Survey finding
Heave on your survey: what it means and what to do
Heave is the often-misunderstood opposite of subsidence: the ground pushes upward, not downward. This page covers what causes heave, why the structural response is rarely a single recipe, and how mortgage and insurance markets treat heave properties.
Last updated: 6 May 2026. Editorially reviewed: 20 May 2026.
Finding
Heave (ground movement)
What this usually means
Heave is the opposite of subsidence, ground swells upward, lifting foundations and producing characteristic horizontal cracks. The most common cause is removal of a tree near a clay-soil property: the tree's roots had been taking moisture out of the clay, and once removed the clay re-wets and expands. Other causes include leaking water mains saturating clay, frost heave on shallow foundations, and chemical attack on concrete (sulphate heave).
Why it matters
Heave is structurally serious because the upward force on foundations is hard to resist with conventional repair. Conventional underpinning is rarely the first remedy for active heave, solutions include void-forming foundations on new extensions, chemical soil stabilisation, partial excavation and replacement, and (most often) waiting for the ground to re-equilibrate over 2–5 years while monitoring movement before any structural repair. The right answer is the structural engineer's, not a generic recipe. Insurance and mortgage implications follow accordingly.
Ask your surveyor
- Check:What is the most likely cause, tree removal, leaking main, frost heave, sulphate attack?
- Check:Is the movement active or historic, and what monitoring would you recommend?
Ask the seller
- Check:Has any tree been removed near the property in the last 10 years?
- Check:Has there been any insurance claim for heave or subsidence?
Next steps
- •Get two written quotes from local trades before negotiating with the seller.
- •Speak to your mortgage broker before exchanging if the finding affects mortgageability.
Browse all findings
- Spray foam insulation
- Evidence of movement
- Damp
- Japanese knotweed
- Damp proof course issues
- Underpinning
- Cracks
- Roof issues
- Timber decay
- Electrical issues
- Non-standard construction
- Asbestos containing materials
- Roof covering needs repair
- Single skin wall construction
- Timber decay / wet rot
- Settlement cracks
- RAAC concrete
- Wall tie failure
- Party wall matters
- Drainage issues
- Subsidence monitoring
- Full electrical rewire needed
- Flat roof condition
- Cladding issues
- EWS1 form required
- Lintel failure
- Structural crack BRE category 3
- Structural crack BRE category 4-5
- Chimney stack movement
- Chimney flashing failure
- Parapet wall movement
- Bay window cracking
- Flat roof ponding
- Cold roof inadequate ventilation
- Warm roof insulation issues
- Prefab concrete construction
- Large panel system (LPS) construction
- Rising damp
- Penetrating damp
- Condensation vs damp distinction
- Dry rot (Serpula lacrymans)
- Woodworm
- Timber floor springiness
- Cellar / basement damp
- Outdated electrics (60-amp fuse board)
- Aluminium wiring
- Partial rewire needed
- Gas boiler condition
- Back boiler
- Unvented hot water cylinder issues
- Lead pipes (pre-1970)
- Lead paint
- Asbestos in Artex ceilings
- Asbestos floor tiles
- Asbestos cement roof
- Asbestos insulated board (AIB)
- Asbestos soffit boards
- Pointing / repointing needed
- Render cracking
- Pebbledash delamination
- UPVC window seal failure
- Sash window condition
- Flat roof membrane condition
- Zinc roof
- Felt roof condition
- Corrugated asbestos roof
- Cavity wall insulation issues
- External wall insulation issues
- No building regulations certificate
- No planning permission for extension
- Certificate of lawfulness needed
- Indemnity insurance required
- Neighbour dispute on file
- EPC F or G rating
- Oil heating property
- Off-gas-grid property
- Solar panel lease vs owned
- Ground source heat pump property
- Air source heat pump property
- Chimney breast removed without support
- Floor joist decay
- Wall bowing
- Mould and condensation
- Septic tank property
- Thatched roof condition
- Listed building restrictions
- Conservation area restrictions
- Restrictive covenants on title
- Coal mining area
- Coastal erosion risk
- Flood risk zone 3
- Radon affected area
- Contaminated land history
- Trees near building
- Party wall agreement outstanding
- EICR required
- Knotweed treatment history
- Single glazing condition
- RCD protection missing
- Damp-proofing guarantee transferability
- PRC (precast reinforced concrete) house
- Airey house
- BISF (British Iron and Steel Federation) house
- Timber frame construction
- Steel frame house
