Leasehold

Which service-charge accounts should you read when a flat survey rates a communal roof?

Read the accounts, the budget and any major-works notice with your solicitor before you treat that roof rating as your private bill. GOV.UK explains service charges and consultation on major works. The survey says what was visible. It does not audit the money already collected.

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 roof the surveyor rates as poor may already be in a collection the seller has not mentioned, or it may be a surprise the other leaseholders have not funded. You cannot know which from the rating. Section 20 consultation, as GOV.UK describes it, is the landlord’s process before certain costs are recoverable. The survey does not run that process and does not state the threshold for you. Look that up on the GOV.UK leasehold page rather than trusting a forum figure.

Ask the solicitor for the last accounts, the current budget, any reserve, and any consultation already under way. Ask the surveyor which common parts they actually entered. A flat inspection that stopped at the front door cannot support a sentence about the roof. Costs of works will be whatever the accounts and the specification say, not a percentage of the purchase price.

What should you ask your surveyor?

Which common parts did you inspect, and which did you not?
Which defects are likely to be communal rather than inside the demise?
What should the solicitor obtain before we treat a rating as our personal repair bill?

What are the typical next steps?

Read the accounts before you make an offer that assumes you alone will pay for the roof.
If consultation has started, ask the solicitor what it covers.
Do not duplicate a communal cost as a private reduction and also pay it again through the charge.

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 low service charge mean the building is in good condition?

No. It may mean spending has been deferred. The survey is the check on condition. The accounts are the check on money. Read both.

Can you challenge a charge the survey disagrees with?

GOV.UK explains rights to challenge service charges. That is a legal process, not a note in the margin of a Level 2.