee follows the work: how big the building is, how many leases have to be read, what the valuation is for and how fast you need it. That said, there are sensible ranges, and knowing what moves the number helps you compare quotes properly.
Typical fee ranges
These are broad guides, not quotes. Fees vary by region and firm.
- Single small unit (a shop, a small office or workshop, owner-occupied or let on one lease): from around £1,000 to £2,000 plus VAT.
- Mid-sized building (a larger office, industrial unit or mixed-use building with a handful of tenancies): around £2,000 to £4,000.
- Large multi-let building: commonly £2,500 to £7,500, and more where there are many leases or unusual features.
- Specialist property and portfolios: priced individually. Hotels, care homes, development sites and estates of several buildings each need their own scoping.
What drives the fee
Tenancies. Every lease has to be read for rent, review dates, breaks, repairing obligations and anything unusual. Ten leases is roughly ten times the reading of one, and on investment property the leases are the value.
Purpose. A valuation for secured lending carries more liability for the valuer than one for internal planning, and is priced accordingly. Expert witness work for a dispute is charged differently again, usually by time.
Size and complexity. A large or irregular building takes longer to inspect and measure. Mixed uses mean more than one market to research.
Property type. A standard warehouse with plenty of comparable evidence is quicker than a trading property valued on its accounts. See our guide to valuation methods.
Urgency and location. A report needed in days costs more than one needed in three weeks. Remote sites add travel.
How to keep the cost down
Give the valuer good information on day one. A current tenancy schedule, copies of the leases and any side letters, floor plans with areas, the EPC, service charge budgets, planning documents and any recent building survey. Valuers price in the time they expect to spend chasing documents, and a tidy pack removes it.
If you have several buildings, ask for them to be valued together. One instruction, one set of terms and one visit programme is cheaper than several separate jobs.
Be clear about the purpose. A report scoped for the wrong purpose has to be redone, which is the most expensive outcome of all.
How long it takes
For a straightforward property, allow one to two weeks from instruction: a few days to arrange the inspection, the visit itself, then the evidence and the report. Large and multi-let buildings typically take two to four weeks, because of the lease review and because tenants need notice for access. If a transaction or a loan drawdown has a deadline, tell the valuer at the start.
Compare valuation quotes
Tell us about the building and the purpose. RICS Registered Valuers send no-obligation quotes.
Who pays when a lender is involved
You do, but you are not the client. For secured lending the bank normally instructs a valuer from its own panel, the report is addressed to the bank, and the fee is passed to the borrower. Before you commission anything yourself for a loan, ask the lender whether it will accept the report. Often it will not.
Is it worth paying for?
Set the fee against what rides on the number. On a £3 million building, a 5% difference in value is £150,000 on the price, on the loan or on the tax bill. A properly evidenced valuation from someone who knows the sector costs a small fraction of that. The cheapest quote from a valuer who rarely handles your type of building is the one to be wary of.
One more check: a reputable valuer will not tie the fee to the figure they report.
Getting quotes
ComSurv matches you with RICS Registered Valuers who cover your area and property type. Tell us about the building and what the commercial valuation is for, and compare no-obligation quotes.
Sources & further reading
- RICS Valuation Global Standards (Red Book) — terms of engagement and what a compliant report must include
- RICS bank lending valuations — valuations for secured lending
- Find an RICS regulated firm — check a firm is regulated by RICS
External links open in a new tab. ComSurv is a matching service, not a firm of surveyors, and is not affiliated with these organisations. This article is general information, not legal, surveying or valuation advice; take advice on your specific situation.
