Electrics and gas
The immersion timer is behind a door the surveyor could not unlock. Why is not inspected more honest than a pass?
Because the immersion timer stayed behind a door the surveyor could not unlock, so not inspected is the honest record. A pass would claim a look or a test that did not happen. The survey cannot say the timer works, that it is wired safely, or that the immersion it controls was seen. Locked means unseen. Writing a clear bill of health would invent an inspection of a cupboard that stayed shut. Ask for the door to be opened and then, if you need it, ask an electrician to look at the timer. Do not call a locked door a pass.
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?
Honesty in the report matches the limit of the visit. If the door would not open, the timer was not inspected. A pass is a judgement on something that was examined. Using it here would tell a later reader the control was seen and found satisfactory, which is not true. The immersion, the wiring and the clock can all be in that cupboard. None of them gets a clean result from a handle that did not turn.
Ask the seller to unlock the door for a return or for your electrician, and do not force the lock on a viewing. When the timer is visible, decide whether a visual note is enough or whether you want the circuit tested. Until then, keep the survey wording as an access limit. If someone at the agency says the immersion passed, ask them to point to the sentence that says so. A locked cupboard cannot be the source of that sentence.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Which door was locked, and did you get any view of the timer at all?
- What else in that cupboard should be listed as not inspected with the timer?
- Would you change the wording if the door is opened later, or only after you see it?
What are the typical next steps?
- Keep the record as not inspected, not as a pass.
- Ask the seller to unlock the door before anyone comments on the timer.
- Do not force the lock on a viewing.
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 hot water worked, can the locked timer be passed?
No. A warm tap does not inspect a timer behind a locked door. Not inspected remains the honest record until the door is opened.
Can the agent email that the cupboard is fine?
An email is not the inspection. Until the timer has been seen, a pass would still claim a look that the surveyor could not make.