Leasehold
The lease plan shows a deeper balcony than the one you stood on. Can the survey stretch the plan to match the metal deck?
No. The survey cannot stretch the lease plan to match the metal deck. The plan shows a deeper balcony than the one you stood on, and the inspection records the deck that was there, not a redrawn demise. Plans are documents. Metal is what you walked on. The survey has not measured the plan into a new drawing, has not decided which is right, and has not altered the lease. A mismatch is for the solicitor, with the filed plan, not a correction the surveyor can make by eye.
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?
Lease plans and the land registration papers describe what was demised. A balcony that is shallower on site than on the plan may have been drawn generously, rebuilt smaller, or drawn for a different layout. The surveyor can say the deck they stood on does not look as deep as the paper. They cannot pull the paper until it fits, and they cannot declare the missing strip still yours. HM Land Registry and the lease hold that question. Standing on the metal tells you the metal's extent on the day.
Give the solicitor the plan and the survey note side by side and ask them to compare the demise with the deck. Do not ask the survey to invent a depth that makes them agree. If a neighbour, a freeholder or a managing agent occupies the difference, that is a title point. The inspection has not resolved it and has not measured a legal boundary onto the railing.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- What did you compare: the plan in the pack, or only the deck you stood on?
- Are you recording a mismatch rather than correcting the plan?
- Did you measure the metal deck, and did you say that measurement is not the demise?
What are the typical next steps?
- Do not ask the survey to stretch the plan to the metal deck.
- Ask the solicitor to compare the lease plan with the balcony you stood on.
- Keep the deck note as condition and extent seen, not as a title fix.
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 railing looks original, can the plan be ignored?
No. An original-looking railing describes metalwork, not the demise. The plan still shows a deeper balcony than the deck you stood on. The survey cannot stretch the plan, and it cannot tell you to ignore it. Metalwork and the paper demise are still two different extents.
Can the surveyor initial the plan so the depths match?
No. Initialling a copy would not amend the lease or the filed plan. The survey records the deck. The solicitor is the person to take the mismatch to the documents. The inspection does not redraw them. The filed plan is not edited by a note in a home survey.