Leasehold

Ground rent demands in the pack name a company the agent says has sold the freehold. Has the survey identified who should be paid?

No. The survey has not identified who should be paid the ground rent. Demands in the pack name a company the agent says has sold the freehold, so the paper and the agent's remark already conflict. A home survey does not trace the landlord and does not decide that the old company, or any new one, is the right payee. The inspection can note what the demands say. Who is entitled to the rent is a title question for the solicitor.

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?

Ground rent is paid to the landlord under the lease. After a freehold sale the landlord can change while the demands still show the old name. An agent saying the freehold has been sold is not a completed notice of transfer, and a demand in the old name is not proof the old company still owns it. The survey has not read the title and has not reconciled the two versions. Paying either name on the strength of this report would be a guess.

Ask the solicitor to establish the current landlord from the title and from any notice of transfer, and to say who should receive the rent. Do not pay the company on the old demand just because it is in the pack, and do not pay a new name just because the agent said the freehold was sold. The survey has not identified the payee. Keep the demands. They show what was asked for, not who is entitled.

What should you ask your surveyor?

Has the survey identified the party who should receive the ground rent?
Do the demands and the agent's remark name the same landlord?
Is the payee a title question rather than a survey finding?

What are the typical next steps?

Do not pay either named company on the strength of the survey.
Ask the solicitor who the current landlord is.
Keep the demands as evidence of what was requested, not of title.

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 you overpay the old company, will the survey sort the refund?

No. The survey has not identified the payee and it does not handle rent. Who should be paid is for the solicitor, from the title and any notice of transfer. A payment to the name on an old demand is your risk until that is clear. The report cannot recover money and it has not said the old company is still the landlord.

Does a managing agent's email count as a change of landlord?

Not by itself. The agent says the freehold has been sold, and the demands still name another company. An email is not the title. The survey has not decided between them. The solicitor needs the register and any formal notice. Until then the inspection has not identified who should be paid.