Leasehold

You will own a share of the freehold and the roof is rating 3, but the company has not instructed a contractor. What has the rating not made the company do?

The rating has not made the company instruct a contractor, or do any other works. You will own a share of the freehold, which is a share in the company that holds the building, not a personal right to place the roof contract. The survey has given the roof a rating of 3. That number describes condition. It does not call a roofer, bind the directors, or start the work. The company has not instructed anyone. The rating has not filled that gap, and owning a share has not filled it either.

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?

Share of freehold means the leaseholders, through their company, are the landlord. Decisions about the roof still have to be taken in the way the company and the leases require. A survey prepared for one incoming buyer is not a resolution of the company. Directors may want another quote, or a notice to the other owners. None of that is overruled by the rating. The rating tells you the surveyor thought the roof needed attention. It does not tell you the company has agreed, funded, or ordered the repair.

Ask the solicitor how roof decisions are made, what share you will actually hold, and whether any proposal is already in front of the members. Ask the company, through the solicitor, why no contractor has been instructed and what the next step is. Do not arrive as if the rating had already placed the contract in your name. The survey has not managed the building. The company still has to decide.

What should you ask your surveyor?

What roof condition sits behind the rating, separate from any company decision?
Does the report claim to instruct works, or only to rate the roof?
Which parts of the roof were not inspected when that rating was given?

What are the typical next steps?

Read the rating as condition, not as an instruction the company must follow.
Ask the solicitor how this company decides on roof works.
Do not treat your future share as a contract already placed.

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 you will own a share, can you order the roofer yourself?

Not on the strength of the rating. A share is a stake in the company, and the company has not instructed a contractor. You do not become the client for the roof by buying in. How a member can propose works is a question for the solicitor and the company rules. The survey has not appointed you.

Can the rating stand in for a contractor's instruction that was never given?

No. A condition rating is not an instruction, a specification, or a start date. The company has not instructed a contractor, and the survey cannot instruct one for them. The roof note tells you what was seen. The missing instruction is still missing.