to expect the surveyor to...

[arti64]

tell me what recommendations he is making to the management company.

OK - I own my own flat (leasehold). There is a management company who look after external maintenance, gardens, corridor cleaning etc. They are also responsible for the upkeep of window frames.(They are wooden)

I have been trying since June 2010 to get someone to come and look at several issues concerning my windows. One frame is very rotten ( push your finger into the wood and make a big hole kind of rotten) and one lets in water.

Today - finally, a surveyor who works for the management company came to look at the frames. He made notes, took some photos ( but wouldn't have found all the rot if I hadn't pointed it out to him!!)

I asked him what recommendations he would be making to the management company.
He refused to tell me saying that this was confidential between himself and the management company! This was in case he made a recommendation that a window needed replacing, but the leasehold officer at the management company decided that there wasn't the money to do it and maybe they would do a repair or something instead.- then people might say "but the surveyor promised me ..."

Am I being unreasonable to expect to be told what recommendations the surveyor has made about my own flat?

I think YABU as they have paid him and the contract is between the surveyor and the management company.

If you want to see a copy then apply to the management company. I don't know if they are obliged to let you see it though.

The surveyor is actually an employee of the management company, not self-employed. All the flat owners pay the management company a fee each month to cover all the services they provide so essentially we are paying the surveyor.

Anyone else?

I wonder if you might just ask the management co to see a copy of the report (or the bit relating to your flat anyway) If they refuse you can ask why and go from there. It sounds a bit suss that he is the employee of the co anyway - I thought the whole point of surveys is that they are independent or else you could never trust them.

I don't trust the management company very much tbh, because they have often said they will do things and then not done them. I am worried they will say that the windows don't need replacing whereas I am certain that at least one ( the one where I can push a finger in as far as the knuckle into rotten wood)and probably the other one that is letting in water should be replaced. That's why I really wanted to hear "from the surveyors mouth" what he thought.I'm wondering if anyone else has experience of leasehold flats and management companies and can tell me if this is normal practice!
I am going to wait and see what they recommend, but will ask if I can see the report, if the are saying the won't replace the windows!