Leasehold
What can a surveyor see of a balcony from inside the flat, and what stays hidden?
They can see the door, the threshold and, if they can step out safely, the surface and the obvious edges. They do not open the fixings into the slab or the brackets as part of a normal home survey. That look is not an EWS1, and it is not a load test. Ask what was walked on and what was only seen from the room.
Last reviewed 24 October 2026. Written for buyers in England and Wales unless this answer says otherwise. No named surveyor has signed this page. It is general guidance, not a report on your house, and not legal advice.
What is the fuller explanation?
Balconies fail at details a visual visit often cannot see: the connection back into the building, a cracked upstand, a blocked outlet. The survey should say if the outlet was blocked, if the deck feels soft, or if they stayed inside because the balcony was unsafe or not part of the flat. If the lease does not demise the balcony to you, the survey still does not decide who repairs it.
A lender’s question about external walls is a separate enquiry. Do not tell the lender the balcony was ‘signed off’ because a surveyor stood on it. Ask the solicitor whether this balcony is in the flat’s demise. This page does not state that every balcony needs an EWS1.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Did you step onto the balcony, or only look through the door?
- Could you see how it is fixed, or only the surface?
- Is the balcony part of this flat, as far as the inspection could tell?
What are the typical next steps?
- Ask the solicitor whether the balcony is demised to the flat.
- If the surveyor did not walk on it, do not tell yourself they approved it.
- Keep any external-wall enquiry separate from the sentence about the door.
Costs vary with the building and with who you instruct. Where this page does not cite a published figure, ask the surveyor, a relevant specialist, or your solicitor for a written quote. Do not treat a forum average as the price.
Also asked about this
Does a balcony door that sticks mean the balcony has failed?
No. A sticking door can be the frame. The balcony structure is a different question, and it may not have been opened up.
Can the surveyor drill the fixings?
Not in a standard home survey. Opening-up is a different instruction, and only with the owner’s agreement.