Electrics and gas

The gas meter is in a basement the surveyor did not enter. What has the report actually seen?

Nothing of that meter, unless it was visible from a doorway they did use. If the basement was not entered, the meter was not inspected. The survey has not tested for tightness, and it should not describe a room it did not open. HSE still expects gas work to be done by a Gas Safe registered engineer, which this visit was not.

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?

Basements are often left out because of a locked door, a flooded floor, a low headroom, or no safe access. The report should say not inspected, not “meter satisfactory”. You do not know whether the installation is a modern box, an old meter on a rotten bracket, or a smell the surveyor never had the chance to notice. Do not let an agent’s remark that “the meter is down there” become a finding. A finding is what the surveyor saw. This one stops at the door.

You can ask the seller for access and a Gas Safe inspection of the appliances and the meter position before you rely on them. That is a new instruction, not a paragraph the surveyor can add without going back. An owner-occupier does not have to produce a landlord gas safety record simply because you are buying. If no one can get into the basement, you are buying a limit. Say so to your solicitor. Do not invent a leak, and do not invent a clean bill of health, from a room that was closed.

What should you ask your surveyor?

Was the basement marked not inspected, and was the meter inside it?
Did you smell gas anywhere you did enter?
What would you need to see before you could comment on the meter at all?

What are the typical next steps?

Ask for the basement to be opened if you need the meter described.
Do not treat “not entered” as a pass.
Book a Gas Safe engineer for appliances you will use. The survey will not become that visit later.

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

Is a meter in a hall cupboard the same limit?

No. A cupboard that was opened is a different inspection from a basement that was not entered. Do not copy one sentence onto the other.

Does a smart meter upstairs mean the basement was checked?

No. Another display is not the basement installation.