Electrics and gas
Two LPG cylinders stand across an air brick. Does the home survey include a gas-safety inspection of that bottled supply?
No. Two LPG cylinders standing across an air brick are a visual note, not a gas-safety inspection of that bottled supply. The survey can record that the cylinders were there and that they crossed the air brick. It does not test the regulator, the hose, the valves or the way the gas enters the house. Gas work belongs with a Gas Safe engineer, and the Health and Safety Executive regulates gas safety. Ask that engineer to look at the bottles, the air brick and the connection before you rely on the supply.
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?
A home survey looks. It does not certify gas. Bottled LPG is still a gas installation, even though there is no meter in the street. Seeing two cylinders across an air brick tells you about position on the day. It does not tell you the joints are sound, that the bottles are properly supported, or that blocking the brick is acceptable. Those are questions for a Gas Safe engineer, not sentences a survey photograph can finish.
Point the engineer at the air brick as well as the cylinders, and ask for a written note of what was inspected and what was left unopened. Keep that note with the survey. Do not move the bottles on a viewing to clear the brick, and do not treat a calm flame on the hob as a passed inspection. The survey sentence stays a record of what stood there.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Were both LPG cylinders tight across the air brick, or only standing near it?
- Could you see a regulator, a hose and how the pipe entered the wall?
- Did any indoor appliance look connected to this bottled supply?
What are the typical next steps?
- Ask a Gas Safe engineer to inspect the bottled LPG supply in writing.
- Show them the air brick the cylinders were standing across.
- Do not move the cylinders or treat the survey note as a gas certificate.
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 hob lit, has the bottled supply passed?
No. A flame on the day is not an inspection of the cylinders, the hose, the regulator, or the air brick they covered.
Can you store the cylinders indoors until the engineer visits?
No. Do not relocate the cylinders yourself. Ask the Gas Safe engineer where these bottles should stand, and leave them in place until that visit.