New builds and warranties
Does a new-build survey test sound insulation between flats?
No. A RICS home survey does not run a sound test, and it does not certify compliance with the building regulations. A noisy visit is a reason to ask a question. It is not a test result. GOV.UK treats building-regulations approval as its own process. The papers for that approval, if they exist, are for your solicitor, not a sentence the surveyor can recreate by listening in the lounge.
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?
Sound travel in a new block can be a snag, a design limit, or a defect in how a floor was built. The survey cannot tell those apart by ear. It can report a gap, a hole, or a service duct it can see. It should not pretend to have measured decibels. This page does not quote a passing figure.
If noise is the thing you care about, ask the solicitor for the building-control evidence and ask the builder what test, if any, was done. A snagging list can record ‘noise from above’ as something you have noticed. It still is not a measurement.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Did you hear noise, and are you reporting it as a test or as an observation?
- What visible gaps, if any, might be relevant?
- Which paper is a building-control question rather than a survey question?
What are the typical next steps?
- Do not write ‘failed sound test’ unless a test exists and you have read it.
- Ask the solicitor for the completion evidence on the flats.
- If you instruct a test, keep it separate from the snagging list and from any condition survey.
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 NHBC Buildmark include a sound test?
NHBC’s public summary describes warranty and insurance for defects in the home. It does not say the policy is a sound test. Read the policy if you need to know whether a claim could exist.
Can you hear enough on a visit to renegotiate?
You can describe what you heard. You cannot call it a regulated test. Your solicitor decides whether it is a point to raise.