Newcastle has a housing type that catches buyers from elsewhere: the Tyneside flat, a pair of self contained flats in one two storey terraced building with separate front doors. Ownership, repairing obligations and the shared structure work differently from a conventional flat, and a survey has to deal with it explicitly.
Tyneside flats
The upper and lower flats usually own their own demise with shared responsibility for the roof, the structure and often the yard. The lease or the freehold arrangement decides who repairs what, and a survey should be read alongside it.
The shared structure
Roof coverings, chimney stacks and the front and rear elevations are typically shared. A defect there is a negotiation with the other owner rather than a job you control, which is worth knowing before you buy.
Terraces and the wider stock
Solid brick, slate roofs, and a wet exposed climate. Rainwater goods, pointing and roof coverings are the recurring items, alongside the alterations of the last few decades. Ask the surveyor to comment on the chimney stacks and the roof coverings specifically, because access to them decides how much of the report is qualified.
Instructing
Ask the firm directly about Tyneside flats if that is what you are buying, because the arrangement is regional and experience of it matters. Confirm chartered status on the professional register, ask for insurance, and read a redacted example report on a similar property before instructing.
Questions people ask about newcastle surveyors
Is a Tyneside flat leasehold or freehold?
Both arrangements exist, and there are also cross leases and shared freeholds. Your conveyancer establishes which, and the survey should be read against it.
Who pays for the roof on a Tyneside flat?
Usually shared between the two owners in proportions the title sets out. It is the item most worth understanding before exchange.
Which survey level?
Level 3 is common on this stock because the questions are structural and shared, and because most of the buildings are old and altered.