Electrics and gas
Heat-pump condensate discharges into a rainwater hopper. Has the survey decided that connection is acceptable?
No. The survey has not decided that the connection is acceptable. Heat-pump condensate discharges into a rainwater hopper, so water the unit makes as it runs is being tipped into a rainwater fitting the survey has not proved suitable. The visit saw the pipe and the hopper. It did not trace the hopper's outlet, did not watch the discharge in freezing weather, and did not issue a building-regulations certificate for the arrangement. Acceptability stays undecided. The note is the connection that was seen, not a pass.
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?
Condensate is a steady trickle while the machine runs, different from a burst of rain, and a hopper may lead to a surface-water drain, a combined drain, or a short pipe that simply spills. The survey did not establish which. A fitting that looks tidy can still block, freeze or discharge where it should not, and none of those behaviours was tested. Approved Document L is energy guidance for building work. It is not a certificate this survey can issue. The connection remains an open point.
Ask the installer, through the solicitor, for any commissioning note that shows where condensate was meant to go, and keep that paper out of the survey. A heating engineer can trace the hopper if you need a destination. Do not tell a lender the discharge is acceptable. The survey has not said so. It also does not decide grant eligibility and must not quote a grant figure.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Has the condensate connection to the hopper been accepted by the survey?
- Was the hopper's outlet traced or watched in cold weather?
- Has a building-regulations certificate been issued for this pipe?
What are the typical next steps?
- Leave acceptability of the condensate connection undecided.
- Ask for any commissioning note that shows the intended route.
- Do not tell a lender the discharge was 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
Does a dry wall under the hopper prove the connection is right?
No. A dry wall shows no stain at the visit. It does not trace the outlet and it does not show how the hopper behaves in a freeze. The survey has not decided the connection is acceptable. Dry masonry is not that decision. The pipe into the hopper remains an untested arrangement.
Is this discharge a grant question?
No. The survey does not decide grant eligibility and must not quote a grant figure. The Boiler Upgrade Scheme, where it applies, is a route in England and Wales and not in Scotland or Northern Ireland, and it is not decided by a hopper. This question is only whether the condensate connection is acceptable. The survey says it has not decided that.