Age and type of house
What should you ask about fire and sound separation in a house that has been split into flats?
Ask what the surveyor could see, which will usually be doors, lobbies and the floor of one flat, and do not expect a fire test. A converted house often has timber floors that were not built as separations between homes. A home survey does not cut a hole to see the layers, and it does not issue a building-regulations completion certificate.
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?
Papers for the conversion are the solicitor’s questions. Missing papers are not, by themselves, a hole in the ceiling. A hole, a gap at a pipe, or a door that does not close is a condition comment. RICS surveys are visual. Building regulations for the original work, if they applied, are not re-run on the day you buy. There is no RICS price for a new ceiling system.
Sound you hear on the day is not a test either. Do not renegotiate a percentage because you heard a television. If the survey saw a gap, price that gap. If it saw nothing because the flat was furnished, say so. Do not claim the floor is a one-hour barrier.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- What separations could you see, and what was covered?
- Did you see gaps around pipes or at the flat door?
- Which approvals are you not checking?
What are the typical next steps?
- Ask the solicitor for the conversion papers.
- Do not drill the ceiling to “check the layers” before you own it.
- Keep a heard noise and a seen gap as different kinds of evidence.
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 self-closer on a door prove the floor?
No. A door closer is a door. The floor is another element.
Is a listed house exempt from having to think about fire?
Listing controls alterations. It does not make a gap safe. The survey still only reports what it sees.