The property is vacant and the utilities have been shut off. How does this affect the inspection?

Utilities off converts a large part of the inspection from testing to observation. Systems cannot be operated, so the furnace is not run, fixtures are not flowed, and receptacles are not energised — and no amount of visual examination substitutes for operating a system, because most functional defects only appear under load. What the inspector can still do is considerable: examine visible condition, note installation defects, assess age and configuration, and report the specific systems that could not be evaluated. Turning utilities on is not an option, since it requires authority the inspector does not have and can cause real damage — energising a system with an open fixture, a drained boiler or a gas leak. The right handling is to inspect what can be inspected, state clearly which systems were not operated and why, and recommend re-inspection once services are restored.

With utilities off the systems cannot be operated, so functional testing does not occur. The inspector inspects what remains observable and reports plainly which systems could not be evaluated and why.

Standards of practice require inspectors to operate systems using normal controls and to report systems not inspected with the reason. Inspectors do not activate shut-off utilities, and re-inspection is the standard recommendation once services are restored.

Off Means Not Tested, Not Fine. Inspect what you can see, name what you could not run, and never fill the gap with an assumption.

Recommend re-inspection of the untested systems specifically, rather than a general re-inspection. That makes the follow-up scope clear and cheap.

• •Turning on utilities to complete the inspection
• •Presenting untested systems as functional
• •Declining the inspection rather than reporting on what is observable