Leasehold
Your flat's survey does not walk the second block on the same estate. What of that second block sits outside these ratings?
Everything the surveyor did not walk. The second block's roof, stairs, cladding, drains and any plant room stay outside these ratings, even though it shares an estate road with your flat. A report on one flat does not silently cover the neighbouring block. If the lender or the solicitor needs that block described, it needs its own inspection or its own papers.
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?
Estates are often one management company and several buildings. Buyers see a shared gate and assume the rating on their stair applies across the road. It does not. The surveyor describes the flat they were instructed on and the common parts of that building they could enter. A second block can have a different roof, a different wall build-up and a different repair history. None of that is inside these ratings merely because the service charge is collected on one budget. The management pack may talk about both buildings. The survey PDF does not.
Ask the solicitor whether your lease makes you pay for the other block, and ask them to read any notices that name it. If you need condition advice on that block, that is a separate conversation with a surveyor who is asked to go there. Do not photocopy your ratings onto it. Also do not assume the other block is fine because your own stair looked tidy. Shared estate, separate structures. The report's limits are the limits.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Which buildings did you actually enter?
- Are estate roads and a second block outside the ratings even if one company manages both?
- What should a reader not copy across to the block you did not walk?
What are the typical next steps?
- Ask the solicitor whether your lease charges you for the other block.
- Do not apply these ratings to a building that was not entered.
- Commission a look at the second block only if you truly need one.
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 pack budgets for both roofs, has the survey rated both?
No. A shared budget is an accounts point. Ratings exist only for what was inspected.
Does a view from your window count as walking the other block?
No. A distant view is not an inspection of that roof, those stairs or that plant.