Leasehold

This ex-local-authority flat is on a communal boiler the surveyor could not enter. What heating was not inspected?

The communal boiler, and the heating it is meant to supply, was not inspected. This ex-local-authority flat is on a shared boiler the surveyor could not enter, so the plant room, the boiler, the controls and the pipes outside the flat were not seen. Inside the flat the survey could note radiators or their absence. It could not judge the condition, age or capacity of the shared plant. The lease may put that boiler with the landlord. The survey has not read that duty and has not inspected the heat source.

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?

A radiator that looks present is not a boiler inspection. Heat might arrive from a block plant, a district main, or a unit this flat does not control, and none of those was opened. The surveyor stopped at the door that was shut. Nozzles, flues, pumps and any standby plant stay undescribed. A seller's comment that the heating works in winter was not a test on the day. The uninspected thing is the communal installation, not a radiator valve the eye happened to pass.

Ask your solicitor what the lease says about the boiler, who repairs it, and what service papers the block holds, and keep that advice out of the survey. Tell a lender the shared plant was not entered and was not inspected. Do not describe the flat as having working central heating on the strength of a radiator in a room. The heat source itself was beyond the visit.

What should you ask your surveyor?

Was the communal boiler entered and inspected?
Do radiators inside the flat stand in for the plant room?
Has the lease been read to see who must maintain the boiler?

What are the typical next steps?

Treat the communal boiler as not inspected.
Ask your solicitor what the lease says about the shared plant.
Do not describe the flat's heating as 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 warm pipe on the day prove the plant is sound?

No. A warm pipe, if one was felt, is a moment, not an inspection of the boiler. The surveyor could not enter the plant. Age, leaks, controls and capacity were not seen. Do not tell a lender the system was tested. The heating that was not inspected is the communal installation itself.

Can the service charge accounts replace a look at the boiler?

Accounts can show money spent. They do not show the boiler. The survey did not enter the plant and has not audited the accounts either. Pass any accounts to the solicitor as legal papers. They are not a condition report on the heat source, which remains uninspected.