Electrics and gas
A caveat says services were not tested. Why is a tidy boiler cupboard not a pass under that caveat?
A tidy boiler cupboard is not a pass, because the caveat says services were not tested. Paint, labels and a clear floor are not a test of the boiler, the gas, the flue or the controls. The survey can describe what was visible. Under that caveat it has not passed the installation and has not failed it by measurement. A neat appearance does not cancel the sentence that no test was done. You still do not have a service engineer's report. The orderly cupboard is not that report.
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?
Caveats are there so a visual visit is not mistaken for a specialist test. A boiler cupboard is often the tidiest corner of a kitchen, and tidiness is housekeeping. Combustion, ventilation of the appliance, flue condition and safety devices are judged by someone testing or servicing the appliance, not by an uncluttered shelf. The surveyor may note leaks, scorch marks or makeshift flues if they are visible. Absence of those clues is not a pass. The caveat already says the test did not happen.
Ask the seller for the last service record and any landlord or homeowner gas safety paper they hold. An engineer can service or test the boiler if you need a result the caveat withholds. Do not tell a lender the heating passed because the cupboard was neat. Pass the caveat with the survey so the limit stays attached to the nice photograph. If you are choosing survey level, remember that a home survey's caveat on services is normal. It is not removed by a clean cupboard.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Does the caveat say services were not tested?
- Is a tidy cupboard a test of the boiler, flue or gas?
- Does housekeeping around the boiler cancel that caveat?
What are the typical next steps?
- Read the tidy cupboard as housekeeping, not as a pass.
- Ask the seller for the latest service record.
- Instruct an engineer if the boiler must actually be tested.
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
Were gas safety checks carried out under that caveat?
No. The caveat says services were not tested, and a gas safety check is a test. None was carried out as part of this survey. A tidy cupboard does not change the caveat. Any gas certificate would be a separate document from a registered engineer. If the seller has one, the solicitor can ask for it. The survey did not create it.
Does clear floor space around a boiler count as a service test?
No. Space around an appliance can make it easier to use and service. It does not test combustion, the flue or the controls. The caveat stands. The surveyor can note that the cupboard was accessible and still must not pass the boiler. Clear floor space is a visual comment. It is not the engineer's report you do not have.