Age and type of house
What does a Home Report on one Scottish tenement flat not decide about the common roof?
It does not decide how a roof repair is split between the flats. mygov.scot says the single survey is a visual inspection and includes a valuation, as one part of the Home Report. The surveyor reports the flat and the common parts they could see. They do not open every neighbour’s ceiling, and they do not write the title shares.
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 stain in one room may be this flat’s ceiling, a pipe, or the roof. The single survey should say what was visible and what was not. The property questionnaire may add what the seller knows about common repairs. Those answers are the seller’s, not the surveyor’s. Your Scottish solicitor reads the title for how common repairs are shared. This page does not invent a percentage.
Buyers who import an English service-charge habit will look for the wrong paper. A tenement may have no managing agent and no English-style service charge. Ask the solicitor what the title and any existing repair scheme actually say. Use the Home Report for condition and valuation, not as a bill.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Which parts of the roof and stair could you see?
- Are you commenting on this flat only, or on the block?
- What should the solicitor read about common repairs that is not in the survey?
What are the typical next steps?
- Read the single survey and the property questionnaire together.
- Ask your solicitor how common repairs are shared. Do not guess a fraction from the survey.
- If the loft or the roof void was not entered, treat that as a limit, not as a dry roof.
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 Home Report include a valuation of the whole tenement?
It gives a valuation of the home being sold, which is the flat. It is not a valuation of every flat in the stair.
Can you rely on the Home Report?
RICS says a purchaser can rely on a Home Report. Reliance does not turn a visual note into a repair invoice for the neighbours.