Choosing a survey level
A market valuation was added to the Level 2 fee. Have the drains now been camera-surveyed?
No, the drains have not been camera-surveyed just because a market valuation was added. That extra buys a value figure on the Level 2. It does not put a camera down the pipes. Level 2 can look further into drainage chambers than Level 1 where it is safe to do so, but a look in a chamber is not a camera survey, and no level promises that hidden pipework is sound.
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 valuation version of a Level 2 is the condition survey plus a market valuation and a reinstatement figure. Those numbers sit beside the inspection. They do not widen it into a specialist drain contract. Paying more for the figures can be a real change to the product you bought, and the cost of any survey is variable, but the change is about value and rebuild cost, not about filming the underground run. Reinstatement, if it is included, is still not a repair budget for the drains.
Where a cover can be lifted safely, the surveyor may describe what they see in the chamber. Secured covers are not taken off as a matter of course on a standard Level 2. If the report says the drains need a camera, that sentence is a further instruction to someone who does that work. It is not something the valuation fee has already purchased. Read the drainage paragraph for what was seen, and do not upgrade a chamber note into a filmed survey.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Which chambers, if any, did you open on this Level 2?
- Does the valuation addition change anything in the drainage section?
- Is the camera a separate instruction you are still recommending?
What are the typical next steps?
- Read the drainage lines for what was actually seen.
- Treat a camera recommendation as a new booking.
- Do not describe the valuation fee as a drain 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 the reinstatement figure price a drain repair?
No. Reinstatement is a rebuild figure for insurance purposes, not a quote for the pipes and not the market value.
If the chamber looked clear, is the run certified?
No. A clear chamber, where one was seen, is not a camera survey of the hidden pipes.