Electrics and gas
The report mentions a skirting heater next to the bedroom circuit. Has a test the visual survey did not make been tested, or only named?
The test was not made. It has only been named as something the visual survey did not do. A skirting heater next to the bedroom circuit was seen, not electrically tested. Looking at a heater and at the circuit that seems to serve it does not show whether the cable, the connection or the control is sound. The survey has not decided the heater is safe, and it has not decided it is faulty. A visual note is not an electrical installation condition report. The circuit remains untested.
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?
Skirting heaters are electric and run warm along the wall, often on a local circuit or fused spur. The surveyor can see the casing, a switch and perhaps a cable entering the unit. They cannot see the conductors, the earth continuity or whether the circuit is overloaded, because those points need instruments. This visit did not use them. Naming the heater beside the bedroom circuit records a likely relationship. It does not measure it. The absence of a test is the important limit in the sentence.
If you want the circuit tested, ask a registered electrician. That is a different inspection from the home survey, and it can take the form of an electrical installation condition report. Tell the solicitor the heater was only looked at. Do not tell a lender the bedroom electrics were passed. The survey has not produced a certificate and has not named a defect inside the heater. Leave the unit alone until someone qualified has tested it. Appearance is not that test.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Was the skirting heater identified on the bedroom circuit, or only sitting in that room?
- Did you see damage, heat marks or a loose connection, or only the casing?
- Which parts of the circuit were hidden in the wall or under the floor?
What are the typical next steps?
- Treat the heater and the bedroom circuit as seen and not tested.
- Ask a registered electrician if you want an electrical test.
- Tell the solicitor the home survey produced no electrical certificate.
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 heater that looks modern count as tested?
No. A tidy casing is still only a casing. The visual survey did not test the skirting heater or the bedroom circuit, and a newer look is not an electrical installation condition report. The survey has not decided the unit is sound. Ask an electrician if you need a test. Appearance does not replace one.
Should the heater be left switched on to see if it works?
Not as a test of the circuit. Switching it on during a viewing may show that it warms, and it may not. It does not check the cable, the connection or the protection. The survey did not make an electrical test. Leave proper testing to a registered electrician rather than treating a warm front as a pass.