Leasehold

The door-entry handset in the flat was dead and the surveyor did not test the block system. What communal equipment has not been commissioned by the report?

The communal door-entry equipment has not been commissioned by this report. The handset in the flat was dead, and the surveyor did not test the block system, so nothing has been shown about the entrance panel, the lock release, the cabling or the other handsets. A silent handset records that one unit did nothing on the day. It is not a test certificate for the shared equipment, and it is not a diagnosis of which part has failed.

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?

Door entry in a block is shared: a panel at the street door, a lock, and handsets in the flats. The surveyor can press the handset they find and note that it stayed dead. From that they cannot say the whole system has failed, or that only this handset is at fault, or that the lock would release for another flat. No test of the block system was carried out. The dead handset is the observation. The cause is not named.

Tell the solicitor the handset was dead and ask who maintains the door entry, and whether a known fault is already logged. Do not treat the survey as having failed the whole system or as having passed it. If the managing agent has a repair in hand, that news comes from them, not from this inspection. The report has not commissioned an electrical test of the entry equipment.

What should you ask your surveyor?

Was the handset in this flat dead on the day of the visit?
Did you test the block door-entry system, or only note this handset?
Has the report left the panel, the lock and the cabling uncommissioned?

What are the typical next steps?

Treat the dead handset as an untested communal system.
Ask the solicitor who maintains the door entry.
Do not read the report as a pass or a fail of the whole system.

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 street door was ajar, has the lock been tested?

No. An ajar door is not a test of the lock release, the panel or the handsets. The surveyor did not test the block system. The handset in the flat was dead, which is a separate observation. How the door happened to be standing does not commission the equipment or explain the silent handset.

Does a new handset in one flat prove the block system?

No. Replacing the handset you can see would still leave the panel, the lock and the other flats untested. This report did not test the block system at all. A new handset might cure a local fault or it might not. The survey has not commissioned that equipment either way.