Condition ratings
The cold-water cistern could not be reached. Why is that NI rather than a rating 1 for the plumbing?
Because it was not reached. A cold-water cistern left unreached in the roof space is NI, not rating 1 for the plumbing. Rating 1 would mean no repair is currently needed, and nobody was close enough to say that about the tank, the lid, or the supports. Other pipework that was seen can still be described. The cistern itself stays unseen.
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?
NI means not inspected. A cistern in the roof space that could not be reached was not inspected, so it cannot be rating 1. Rating 1 is a judgement that no repair is currently needed. The lid, the ballvalve, the supports and the platform were not in front of the surveyor. A hatch is entered with a ladder only where that is safe and the hatch is no more than 3 metres above the floor. Stored goods, a missing board, or a tank at the far eaves can all stop the visit short. The honest line is NI. Plumbing that was seen elsewhere, a visible pipe or a tap, can still be described, and that description does not adopt the cistern.
Do not fill the blank with rating 1 because the taps ran. Services are visual only and are not safety-tested, and a running tap is not a look at a distant tank. The what to do now note advises you. It does not invoice the seller, and it does not treat NI as a defect or as a pass. Concealed pipework is not guaranteed sound. If you need the cistern seen before you commit, ask for access to be cleared and for a further look. Until then, leave the tank off every claim that the plumbing passed.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Why could the cistern not be reached?
- Is the cistern NI, with any other plumbing rated only where it was seen?
- Would a further visit be possible if the roof space were cleared?
What are the typical next steps?
- Leave the unreached cistern as NI.
- Do not describe the plumbing as rating 1 because the taps ran.
- Ask for a further look if you need the tank seen before you commit.
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 a pipe below the tank was seen, does the cistern share that pipe's rating?
No. A visible pipe is the pipe. The tank that was not reached stays not inspected.
Can an overflow dripping outside rate the cistern without anyone reaching it?
A drip can be described as a drip. It still does not inspect the tank. Ask them not to turn the drip into rating 1.