Do I need a survey when buying a flat?

Why a flat is different

With a house, a failing roof is your bill. With a flat, it is a shared bill set by the lease, and you may have little say over when the work happens. The HomeOwners Alliance points out that a problem outside your front door, such as subsidence or a roof that needs replacing, can still affect your value and costs. It also warns that low service charges in an older converted building may hide repairs that have been put off. That is why the condition of the whole block matters as much as the flat.

Which survey suits which flat

These are HomeOwners Alliance figures. It puts a Level 2 at about £400 to £600 on a flat worth £100,000 to £249,000, rising to £800 to £1,000 at £500,000 to £1 million.

Before you book, tell the surveyor you want as much of the building inspected as possible: the roof, drains, external walls, communal areas and any basement. Access may be limited, especially in a block, so ask what they expect to reach. If the report flags something, ask your conveyancer how the repair will be funded. New build flat buyers should also read surveys on new builds.

The paperwork a survey will not read

A surveyor looks at the building. Most of the financial risk in a leasehold flat sits in the documents, which your conveyancer gathers and you should read too.

• The lease: years remaining, ground rent and how it can rise, who repairs what, and restrictions on pets, subletting and alterations.
• The Leasehold Information Form (TA7), completed by the seller.
• The Leasehold Property Enquiries form (LPE1), completed by the freeholder or managing agent. There is usually a fee and it can take time, so start early.
• Service charge accounts and budgets for recent years, and whether there is a sinking fund for future works.
• Details of planned major works. You must be consulted if your share of planned work is over £250, but consultation does not stop you paying a fair share.
• The building's fire risk assessment.

Lease length and ground rent

Gov.uk says the cost of extending rises significantly once 80 years or fewer remain, and the Mayor of London's guide says these leases can be harder to mortgage or sell. Check your lender's minimum before you offer. If you qualify, you may be able to extend a flat's lease by 90 years. Since 31 January 2025 new owners no longer have to wait two years to start the formal process. Ask your conveyancer whether the seller can start a claim and pass it to you.

Leases granted on or after 30 June 2022 usually have a peppercorn, meaning zero, ground rent. If you buy an existing lease from another leaseholder, you pay whatever that lease says. Rising ground rents can make a flat hard to mortgage, so look at the review clause and not just today's figure.

Leasehold law is changing but much of it is not yet in force. The 2024 Act's removal of marriage value and its 990-year extensions were not in force when this guide was checked. A draft Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill, published in January 2026, proposes capping ground rent on existing leases at £250 a year, but it is not law and details may change. Buy on the lease as it stands.

Cladding and fire safety

If the block is taller than 11 metres or has at least five storeys, ask your conveyancer about the leaseholder protections in England. Qualifying leaseholders are protected from cladding remediation costs and other historical safety costs are capped. The protections depend on the lease and the building, and gov.uk says they transfer automatically to future buyers of a flat that qualified on 14 February 2022. Ask to see the leaseholder deed of certificate. These protections apply in England, so buyers in Wales should take separate advice.

An EWS1 form is a valuation and lending tool, not a fire safety certificate. A new RICS standard in force from 1 November 2026 tells valuers to ask for one only where there is a clear rationale, using criteria such as height, cladding and balconies. RICS also says buyers and their legal advisers should get the building's fire risk assessment before purchase.

How a Doorstep Report helps

Before you spend on legal work and surveys, a Doorstep Report can show sale history for the flat and nearby sales, the EPC and floor area where a certificate matches, tenure indicators where available, and planning context in England. It does not read the lease, confirm the title or assess the block's condition, so confirm the tenure separately. Our guide on surveys and reports explains how they fit together.