Windows, doors and glazing
Nothing on the visit sampled an espagnolette, opened a broken cockspur or tested a casement that latches on one side only. What has to stay undecided?
Whether the espagnolette is engaging, why the cockspur is broken, and why the casement latches on one side only all stay undecided. Nothing sampled the locking bar, opened the broken cockspur, or tested that one-sided latch. An espagnolette is a bar with bolts up the edge of the sash. A cockspur is the handle fastener. The survey has named the ironmongery. It has not decided the casement is insecure, and it has not decided the sash is twisted.
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?
An espagnolette shoots bolts into keeps at more than one point. If it misses, one side of the sash can be held while the other stands proud. A cockspur is a simpler handle fastener, and broken means it looked damaged, not that it was taken apart. A one-sided latch may be a twist, a missing keep or a bar out of line. This visit did not operate the gear to choose.
Tell the solicitor the fasteners were named and not tested. A joiner or an ironmonger can see why the casement latches on one side only, and can say whether the cockspur and the espagnolette are separate faults. The home survey has not specified new gear. The lender has no security test of the window. Leave the casement as found until that proper look. Do not read a one-sided latch as a condemned sash.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Was the espagnolette left untested in its keeps?
- Did you leave the broken cockspur unopened?
- Is the one-sided latch still without a cause?
What are the typical next steps?
- Leave the bar, the cockspur and the one-sided latch undecided.
- Ask a joiner to operate the casement and inspect the gear.
- Tell the solicitor the window was not security-tested.
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 broken cockspur put the espagnolette out of use?
Not necessarily. They are different fasteners, and the survey did not show that one disables the other. A cockspur can be broken while a bar still shoots, or the bar can be idle while the spur is the only latch. Neither was tested. The report does not merge them into one failure.
If the casement shuts, is the latch adequate?
Shut is not latched on both sides. The note is that it latches on one side only, and that was not tested further. A sash can sit in the frame and still miss a keep. The survey has not called the closure adequate. The undecided point is the fastening, not the fact the window can be pushed to.