Electrics and gas
A fan-coil condensate pump in a bedroom cupboard was not run. Where might that water go if the pump has failed?
If the pump has failed, condensate can back up in the tray and overflow into the cupboard, into the ceiling below, or along whatever overflow route exists, and this visit did not find that route. The survey did not run the pump, so it has not seen the path and has not decided the pump works. A fan-coil produces water as it runs. An untested pump leaves the destination unknown. The report records that the pump was not operated. It has not traced a leak that did not occur during the inspection.
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?
Condensate is the water that comes out of the coil. A small pump lifts it when gravity will not. If the pump fails, the tray fills and water goes to the next lowest gap: a cupboard sole, a plasterboard ceiling, a poorly connected overflow. Which of those this cupboard would use was not demonstrated, because the pump was not switched on and no fault was staged. The survey must not invent a test. It can only say the pump stayed still and the route stayed unchecked.
Ask a heating engineer to run the pump and to confirm where the overflow discharges, if you need that answer. Tell your solicitor the cupboard pump was not operated. The survey does not decide grant eligibility and does not issue a building-regulations certificate. Do not tell a lender the condensate is safely piped away. Safety of that route was not seen. Failure itself was not proved either: the pump was simply not run.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Was the condensate pump left unrun in the cupboard?
- Is the overflow route therefore still unknown?
- Did the visit avoid staging a failure to see where water went?
What are the typical next steps?
- Treat the pump as not operated and the water path as unknown.
- Ask an engineer to run the pump and trace the overflow.
- Do not tell a lender the condensate route was proved safe.
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
Was there already a stain that shows an earlier overflow?
Only if the report records a stain, and a stain would still not map the whole route or prove the pump has failed. This visit did not run the pump. Past marking, if absent, does not clear the tray. If present, it is history on a surface, not a test of where the next overflow would go.
Does an unrun pump mean the pump has already failed?
No. Not running a pump during a survey is a limit of the inspection, not a diagnosis. The unit may work when someone operates it. The survey has not decided it has failed and has not decided it is sound. The open point is the untested route the water would take if failure is real.