Leasehold

How should a buyer separate an RTM company, a leak in the common roof and who instructs the repair, which the survey does not decide when all three are mentioned together?

Separate a legal body, a building defect and a decision the survey does not make. An RTM company is a right-to-manage company that can take on management of a qualifying block of flats. A leak in the common roof is a condition point, if it was seen. Who instructs the repair is not decided by that note. GOV.UK describes what an RTM company takes on. The survey does not apply that description as a ruling on your block. The report has not appointed the company, the landlord or you to give the order.

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?

Right to manage moves management functions on a qualifying building. It does not, by itself, tell a buyer which director phones the roofer, or whether the leak is inside the functions taken on. The survey can mark staining, a failed flashing or a damp ceiling under a common roof. That is a building observation. The company, if it exists, is a legal fact to confirm with the solicitor. The instruction to repair sits in whatever management arrangements are actually in force, which this visit did not determine.

Ask the solicitor to confirm that an RTM company is in place and what it has taken on, using the GOV.UK framework as the background rather than as a decision already made. Tell them the survey noted a leak and did not choose who instructs the repair. The managing papers, not the condition page, name the person who can order the work. Do not assume you can engage the roofer alone because the ceiling is stained. Get that authority clear before anyone is instructed.

What should you ask your surveyor?

Was the roof leak seen, or only reported as a common-roof problem?
Did you confirm an RTM company exists, or only record the name?
Have you left the instruction to repair undecided on purpose?

What are the typical next steps?

Keep the RTM company, the leak and the repair order as three items.
Ask the solicitor who is actually entitled to instruct the roofer.
Do not treat the survey as appointing you, the company or the landlord.

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

Does a leak in the common roof fall automatically to the RTM company?

Not decided here. GOV.UK describes what an RTM company takes on, and the survey does not apply that as a ruling. A leak can be noted as a building defect. Who instructs the repair is a management question. Ask the solicitor to match the company papers to the roof. This visit has not made that match.

Can the buyer order the roof repair on the day of the survey?

No. The survey does not decide who instructs the repair, even where an RTM company and a common-roof leak are both mentioned. Authority to order work comes from the management arrangements, which the solicitor should confirm. A condition note is not that authority. Nobody should be engaged on the strength of the paragraph alone.