Seller-side surveys

The buyer wants a drain camera because the survey suggested one. Must a seller in England fund that camera?

No. A suggestion that a drain camera would help is advice in the buyer's report. It does not create a duty on a seller in England to pay for the camera. What to do now advises the buyer. It does not invoice the seller. Drains in a standard home survey are not fully tested. The buyer may commission a camera. You may choose to contribute. The report does not order you to.

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?

Surveyors often say further investigation is prudent when they could not see a drain run. That sentence is for the buyer who is deciding whether to commit. Rating 3, where the report uses it, means serious and/or urgent and points the buyer to written quotations before legal commitment. A camera survey is one way they might investigate. It is not a statutory extra the seller in England must fund because a paragraph mentioned it. Services comments in a home survey are visual. They are not a test certificate, and they are not an order for a contractor.

If you want to offer a contribution, do it in writing through your solicitor, with a scope, so you are not later told you promised to adopt every recommendation in the PDF. If you do not want to pay, say so. The buyer can still obtain their own camera report before they are legally committed. What to do now does not transfer their investigation costs to you. A refusal is not a confession that the drain has failed. It is a refusal to fund a further instruction that was never yours.

What should you ask your surveyor?

Did the report recommend a camera, or did it say a chamber was not opened?
Was the comment a rating, a limitation, or both?
Are you being asked to pay for a test the inspection did not carry out?

What are the typical next steps?

Do not treat a camera suggestion as an invoice to you.
If you offer anything, put the scope in writing through your solicitor.
Leave the buyer free to commission their own investigation.

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 What to do now bill the seller?

No. It advises the buyer. It does not invoice the seller for a camera or for a repair.

Are drains safety-tested on a standard home survey?

No. Services are visual only. They are not safety-tested, and covers are not removed on a standard Level 1 or Level 2 inspection.