Staircasing valuation expired? What happens next
The short answer
Staircasing valuations last three months. Blow past that and the transaction can't complete on the old figure - but the fix is usually a desktop update from the same valuer for a reduced fee, not a full re-inspection. Ask your valuer about extension terms when you first book, chase the slow parties in writing as the deadline approaches, and know that a refreshed figure can move your price in either direction.
Why expiries happen so often
The three-month window sounds generous until you stack what has to fit inside it: landlord processing, a mortgage offer, legal work between three parties, and completion. Any one of them running long - a slow further-advance decision, a solicitor's enquiry sitting unanswered, a landlord's team mid-backlog - and the sequencing designed to prevent this breaks. It's the single most common staircasing hiccup, and the cost is usually measured in an update fee and a few weeks rather than a disaster.
What to do, in order
- 1
Call the valuer before it lapses
Most RICS valuers offer a desktop update or extension - a review of the figure against current evidence, without a fresh inspection, for a reduced fee. Terms vary by firm, which is why the time to ask about them is at first booking, not at week eleven.
- 2
Get the refreshed figure in writing
The update is a formal revision the landlord and lender can rely on, not an email saying 'still fine'. If the market has moved, the figure moves with it - in either direction - and the share price follows.
- 3
Re-anchor the transaction
Send the updated report to the housing association and both solicitors the same day, and ask each party for a dated commitment to complete inside the new window. The second deadline concentrates minds the first one didn't.
- 4
If it's lapsed entirely, restart clean
A long gap means a full new valuation - £150 to £350 again - and a fresh application. Before restarting, fix whatever consumed the first three months, or the sequel ends the same way.
Keeping the second window on track
The parties who overran the first window need managing through the second: weekly written check-ins with solicitor and landlord, mortgage offer expiry date checked against the new valuation date (offers typically run six months - usually the survivor), and completion booked as a date, not an intention. The valuation rules don't bend for expired paperwork, but they're entirely manageable with a calendar and a bit of polite persistence.
Booking a staircasing valuation?
Verified RICS valuers quote with turnaround and update terms stated up front - compare before the clock starts. Free.
Compare valuation quotesCommon questions
How much does a desktop update cost?
Typically a fraction of the original fee - firms price it as a review, not a revisit. It's firm-specific, which is exactly why update terms belong on your comparison list when first choosing a valuer.
Can the housing association just accept the expired figure?
No - the lease and their own rules require a current market value, and lenders won't complete against a stale one either. The desktop update exists precisely so this doesn't force a full restart.
My mortgage offer expires around the same time - which do I fix first?
The valuation - it's faster and cheaper to refresh. Then ask the lender for an offer extension with the updated valuation in hand; most extend on evidence the transaction is completing.
Does the same three-month rule apply to Help to Buy and resales?
The three-month RICS validity is standard across shared ownership staircasing, shared ownership resales and Help to Buy redemptions alike - same clock, same desktop-update escape hatch, same moral: sequence the money before the report.
Sources and further reading