Electrics and gas
The oil line is buried across the lawn and no leak was seen at the boiler. What of that buried line was not inspected?
The buried length across the lawn was not inspected. No leak was seen at the boiler, which only means the visible boiler end was dry on the day. The oil line under the grass was not uncovered, not pressure-tested and not walked as an open pipe. The survey can note the boiler, the tank if it was seen, and the fact the line disappears into the ground. It cannot describe corrosion, joints or leaks in soil it did not open. Most of that supply line is the part the visit did not inspect.
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?
Oil leaks in buried pipes are easy to miss because the evidence can be in the ground rather than on the boiler casing. A dry valve and a clean base are worth recording, and they are local. They do not clear ten strides of lawn. The surveyor should say the route was buried and uninspected rather than smooth the sentence into no leak found anywhere. There was no excavation and no specialist oil-line test. A home survey does not become one by noticing that the boiler itself was tidy.
If the oil supply matters, ask a competent heating engineer to consider the buried line, the tank and the boiler together, and do not tell them the survey cleared the lawn. Ask the seller where the pipe runs and when it was last examined, and treat the answer as theirs. Tell the solicitor the visible boiler showed no leak and the buried line was not inspected. Those two halves should stay in every retelling, or the dry boiler will be asked to vouch for a pipe nobody saw.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- What of the oil line was visible, and what was buried across the lawn?
- Did you see any leak at the boiler, and did you inspect the buried run?
- Have you kept the dry boiler separate from the uninspected pipe?
What are the typical next steps?
- State that the buried oil line across the lawn was not inspected.
- Do not extend a dry boiler into a clear bill for the buried pipe.
- Ask a competent engineer if the buried line needs its own inspection.
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 tank gauge works, has the buried pipe been proved tight?
No. A gauge shows a reading at the tank. It is not an inspection of the pipe under the lawn, and the survey did not uncover or test that buried line. The lawn pipe was never uncovered, walked or tested.
Does fresh turf over the route mean the line was renewed?
Not by itself. New grass can follow a repair or a flower bed. It does not identify the pipe or prove it was inspected. The buried line remains the part the survey did not see. Turf is not an inspection.