Electrics and gas
The boiler flue terminates under a car port roof. Has the survey checked that location against Approved Document J, or only seen where it comes out?
The survey has only seen where the flue comes out. It has not checked that location under the car port roof against the guidance the question names, and it has not measured the distances that guidance is about. The finding is a terminal in a particular place: beneath the car port. A home survey is not a gas safety inspection. Seeing the outlet does not certify the terminal, the car port as a covered area, or the flue run back to the boiler. The location was observed. It was not approved by this visit.
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?
Car ports change the air around a terminal because they are roofs, even when the sides are open. Whether a given terminal is acceptable there is a judgement for someone applying the relevant gas and building guidance, with measurements. The surveyor can describe the roof, the terminal and the apparent tightness of the space. They should not convert that sketch into a compliance decision. No such decision is in a normal home survey. If the pack has no gas record, that absence sits beside the photograph.
Show a Gas Safe registered engineer the terminal under the car port and ask them to consider the location properly. Ask the solicitor for any installation certificate that mentions where the flue discharges. Do not tell a lender the survey has cleared the outlet because it was visible and the boiler was a known make. Visibility is what you already have. The missing piece is the location check that was not done, and the survey should stay worded as seen, not checked.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Where exactly does the flue terminate, and did you only see that point?
- Did you measure the terminal against any location rules, or not?
- What gas record, if any, mentions this car port outlet?
What are the typical next steps?
- Describe the flue as seen under the car port, not as checked against location rules.
- Do not treat a visible terminal as a compliance decision.
- Ask a Gas Safe registered engineer to consider that location.
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
If the car port has no door, has the terminal then been accepted?
No. An open-sided roof is still a roof over the terminal. The survey has not checked the location and has not accepted the outlet. It only saw where the flue comes out. The car port roof was only observed, not assessed.
Does a plume during the visit prove the position is suitable?
No. A plume shows the boiler was exhausting on the day. It does not measure clearances or decide the location. The survey has not carried out that check. Exhaust on the day is not a location check under that roof.