Windows, doors and glazing
A certificate in the pack names the rear windows only. What of the front frames does that paper ignore?
That paper ignores the front frames. A certificate that names the rear windows only does not cover the front frames, their glass or how those openings were installed. Competent-person schemes are one route to building-regulations compliance, not the only route. The survey does not issue the certificate and has not verified that this paper matches a register. The front frames sit outside the wording. They may still be fine, or not. This document does not say. The survey's look at them is a visual note, not that certificate extended forwards.
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?
Window certificates list the work they cover. If the schedule says rear windows, the front elevation is simply not on it. Installers sometimes return for a second elevation under a later certificate that you do not have. The pack contains the paper that was provided, and its words stop at the rear. The survey can comment on condition it can see, such as misted glass or decay, and still cannot stretch a named list. Compliance for the front, if it was required, is a gap in the papers.
Ask the solicitor to check whether a second certificate, a building-regulations approval or another competent-person record exists for the front. Do not treat one scheme as the only route. The survey will not issue the missing paper. Tell a lender the certificate in the pack names the rear windows only, so the front frames are outside it. Visual comments on the front stay comments. They are not a compliance certificate under another name.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Does the certificate's wording include the front frames?
- Are competent-person schemes the only route to compliance?
- Has the survey issued a certificate for the front windows?
What are the typical next steps?
- Read the certificate as covering the rear windows only.
- Ask the solicitor to look for any separate paper for the front.
- Do not treat a visual note as a compliance certificate.
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
Can matching glass at the front borrow the rear certificate?
No. Similar frames do not extend a certificate past the openings it names. The paper says rear windows only, so the front is ignored by that document. The survey has not verified a register entry and does not issue certificates. If the front was replaced, it needs its own paperwork or a clear statement that none exists. Looks are not that paperwork.
Does a competent-person certificate get issued by the home survey?
No. The survey does not issue a building-regulations certificate. Competent-person schemes are one route to compliance, not the only route, and this visit did not join a scheme or check a registration as if it were the scheme operator. The certificate in the pack was read for what it names. It names the rear. The survey cannot widen it to the front frames.