Further investigation of the boiler means a gas engineer, not a second home survey. What does each instruction refuse to do?

What is the fuller explanation?

The survey can record what is visible: age as far as it can be read, stains, ventilation gaps, the path of a flue where it can be seen, and a recommendation that the boiler needs its own inspection. That is as far as the visual service section goes. It does not certify burners, safety devices or the gas installation, and you should not invent a set of appliance rules the report never claimed to apply. If the paragraph says further investigation by a gas engineer, that person is instructed to look at the appliance and to write their own result.

What the engineer does not do, unless you separately ask for a home survey and they are the surveyor, is rate the roof, the walls and the rest of the house, or replace the original report. What the surveyor does not do on a return visit under the same brief is the boiler test. Keep two instructions, two reports and two limits. No home survey level guarantees concealed parts, and the working interior of a boiler is one of those parts. Pay each firm for the job named on its letter, not for the job the other one refused.

What should you ask your surveyor?

• Will you confirm this home survey did not safety-test the boiler?
• Which visible points are you leaving entirely to the gas engineer?
• If you visit again, will you still be refusing the appliance test?

What are the typical next steps?

1. Instruct a gas engineer for the boiler investigation.
2. Do not book a second home survey and call it a boiler test.
3. Read each report only for the job that instruction accepted.

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

Which pages should you read next?

• The Level 3 suspects asbestos and says this was not an asbestos inspection. Who is instructed next, and what must they avoid doing to the material?
• Wall ties are only suspected. Who uses a borescope, and why did the Level 2 not already do that?
• How should a buyer separate a down valuation, the defect list and a price movement that is not itself a condition rating when all three are mentioned together?
• Guide: What does gas safety mean when you are buying a house?
• All UK home survey questions

Sources

• RICS: House surveys: the costs, types and benefits of an RICS home survey
• RICS: RICS Home Surveys (Home Survey Standard)
• RICS: Description of the RICS Home Survey Level 3 (condition rating definitions)