Electrics and gas
The consumer unit is inside a cupboard behind hanging coats and the cover was not removed. What devices behind the cover were not identified?
The devices behind the cover were not identified. The consumer unit sits in a cupboard behind hanging coats, and the cover was not removed. The survey has seen an enclosure in that cupboard and the fact that coats blocked a clear look. It has not named the breakers, RCBOs, fuses, or main switch under the lid, and it has not tested any circuit. What is printed on the hidden devices remains unknown. A closed cover is not a schedule of the ways.
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?
Consumer-unit covers are there to guard live parts, and a home survey does not take them off as routine. Coats across the front add a second limit: even the outside of the board may be only partly seen. Without the cover removed, the surveyor cannot honestly list devices they did not read. They cannot say the board is an RCBO board, a rewireable board, or a mixture. The visual note stops at location and access.
Ask an electrician to identify the devices with the cover removed and, if you need it, to test the installation. Tell the solicitor the survey could not name what is behind the cover because it was left on and coats were in the way. Do not guess the board type from the cupboard door. Keep any later schedule of circuits separate from this limitation.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- How much of the consumer unit was hidden by the coats?
- Was the cover left on for the whole visit?
- Which devices could you not name because the cover stayed on?
What are the typical next steps?
- Ask an electrician to identify the devices with the cover removed.
- Tell the solicitor the survey could not name what is behind the cover.
- Do not guess the board type from the cupboard door.
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 the cover looks new, are the devices inside identified?
No. A new-looking cover does not identify the devices under it. The cover was not removed, so breakers, RCBOs, or fuses were not read. The survey did not test the circuits either. Appearance of the lid is not a list of what it hides.
Did you see scorch marks, or only a closed cover behind coats?
The survey did not report scorch marks as the finding here. It reported a consumer unit behind hanging coats with the cover left on. Devices inside were not identified. If scorching had been seen it would be a different sentence. This one is about access, not about a burn mark that was not described.