Leasehold

Where a report pairs a fire lobby with a house converted into flats, what stays open about compartmentation the lobby door was not tested for?

A fire lobby in a house converted into flats was seen. What stays open is the compartmentation the lobby door was not tested for. The survey can say a lobby and a door are there. It cannot say the door, its closer, its seals or the wall around it actually separate the flats in a fire. No fire test was done. The conversion's performance stays undecided. Seeing a lobby is a layout note. It is not evidence that the house was successfully compartmented.

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?

Conversions rely on partitions, floors and doors to separate homes that were once one house. A lobby can be part of that arrangement, but only if the door shuts, the seals are the right ones, and the surrounding wall is complete. A home survey does not fire-test a door and did not test this one. It may note a missing closer or a wedge, if those were visible. Even a door that looks closed has not been shown to perform. The survey has not read the lease as a test.

Ask the solicitor for the conversion documents and the lease provisions on doors and common parts, and do not describe the lobby as tested. If the door looked incomplete, put that visual note in the enquiries. A fire-door specialist can inspect the leaf and the frame if you need that work. The home survey has not done it. Compartmentation remains an open question the mere presence of a lobby does not close.

What should you ask your surveyor?

What was visible on the lobby door: closer, seals, glazing, wedges?
Was any fire performance test carried out, or only a look?
Which lease clause, if any, names who maintains that door?

What are the typical next steps?

Treat the lobby as seen, not as a tested compartment.
Ask the solicitor for the conversion papers and the lease.
Instruct a fire-door inspection if performance needs to be known.

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

Was the closer or the seal tested?

No. The lobby door was not tested for compartmentation. A closer or a seal may have been visible, or not, but visibility is not a fire test. The survey has not shown that the door would hold in a fire. That performance stays open.

Does the survey read the conversion approval?

No. Papers for the conversion, and what they required, are for the solicitor. The survey saw a lobby in a house converted into flats. It did not test the door and did not decide that approval was followed. Layout and paperwork stay separate.