Chimneys and parapets
Why is a flue liner note in a survey not a Gas Safe record?
Because a liner is a component in a chimney, and a Gas Safe record is the work of a registered engineer on a gas appliance. The surveyor is not issuing either document when they mention a liner. They are saying what they could see, which is often only a plate at the fireplace or nothing at all.
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?
Gas safety law, as HSE describes it, is about gas work being done by registered engineers. A home survey does not do that work and does not tightness-test the supply. A flexible liner in a chimney may serve a gas fire, a stove, or nothing. Seeing a clamp in the loft is not a service.
Approved Document J is the building-regulations document for combustion appliances. It is not a substitute for the engineer’s record. If you need to know the appliance is safe to use, instruct a Gas Safe engineer for gas, or a competent person for another fuel. Keep the survey’s chimney rating as a condition comment about the stack and the breast.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Did you see a liner, a plate, or only the appliance?
- Is the appliance gas, solid fuel, or not identified?
- Are you rating the stack, or commenting on an installation you did not test?
What are the typical next steps?
- Do not light a gas fire because the survey mentioned a liner.
- Ask the seller for any Gas Safe record separately from the survey PDF.
- If there is no record and you will use the fire, book an engineer. The survey fee did not include that visit.
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
Can a liner make an old flue suitable?
Sometimes that is why it was fitted. The survey has not proved the size, the joints or the terminal. An engineer has to see it.
Does a missing liner mean the house is unfit?
No. It means you do not have evidence about the flue. Many unused flues have no liner because no appliance is connected.