Leasehold
A waking-watch log sits on the concierge desk. Does that log mean the external wall has failed a survey?
No. A waking-watch log on the concierge desk does not mean the external wall has failed a survey. The log is a record that sits at the desk. It is not a report on the wall, and it is not a failed wall survey. Your home survey, if it comments on the outside at all, comments on what that inspection could see. Do not paste the log into the condition rating and call the wall failed. Keep the log with the management papers, where you found it.
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?
Concierge desks collect paperwork that looks decisive because it is official. A waking-watch log shows that a watch was being recorded. It does not describe cladding, panels, cavities or a test. It does not become an external wall survey because it mentions the building. If you need to know what the watch was for, ask the managing agent for the document that set it up. Do not ask the home survey to adopt the log as a result it never produced.
The survey of the flat still has its own limits. A look from a balcony or a pavement is not a specialist wall assessment, and it is not improved by a log you saw downstairs. Tell the solicitor the log exists. Ask the surveyor only what they themselves saw of the outside. If they did not survey the wall system, say that plainly, and do not let the desk paperwork fill the silence with a failure.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Did you inspect the external wall, or only note that a log was on the desk?
- Does your report contain any wall result that is actually yours?
- Should the log stay with the management papers rather than inside the rating?
What are the typical next steps?
- Do not read the waking-watch log as a failed wall survey.
- Tell the solicitor the log was on the desk, as a paper, not as a rating.
- Ask the surveyor to keep any outside comments limited to what they saw.
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 the log is recent, has the wall failed?
No. A recent log is still a log. It does not record a failed survey of the external wall, and it does not change what the home survey was able to see.
Should you attach the log to the survey and resend it to the lender?
No. Attaching it does not make it part of the inspection. The lender should not be told the wall failed a survey because a log was on a desk.