Age and type of house
What did the visit record about a blocked window-tax opening, about the stair landing, and about a vent the bricks have closed?
The visit recorded a blocked window-tax opening as brick filling an old window, recorded it at the stair landing, and recorded that the bricks have closed what could have been a vent. Window tax left many houses with openings built up in brick so they read as blank windows. The survey has described that fabric. It has not measured fresh air on the landing, has not decided the stair is short of ventilation, and has not said the opening should be unblocked.
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?
A blocked window-tax opening is often the size of a neighbouring window, with the lintel or arch still there and brick in the old reveal. At a landing that opening would have lit and aired the stairs. Filling it removes that path. The visit records the bricks as seen. It did not test airflow, and it did not judge the landing against any ventilation rule.
Tell the solicitor the landing has a historic blocked opening, not a ventilation test. Unblocking it, if anyone proposed that, would be a building alteration with its own consents, and this survey has not advised it. The lender has a note of brick in an old window position. If the stair feels airless, that is outside the report. The home survey has not measured the landing and has not ordered a new window.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Did you record the blocked opening as historic brickwork?
- Was the stair landing noted without an air measurement?
- Have you left any shortfall of ventilation undecided?
What are the typical next steps?
- Describe a blocked window-tax opening, not a failed vent test.
- Tell the solicitor the landing air was not measured.
- Do not treat the bricks as an instruction to reopen the window.
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
Are the bricks in the opening a structural repair?
The survey has not called them that. They fill an old window position, which is what a window-tax blocking looks like. Whether they support the arch or the lintel was not calculated. The visit recorded the closure. It did not assess the brick as a structural scheme.
Does a landing with this blocking have to have another vent?
The survey has not said so. It recorded that the bricks have closed one former opening. It did not count other windows, test the stair air, or apply a ventilation rule. Another vent may exist, or it may not. That was outside the note.