Choosing a survey level
What did the visit record about a Level 1, about a locked cellar, and about opening up the level does not include?
The visit recorded a Level 1 survey, a locked cellar, and that opening up is not part of that level. Level 1 is a visual overview. It does not include opening up, and a locked cellar was not entered, so the room below stays outside the inspection. The survey has not described tanking, damp or the cellar floor, because none of that was seen. It has recorded the lock and the limit of the product. It has not decided that the cellar is dry, and it has not decided that it is wet.
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?
Level 1 describes condition where the surveyor can look, and it does not advise in detail on how to manage defects. A locked cellar is a double limit: the level would not have opened the structure up in any case, and the door meant even a visual look inside did not happen. Drains, services and covered floors are in the same family of things this product does not test. The record is therefore the product name, the lock and the absence of opening up.
Tell the solicitor the cellar was locked and that Level 1 does not include opening up. If you need the room seen, arrange access and ask what level of survey is then appropriate. Do not tell a lender the cellar was included. A specialist damp or structural look, if the opened room later suggests one, would be a further instruction. This visit stopped at the lock. It did not clear the space and it did not condemn it.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Was the cellar locked, so that even a visual look inside did not happen?
- Does Level 1 exclude opening up, quite apart from the lock?
- Have tanking and the cellar floor been left undescribed?
What are the typical next steps?
- Treat the locked cellar as outside this Level 1 inspection.
- Arrange access before anyone describes the room below.
- Do not tell a lender the cellar was included.
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 Level 1 was cheap, did it still include the cellar?
Only if the surveyor could see it. This visit recorded a locked cellar, and Level 1 does not include opening up. A locked door kept the room out. The fee, whatever it was, does not put an unopened room into the report. The cellar stays undescribed. Price and scope are not the same thing.
Would a Level 2 have opened the locked cellar?
Not by magic. A higher level still needs the door open. Level 1 already excludes opening up, which is why the lock and the product are both recorded. A different instruction might look harder at a cellar it can enter. It would not see through a door that stayed shut, and this visit did not have that door opened.