Leasehold
The freeholder lives in one flat of a three-flat conversion. Why can that residence close off Right to Manage when the survey never discusses it?
Not because the inspection forgot a paragraph. A converted three-flat house with the freeholder in residence can fall outside Right to Manage under a narrow occupation exception the report is not built to investigate. The PDF never asks who treats the building as their main home, so silence in the ratings is not a green light. Ask the solicitor to test that living arrangement before anyone drafts a claim.
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 exception is narrow, and the word might matters. It is not every small block, and it is not every landlord who owns a flat they sometimes visit. The guide requires the 12-month home, a building that is not purpose-built, and no more than four flats, together. A purpose-built block is outside that exception even if the freeholder lives in one flat. A converted house of five flats is also outside it because of the number. Your surveyor was not asked who slept there, whether a family member counts as adult, or whether the house was purpose-built as flats or cut up later.
Separate that legal question from the bricks. The report can still describe the roof, the stair and the flat you are buying. A house that is not divided into flats does not qualify at all, but this building does contain flats, so the house rule is not the one to reach for. Ask the solicitor to test the resident-landlord exception against the facts of occupation. Do not expect the PDF to mention it. Right to Manage, where it is available, still leaves the landlord as owner of the building. Where the exception applies, that route may simply be closed.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Did you investigate who lives in the building? That is outside the inspection.
- Can you tell a purpose-built block from a conversion only from what you saw?
- Which defects in this house still need advice even if Right to Manage is closed?
What are the typical next steps?
- Ask the solicitor to test the resident-landlord exception on the facts.
- Do not expect the survey to name who lived there for 12 months.
- Keep reading the report for the building even if that route is unavailable.
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 landlord who stays at weekends trigger the exception?
Not on that fact alone. The test is an only or main home for the past 12 months, for the landlord or an adult family member.
If the survey likes the common parts, has the exception gone away?
No. Tidy stairs do not decide qualification. Occupation and how the building was made are separate from condition.