Electrics and gas
Where a report pairs a shared service head with the communal cupboard, what stays open about a supply this flat's visual note does not test?
The supply itself stays open. A shared service head in a communal cupboard was paired in the report as something seen, or partly seen, from the flat inspection. This flat's visual note does not test that supply. The head is where the incoming electricity is dealt with before individual flats, and it may not be part of what you are buying. The survey did not test electrics and did not certificate the communal equipment. Condition of the shared supply remains undecided.
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?
In a block, one intake can feed several flats through a cupboard on a stair or in a basement. Fuses, meters and heads in that cupboard are often the landlord's or the supplier's, not the flat's consumer unit. A glance, if the cupboard was even open, does not test polarity, earthing or the condition of busbars. This visual note stopped at identification of a shared location. It did not energise tests and it did not allocate ownership.
Ask the solicitor who is responsible for the communal cupboard and whether any electrical report covers the intake rather than only the flat. An electrician instructed for the flat may still be unable to certificate equipment they do not own and cannot isolate. Tell a lender this flat's survey did not test the shared supply. Do not describe the head as satisfactory because the lights were on in the stair.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Was the shared service head only noted in the communal cupboard?
- Did this flat's visual inspection test the supply?
- Has ownership of the head been left to the solicitor?
What are the typical next steps?
- Treat the shared head as untested communal equipment.
- Ask the solicitor who maintains the cupboard and the intake.
- Do not tell a lender the shared supply was certificated.
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 recent EICR for the flat include the communal head?
Only if that report says so. An EICR can be limited to the flat's own installation and stop at the meter or the switch-fuse. This survey did not test the supply and did not write an EICR. Read any certificate's extent with the solicitor. A flat report does not silently cover a shared head.
If the cupboard was locked, is the head a clearance?
No. Locked means unseen or less seen, not satisfactory. The question of a supply this visual note does not test is even wider if the door stayed shut. The survey has not certificated hidden equipment. Ask the solicitor for access arrangements and any landlord electrical report. Absence of a view is not a clean result.