Leasehold
The lease plan is unclear whether a terrace is demised to the flat. Can the survey settle that from a photograph?
No. A photograph can show the terrace, the doors and the paving the surveyor stood on. It cannot decide whether that terrace is demised to the flat. Demise is read from the lease and the lease plan, which you already say are unclear. The survey must not be asked to settle the boundary of the title with a picture.
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?
The confusion is understandable. The surveyor walked the terrace, noted the balustrade or the ponding, and took pictures. Those pictures prove what the surface looked like. They do not prove who must repair it, who may exclude the neighbours, or whether the red line on a poorly copied plan includes the slab. The survey does not decide demise. Your solicitor compares the lease, the plan and the land registry description. A caption under a photograph is not that comparison.
Ask the surveyor only what they saw: cracks, drainage, guarding, and whether the terrace felt part of the flat or part of a common walkway. Pass that description to the solicitor as evidence of condition, not as a ruling. If the plan is unclear, the remedy is a better plan or a legal explanation, not a second photograph from the same spot. Do not negotiate as if the survey had already awarded you the terrace.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- What did you actually see on the terrace, as distinct from who owns it?
- Did the plan get shown to you, or only the paving?
- Which defects on that terrace matter even if the demise stays unclear?
What are the typical next steps?
- Ask the solicitor to resolve the demise from the lease and the plan.
- Use the photographs only as a record of condition.
- Do not tell the seller the survey has awarded you the terrace.
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 door opens only from this flat, is the terrace demised?
Not automatically. Access is a clue for the solicitor. It is not a decision the survey can sign.
Can a rating on the paving split the repair bill?
No. The rating describes the paving. The lease, once read, says who pays.