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Leasehold

What is a Section 22 notice, and why is it not a home survey?

GOV.UK says that if leaseholders want a tribunal to appoint a manager, they must first send the landlord a Section 22 notice, giving the landlord a chance to fix the problems. That notice is a legal step. A home survey is a report on condition for the buyer who instructed it. Serving one does not write the other.

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?

The same page says you have to show bad management, with examples such as unreasonable service charges or not following an approved code, and that the tribunal route in England is not the same body it names for Wales. None of that is a condition rating. A surveyor who sees a leaking roof should describe the roof. They should not draft the notice.

If you are buying and a notice is already in the papers, give it to your solicitor and read the survey beside it. The roof may be the problem the notice describes, or the notice may be about charges the survey cannot see. There is no RICS fee for replying to a landlord. Do not ignore a deadline because the survey has not arrived.

What should you ask your surveyor?

  • Did you see a notice, or only a defect?
  • Are you advising me to serve one? Please do not.
  • Which defects might a solicitor need to put next to the papers?

What are the typical next steps?

  1. Search the legal pack for a Section 22 notice before you assume the block is quiet.
  2. Do not serve one yourself because a rating was 3.
  3. If a deadline is running, tell the solicitor. Do not wait for a second survey.

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

Is Section 22 the same as Section 20?

No. Section 20, on the same GOV.UK leasehold page, is consultation about certain charges. Section 22 is the notice before a tribunal manager application. Do not mix the numbers.

Does a surveyor have to mention the notice if it was not in the flat?

They can only mention what they were given or what was posted where they looked. Absence from the report is not absence from the solicitor’s file.

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