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Help with survey - London flat
Help with survey - London flat
Hi everyone
Am a FTB going through this alone and finding it all a bit confusing so any help would be appreciated.
Have had an offer accepted on a basement flat in a Victorian terrace. I will be a leaseholder but I know the freeholder lives in the property above (ground, first and second floor). There is no other property in the building. The ground rent is nominal (£100, rising to £150 a year soon). There is no service charge. No one has mentioned any contribution to insurance but in the very original lease it looks like I may be liable for a third of this when it comes to renewal?
I recently had a Level 3 survey done and it has flagged many things.
1. Firstly it's said that as it's a conversion in a period property - it's unlikely Building Regulation approval has been obtained, does this matter for me? It also references the Building Safety Act of 2022 and says it may impact saleability?
2. A fire stopping report will also need to be provided prior to purchase commitment. Given when the property was built, prior to 2020, it is likely that areas of the original fire stopping will not be adequate, and we would recommend that a fire stopping report be provided to you by the managing agent or vendor prior to purchase commitment to assess the necessary remedials and costs. For the avoidance of doubt, this is a separate fire safety issue and not related to the external wall report that will be required. - What is at risk here?
3. They have recommended a full damp survey as high damp readings were found on the external wall and internally too - but I doubt the seller will agree to anything invasive, so how useful are these if non-invasive? The readings look to range from 14 to 44 depending on the room / location.
4. Gas safety and electrical test safety haven't been carried out for a few years at least - how much pressure can I put on the vendor to do these? Or is it reasonable for me to get these done before I exchange?
5. Many issues have been flagged with parts of the building structure that aren't technically my flat: there is damp in my flat likely caused by the stairs leading to the upstairs flat entrance needing repair/asphalt filling to stop damp entering my flat from above. They've said the main roof is approaching the latter part of its service life. They've said flashing renewals may be required for the roof on the bay window, which also will likely need replacing in 1-2 years (but again this is the flat above's window). Window frame replacements are also needed at roof level. How much of this could be my responsibility? Do I lean on my solicitor to figure this out? In some instances (e.g. the flat above stairs) I would like this fixed as it will impact my property.
Please help, any advice much appreciated! The survey has scared me a little but I do understand they tend to be overly cautious...
- Post Date
- 1/5/2026, 10:12:00 PM
- Scraped At
- 3/15/2026, 2:14:19 AM
- Thread ID
- 1q4zuz2
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