Electrics and gas
The boiler age is written as the seller's comment. Why is that not a reading of the data plate?
The boiler age is the seller's comment, not a reading of the data plate. The report attributes the figure to the seller, so the number was not taken from the maker's label, or at least was not written as if it had been. A data plate carries the maker's year, model and serial. Repeating what the seller remembers does not confirm any of those. The survey has not tested the boiler and has not done gas safety work. Gas Safe registration is the regime for that work. The comment is a remark, not a plate reading.
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?
Sellers can be accurate, approximate, or simply wrong about when a boiler was fitted. A replaced control panel, a second-hand appliance, or a house they bought years ago can all break the story. The surveyor's job, where the plate is readable, is to record the plate. Where the report instead quotes the seller, the plate was not the source. Do not upgrade a quoted remark into a verified date because it appears in a formal report.
Ask the solicitor for any installation certificate, benchmark log or service record, and keep those papers separate from the seller's sentence. A Gas Safe engineer reads appliances for safety. This visit did not. Tell a lender the age in the report is attributed to the seller, not to a plate the surveyor transcribed. If the plate can still be seen, a later note can record it. Until then the year is unverified.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Is the age in the report attributed to the seller rather than the plate?
- Has this visit carried out gas safety work on the boiler?
- Would an installation certificate be a different paper from the comment?
What are the typical next steps?
- Treat the stated age as the seller's remark.
- Ask the solicitor for installation and service papers.
- Do not tell a lender the data plate was read.
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 a service sticker, if one exists, become the data plate?
No. A service sticker is a contractor's record of a visit, not the maker's plate. It may give a date of attendance. It does not by itself prove the year of manufacture. The survey has not turned a sticker into a plate reading, and this report quoted the seller instead. Ask for both papers if they exist, and keep them distinct.
Who can confirm the appliance if the plate is painted over?
A Gas Safe engineer can identify an appliance as part of gas work. This home survey has not done that, and it has not scraped or altered the casing. If the plate cannot be read, the seller's year stays a comment. Ask for the installation papers. Do not invent a date the report refused to take from the metal.