Leasehold

What is a Section 20 consultation, and does a survey replace it?

Section 20 is the consultation landlords must carry out before some major works and some long-term agreements, as government leasehold guidance describes. A home survey is not that consultation. It does not set the works, the contractor or your share.

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?

If the survey finds a serious shared defect, the landlord may not yet have started consultation. You could be buying into a future bill that has not been consulted on. You could also be buying after consultation, with a bill already known. The pack should say which. Ask the solicitor to ask. We are not quoting the cash threshold from memory in this answer. Read the current government page and ask the solicitor to apply it.

Do not use the surveyor’s rating as your response to a consultation notice. A consultation has a deadline and a form. Missing it can affect what you can challenge later. The solicitor or a leasehold adviser should handle it. The survey remains the evidence of condition. It is not the legal reply.

What should you ask your surveyor?

Which shared defects look as if they could become major works?
Did you see scaffolds or notices that suggest works are already going on?
What should I not assume about the cost?

What are the typical next steps?

Search the papers for a notice before you agree a price.
If none is there, ask whether any is intended.
Keep the survey, so that if a notice arrives you already know what the building is doing.

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 surveyor have to warn you about Section 20?

They should flag legal matters they see, but they are not the lawyer. A line that says “solicitor to enquire about works” is the hand-off. Read it.

If consultation was done badly, is the bill zero?

Not automatically. There is a right to challenge. The outcome is not a slogan. Ask a leasehold adviser or the solicitor.