Outbuildings and conservatories
The pool cover pit was not lifted. Why is the pool not given a clean bill because the water looked clear?
Not a clean bill: the pool cover pit was not lifted, so clear water is not a pass for the pool. What sits under that cover was not seen. Clarity in the water you could look at does not inspect the pit, the mechanism or the drainage under the cover. A home survey reports the limit of the inspection. An unlifted cover is that limit. It is not converted into a satisfactory pool because the surface looked clear on the day.
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?
Cover pits hide the reel, the pit walls, the outlet and whatever has collected there. Leaving the cover down means those parts were not inspected. RICS home surveys stay within what can be seen safely. They do not become a pool engineer's test because the water was inviting. If the report is silent under the cover, the silence is the finding. Do not fill it with a pass you have invented from the colour of the water.
Ask whether the cover was fixed, too heavy, or simply not lifted, and write that reason next to the pool note. If you need the pit seen, arrange a visit that lifts it, with the seller's agreement, and look at the pit itself. Do not tell the lender or the insurer that the pool was cleared by the survey. Clear water and an unopened pit are two different sentences, and only one of them was available.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Why was the pool cover pit not lifted on this visit?
- What, if anything, could you see without lifting that cover?
- Does clear water appear anywhere in your notes as a pass?
What are the typical next steps?
- Treat the unlifted cover as not inspected underneath.
- Do not read clear water as a clean bill for the pool.
- Arrange a separate look that actually lifts the cover if you need the pit.
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 pool water was tested with a strip, does that clear the pit?
No. A strip in the water, even if someone did one, is not a view of the cover pit. The pit was not lifted, so it was not inspected.
Can you assume the pit is dry because the deck was dry?
No. A dry deck does not show the pit under the cover. The survey did not see that space, and dryness nearby is not a pass.