SCOPE / THE LINE A SURVEY DOESN'T CROSS
Looked at.
Not tested.
Electrics, gas, water and drainage all appear in a home survey report — but not the way people sometimes expect. Here is exactly where the boundary sits, and why it’s there on purpose.
See the full inspection, step by step →THE ANSWER / READ THIS FIRST
Visual assessment, not live testing — for every service in the house.
A surveyor records what the installation looks like, how old it appears, and whether anything visible suggests a problem. Confirming that a system actually works safely — under load, under pressure, or under gas — is a different job with different equipment, certification and liability, done by a specialist rather than a surveyor.
01 / WHAT GETS RECORDED, SERVICE BY SERVICE
Visible condition, for each of the four.
- 01Electrics — apparent age and type of consumer unit, visible wiring and accessories
- 02Gas — visible condition and apparent age of appliances and pipework
- 03Water — visible pipework condition and any signs of leaks or related damp
- 04Drainage — general arrangement and condition, including accessible manhole covers
02 / WHY THE LINE EXISTS
Different job,
different qualification.
Live electrical and gas testing require certified specialists using dedicated equipment, and carry their own regulatory framework — a Gas Safe registered engineer for gas, a qualified electrician for an Electrical Installation Condition Report. Folding that into every home survey would make the process slower and considerably more expensive, for a check that most properties don’t need. The survey’s job is to tell you when the visible evidence says you probably do.
03 / WHEN THE SURVEY WILL TELL YOU TO GO FURTHER
Old, altered
or unusual — flagged clearly.
An old-style fuse box, visibly aged rewirable wiring, appliances well past a typical service life, or evidence of DIY alteration are the kind of things that prompt a clear recommendation: get a specialist test before relying on the system. That recommendation isn’t the surveyor hedging — it’s the accurate answer to a question a visual inspection genuinely can’t settle on its own.
04 / WHERE TO START
The full picture starts with the right survey level.
A Level 2 or Level 3 survey from SurveyChoice tells you exactly where services stand and what, if anything, needs a specialist test next. Find your survey level →
STRAIGHT ANSWERS
Before you ask.
01Does a house survey test the electrics?+
No — a home survey visually assesses the apparent age, type and condition of the electrical installation (the consumer unit, visible wiring and accessories) but does not carry out live testing. Where the installation looks old, altered or potentially unsafe, the report will recommend a full electrical inspection by a qualified electrician.
02Does a house survey check the gas system?+
The surveyor notes the visible condition and apparent age of gas appliances and pipework, but does not test them. Gas safety testing is a specialist, certified job — a Gas Safe registered engineer, not a surveyor, is the right person to confirm a system is safe to use.
03What does the survey check on drainage and water?+
Visible condition of pipework, evidence of leaks or damp linked to plumbing, and the general drainage arrangement around the property, including manhole covers where safely accessible. It does not include a CCTV drain survey, which is a separate specialist test recommended when there's reason to suspect an issue.
04Why doesn't a survey just test everything while they're there?+
Because visual assessment and live testing are different skill sets with different liability and equipment requirements, and combining them would make every survey far slower and more expensive. The RICS Home Survey Standard is deliberately built around a clear, honest boundary: assess what's visible, and recommend the right specialist for anything that needs testing.
05Should I get specialist tests even if the survey doesn't flag a problem?+
For an older property, or one where the visible age of the installations is unclear, it's common and sensible to commission electrical and gas safety checks regardless — they're inexpensive relative to the risk, and give you certainty a visual inspection can't.