Age and type of house
The skirt of a park home was not lifted and the chassis was only seen at the hitch. What of the steel under the floor is outside the notes?
The steel under the floor, behind the skirt that was not lifted, is outside the notes. The chassis was only seen at the hitch, so the inspection can describe that hitch end and nothing the skirt hides. A park home stands on a steel chassis. GOV.UK treats park homes as a special case when buying. The survey of the unit has recorded a limited view at the hitch. It has not described the rails under the floor. It does not set the pitch fee, and it does not replace the written agreement.
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?
The skirt is the edge that closes the gap under a park home. Leaving it down means the surveyor cannot see the chassis rails or the places the steel meets the ground. The hitch is the towing end, often the one piece left visible. Rust at the hitch says something about the hitch. It does not travel, in this report, along steel that stayed behind the skirt. GOV.UK treats the purchase as a special case. A hitch note is not a survey of the whole underframe.
If the chassis must be described, arrange a look that can lift the skirt, with the site's agreement, as a separate instruction. Tell the solicitor the survey saw the hitch only. Ask for the written agreement and the site rules, and keep them apart from this steel note. GOV.UK treats buying a park home as a special case. The survey of the unit does not set the pitch fee and does not replace that agreement. Do not tell a lender the underfloor steel was passed because the hitch was visible.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- How much of the chassis was visible at the hitch, and was the skirt lifted?
- What steel under the floor have you left outside the notes?
- Has this inspection set any pitch fee or site rule?
What are the typical next steps?
- Limit the chassis note to the hitch that was seen.
- Do not treat steel behind the skirt as inspected.
- Ask the solicitor for the written pitch agreement.
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 hitch is clean, is the steel under the floor clean?
Not on this visit. The skirt was not lifted, so the steel under the floor is outside the notes. A clean hitch is the hitch. GOV.UK treats a park home as a special case when buying. The survey has not described the hidden chassis and has not set the pitch fee.
Can the survey set the pitch fee from the chassis it saw?
No. GOV.UK treats buying a park home as a special case. The survey of the unit does not set the pitch fee and does not replace the written agreement. Seeing the hitch, and not the steel behind the skirt, changes neither the fee nor the site rules the solicitor must read.