Seller-side surveys
The seller will not allow a drone and the roof was seen from the ground. What of the rear slope must you not treat as inspected from above?
You must not treat the rear slope as inspected from above. The seller will not allow a drone, and the roof was seen from the ground. A ground view can show parts of a slope that face you and can miss the crown of the rear slope, the hidden side of a chimney, and junctions that only show from higher up. Those unseen parts of the rear slope were not inspected from above, because the means of looking from above was refused. The survey's ground notes are the inspection you have. They are not a drone pass you can imagine into the file.
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?
From the garden, a rear slope often shows an edge and a foreshortened run of tiles. A slipped unit near the eaves may be visible. The middle of that slope, and anything the ridge hides from where the surveyor stood, is not. A drone would see the surface from above. The seller said no. The report should keep to the ground view and not borrow confidence that viewpoint cannot support. The refusal is a limit on the rear slope.
Keep every comment about the rear slope tied to a ground viewpoint. Ask which parts were not seen, if the report is not already clear. If that slope matters, the next step is a visit the seller will allow to be made from above. The original report has not acquired that view. Tell the solicitor the rear slope was not inspected from above. Do not tell a lender it was. A clearer front slope does not finish the rear.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Which parts of the rear slope could you see from the ground?
- What of that slope was not available once the drone was refused?
- Will the report avoid describing the rear slope as inspected from above?
What are the typical next steps?
- Treat the rear slope as seen from the ground only.
- Do not describe it to a lender as inspected from above.
- Ask for a further view only if permission for one is given.
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 binoculars were used, has the rear slope been seen from above?
No. Binoculars from the ground are still a ground view. They can help with a detail that is already in sight. They do not put the surveyor above the rear slope, and they do not replace the drone the seller refused. What you could not see from the ground remains not inspected from above.
Can the seller's refusal be treated as proof the rear slope is fine?
No. Refusing a drone proves nothing about the tiles. It proves the slope was not inspected from above. The ground view is the limit of what this report can say. A hidden defect is still possible precisely because that view was not had. Do not convert a refusal into a clean roof.