Leasehold

The survey mentions the roof of the block and does not state the reserve fund. Why is the fund a management-pack figure and not a condition rating?

The reserve fund is a figure from the management pack, not a condition rating of the roof. The survey mentions the roof of the block because it looked at the covering. It does not hold the accounts, and it does not state how much is set aside. A note on the roof answers what the covering looked like. The fund answers what money the block says it holds. Leaving the fund out of the report is not a missing rating. The fund was never something the inspection calculates.

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?

A reserve, or sinking fund, is money the block sets aside toward future works. The balance is an accounts figure. It can be large beside a failing roof or small beside a sound one. The survey cannot see the bank balance by looking at the tiles, and a condition label on the roof does not imply a fund. Putting a sum into the survey would be invention. The correct place for the balance is the pack, the service-charge accounts or a reply from the managing agent.

Ask the solicitor to obtain the latest fund balance and the accounts that support it, and to set that beside the roof the survey described. A tired roof and a thin fund are a money conversation. A tired roof and a healthy fund are a different one. The survey contributes only the description of the roof. It does not audit the fund, and it should not be rewritten until a number appears in the condition section.

What should you ask your surveyor?

Did you describe the roof without stating a reserve balance?
Where would the fund figure have to come from, if not the inspection?
Have you avoided turning the roof note into an accounts entry?

What are the typical next steps?

Read the reserve fund from the management pack.
Keep the roof description as condition only.
Ask the solicitor for the latest fund balance and accounts.

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 roof looks tired, can the survey estimate the fund you will need?

No. The survey does not estimate a fund, and it does not hold the balance the block already has. A tired roof is a condition observation. What it might cost, and what is already saved, are outside the inspection. Do not invent either figure from the roof note.

Where is the balance read if it is not in the survey?

In the management pack, the service-charge accounts, or a written reply from the managing agent. The solicitor asks for it. The survey's silence is not an omission of a rating. The fund was never a condition label on the roof.