Leasehold

A landlord's window certificate is in the pack and the survey rates the same windows 3. Why can both documents exist?

Both can exist because they answer different questions about the same windows. The landlord's certificate is a paper about installation or compliance that someone else produced. The survey has rated those windows 3 as a condition comment from what was seen on the day. A certificate in the pack does not cancel a condition rating, and a rating does not cancel the certificate. The survey has not verified the certificate, and the certificate has not re-inspected the frames. Read them side by side. Neither document replaces the other.

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?

Landlord certificates often travel with the leasehold pack when the freeholder or a contractor replaced the windows. They speak to who did the work and what paperwork was issued at the time. A survey rating is a judgement of condition: what the frames, seals, sills and openings look like now. Glass can be certified and still be misted, stiff, or letting weather in. The surveyor rated what was there. They did not audit the landlord's file, and they did not issue a fresh certificate.

Show both papers to the solicitor. Ask who is responsible for these windows under the lease, because a landlord certificate often hints that the freeholder arranged the work, while the repairing duty still has to be read in the lease. Ask the surveyor what they saw that led to the rating, without expecting them to confirm the certificate. A lender may look at condition and at paperwork as two items. Do not drop the rating because a certificate exists.

What should you ask your surveyor?

What did you see on these windows that led to the rating?
Have you treated the landlord's certificate as unchecked paperwork?
Does the rating describe condition, rather than who owns the frames?

What are the typical next steps?

Keep the certificate and the rating as two documents.
Ask the solicitor who must repair these windows under the lease.
Ask what condition led to the rating, not for a new certificate.

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 frames look new, why is there still a rating?

New-looking frames can still have a defect the surveyor rated: failed seals, poor closing, or a gap at the reveal. A fresh appearance does not wipe a condition comment. The landlord's certificate, if it is about installation, still does not describe today's performance. Ask what was seen. Do not assume a recent replacement is the same as a clear report.

Does the certificate mean the leaseholder must not pay for these windows?

Not by itself. A landlord's certificate shows paperwork about the windows. It does not decide the repairing covenant. The lease does that, and the solicitor has to read it. The survey rated condition and has not allocated the cost. Who pays, landlord or leaseholder, stays a lease question even when both papers are in the pack.