Edinburgh buyers meet two things that do not exist in England: the Home Report, provided by the seller before marketing, and the tenement, where a flat's roof, stair and structure are shared with every other flat in the block. Both change what a buyer should commission and when.
The Home Report
The seller supplies a single survey with condition ratings, a valuation and an energy report. Every prospective buyer sees it, which removes the need to commission a basic survey but does not remove the option of a fuller one.
Tenement common repairs
Roof, stair, structure and often the rear elevation are common. Liability is shared under the title deeds and the Tenements (Scotland) Act, and a major common repair is a real cost that arrives without much warning.
When to commission your own report
Where the Home Report flags something, where the building is old or altered, or where a common repair is looming. A chartered building surveyor's own report on the block is money well spent on a period tenement.
Instructing
Ask for experience of tenement work specifically, and for a report that comments on the common parts rather than only on the flat you are buying. Ask whether the report will comment on the common parts and the roof, and what access the surveyor expects to be given to the stair and the back green.
Questions people ask about surveyors edinburgh
Do I need my own survey if there is a Home Report?
Not always. On an older tenement, or where the single survey raises something, a fuller independent report is usually worth it.
Who pays for common repairs in a tenement?
The owners, in shares set by the title deeds, with the Tenements (Scotland) Act filling gaps where the deeds are silent.
Does the Party Wall Act apply in Edinburgh?
No. The Act applies in England and Wales. Scottish common walls and mutual repairs are handled under Scots law and different procedures.