Leasehold

Someone has written marriage value in the margin of the survey. Why does that phrase not belong to the inspection?

Because marriage value is not something the inspection finds in a wall, a roof or a floor. Words written in the margin are a note someone added. They are not a finding, and they do not belong in the report as if the surveyor had measured them. The survey describes condition. It does not perform a leasehold calculation, and you should not treat the handwriting as one. Ask the solicitor about the lease papers. Leave the margin note out of the condition discussion.

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?

Margins attract phrases from conversations that happened after the visit, or from a buyer who has been reading around the tenure. Once the phrase sits next to a rating, it looks official. It is not. Nothing in a crack, a stain or a window identifies marriage value. If the surveyor did not write it, it is not their opinion. If they did write it, ask them to confirm it is not a condition comment, and do not build a price discussion on it.

Do not try to unpack the words into a sum. The inspection did not do that work, and a handwritten label must not be turned into one. Your solicitor can say whether any leasehold calculation arises from the documents they are reading. That is a paper question. The survey remains the record of what was seen in the flat. Strike the margin phrase out of any email you send about defects.

What should you ask your surveyor?

Did you write those margin words, or are they not part of your report?
Which findings are actually about the building?
Can you confirm the report contains no leasehold calculation?

What are the typical next steps?

Ignore the margin phrase when you read the condition ratings.
Ask the solicitor to deal with lease papers separately.
Do not send the handwriting to the seller as if it were a finding.

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 surveyor initialled the page, did they adopt the margin note?

Not unless they say so. Initials on a report do not convert a handwritten aside into an inspection finding. Ask before you treat the words as theirs.

Should you reply to the agent with a calculation of your own?

No. Do not invent a calculation the inspection never made. The phrase in the margin is not a result, and the survey is not the place to build one.