Leasehold
One bolt is missing from a glass balcony balustrade and the surveyor did not load-test the glass. What test is outstanding?
The test still outstanding is a load test of the glass balustrade and of the fixings that hold it. One bolt is missing, and the surveyor did not load-test the glass. The survey has recorded the empty hole as something seen. It has not loaded the pane, and it has not decided that the bolts which remain are enough. A gap where a fixing should be is not a test result. Papers about building safety in a leasehold block are a separate pack from this visit. The home survey has not produced those papers, and looking at one bolt has not filled that gap.
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?
A glass balustrade depends on its bolts, its channel and the structure they fix to. One missing bolt changes how the pane is held, but only a load test, or a check by someone instructed to assess the glass, can say whether the rest still do the job. The survey is visual. It can see an empty hole. It cannot say what load the pane would take, or whether the missing bolt was meant to be one of a set. The test still outstanding is that loading.
Tell the solicitor a balcony bolt is missing and that the glass was not load-tested, and ask for the building safety papers the block holds. GOV.UK guidance for leaseholders on building safety is about that pack, not about this visit. Ask, through the solicitor, who will commission the outstanding test. Do not tell a lender the balustrade passed because the other bolts looked present. The survey did not load the glass, and a visual note is not that test.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Which bolt is missing from the glass balustrade?
- Did you leave a load test of the glass unstarted?
- Have you kept the building safety papers outside this note?
What are the typical next steps?
- Treat a load test of the glass as still outstanding.
- Tell the solicitor one balcony bolt was missing.
- Do not describe the balustrade as load-tested.
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
If the glass is unbroken, has the missing bolt been allowed for?
No. Unbroken glass shows no visible crack in the pane. It does not show the pane was meant to stand on the bolts that remain, and no load test was done. The survey recorded a missing bolt and stopped there. A clear pane is not the test that is still outstanding.
Does a note about this balcony stand in for an external wall form?
No. The note is one missing bolt and a pane that was not load-tested. It is not an external wall form, and it does not finish the building safety pack GOV.UK describes for leaseholders. The survey has not produced that form. The outstanding test of the glass is still outstanding.