Choosing a survey level
The loft hatch is screwed shut. What should you ask the firm about access before the day, rather than after a NI mark?
Ask, before the day, who will open the screwed loft hatch and when, so the loft is seen rather than marked not inspected. A hatch fastened shut is an access problem you can still solve with the seller. Waiting until the report records that nobody got in leaves a gap. That mark is not a finding that the loft is sound. Ask what access the firm needs, who should undo the screws, and what happens if the hatch is still shut.
Last reviewed 24 October 2026. Written for buyers in England and Wales unless this answer says otherwise. No named surveyor has signed this page. It is general guidance, not a report on your house, and not legal advice.
What is the fuller explanation?
Surveyors do not force a hatch that has been screwed down. If the limit is known now, the seller can have the screws out before the visit. Asking the firm tells you whether they need the hatch open and whether a shut hatch ends that part of the inspection. Those answers are wasted if you wait until the report has already recorded the gap. The day is too late to invent access that was not arranged.
Email the firm and the agent now: the hatch is screwed shut, so say what you need and ask the seller to open it before you arrive. If the seller refuses, decide whether to postpone rather than collect a loft that was not inspected. Do not read that later mark as a pass. Do not assume the surveyor will undo the fixings. Access is something you ask about before the day.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- What access do you need if the loft hatch is screwed shut?
- Who should open it, and will you still inspect if it stays shut?
- Will a loft you could not enter be recorded as not inspected, rather than as sound?
What are the typical next steps?
- Ask the firm now what they need done to the screwed hatch.
- Arrange with the seller to open it before the day.
- Do not treat a later not-inspected mark as a sound loft.
Costs vary with the building and with who you instruct. Where this page does not cite a published figure, ask the surveyor, a relevant specialist, or your solicitor for a written quote. Do not treat a forum average as the price.
Also asked about this
If the surveyor owns a screwdriver, must they open the hatch?
No. Carrying a tool is not consent to undo the seller's fixings or to damage the lining. Ask the firm what they are willing to do, and arrange the seller's permission before the day. A hatch left shut becomes a loft that was not inspected. It does not become the surveyor's failure for refusing to force it.
Can you accept the mark and inspect the loft yourself later?
You can look, and your look is not the survey. The report will still say the surveyor did not inspect the loft. If you wanted that inspection, the time to arrange the open hatch was before the day. A private glance afterwards does not fill in the firm's page.