- Wet rot
- Heave (ground movement)
- Chimney condition and stability
- Short lease (under 80 years)
- Fire safety: flat and leasehold issues
- Blocked or condemned flue
- Spalling brickwork
- Diagonal cracks in walls
- Retaining wall condition
- Tanking failure in basement
- Missing or slipped ridge tiles
- Lead flashing condition
- Gutters and downpipes
- Double glazing condensation (failed units)
- Skylight or roof light condition
- Dormer condition and weathering
- Torn or missing sarking felt
- Chancel repair liability
- Easement or right of way
- Boundary dispute or unclear boundary
- Adverse possession risk
- Flying freehold
- Ground rent escalation clause
- High or variable service charge
- Extension without planning consent
- Loft conversion: no building regs
- Single-phase electrical supply only
- Shared or private sewer
- Blocked or collapsed drains
- Cesspit or septic tank
- Solid fuel heating
- No mains gas supply
- Low water pressure
- Private water supply
- Wimpey No-Fines concrete house
- Reema construction
- Unity or Boot construction
- Laing Easiform
- Cornish Unit house
- Cross-wall construction
- In-situ concrete construction
- Oak frame construction
- Radon: mitigation required
- Missing or inadequate fire alarms
- Single staircase: means of escape
- No earthing or bonding
Tool shortcut
Check the property before you offer
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What you need to know
Severity
Serious. Lender and insurer involvement likely; structural or specialist remediation.
Typical cost to fix
Structural engineer's report £500–£1,200. Level monitoring £300–£600 per visit. Repair cost varies hugely: cosmetic re-pointing £1,500–£3,000; structural repair £8,000–£25,000; void-forming foundations on new extensions £15,000+. Where a heave-related insurance claim is active, the insurer often funds repairs.
Mortgage impact
Active heave generally produces a mortgage retention until movement is shown to have stabilised, with structural engineer's sign-off. Lenders treat heave more cautiously than historic subsidence because remediation is harder. Some specialist lenders consider heave properties at higher rates.
Insurance impact
Heave is covered under standard UK buildings insurance for properties with no prior claim. Once a claim has been made, future placement is constrained, most insurers will continue cover with a higher excess (typically £1,000+ for subsidence/heave) but will not accept new business on a property with an active claim. Disclosure of any prior heave claim is required.
When to pull out
Pull out if heave is active and unstabilised, the cause has not been identified, and the seller refuses to wait for monitoring data. Heave on a property where a tree has recently been removed is a wait-and-watch situation, not a refurbishment one.
When to renegotiate, and by how much
If heave is historic and stable with engineer's sign-off, treat as standard. If active, negotiate on the basis of the engineer's full remediation estimate plus monitoring costs plus 20% buffer; settled outcomes commonly 10–20% off price.
Thinking of pulling out or renegotiating? What to do after a bad survey
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The Survey Decoder explains the wording. The full report adds address-specific flood, subsidence, EPC, crime, listed status, building age and price comparison data, so a single finding isn't judged in isolation.
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Check the property before you offer
Flood, subsidence, EPC, crime, schools, transport, broadband, tenure, age, listed status and price checks where data is available.
Run a free previewRead next
Subsidence monitoring , often sits near heave (ground movement) on a survey and is the next thing to check.
Editorial review
Editorial owner: BiteRight Ltd, operator of MyPropertyScan. We review buyer guides against UK public property datasets, RICS survey wording, lender requirements, and common buyer questions.
Pages are updated when source coverage, property-risk guidance, survey cost assumptions, or product checks materially change. Methodology and dataset limitations are explained on the MyPropertyScan methodology page.
Sources used
We use UK public and specialist sources where they are available. Public datasets can be incomplete, delayed, or missing for some addresses. Treat them as a starting point, not as a replacement for professional advice.
Source standard: preference goes to official government datasets, statutory bodies, professional standards, and primary dataset publishers. We cite the source family on the page and explain coverage limits rather than filling gaps with unsupported estimates.