Who Pays for a Blocked Drain?
A plain-English guide to when a blockage is your responsibility, and when it's the water company's.
Last reviewed
Before October 2011, homeowners in England and Wales were often responsible for the full length of the drain running from their property, sometimes all the way to the public sewer under the street — even sections running under a neighbour's garden or a road. That changed with the private sewer transfer, and it still causes confusion when a drain blocks.
What changed in 2011
Most previously private drains and sewers that were shared between properties, or that crossed into a public area, transferred to the ownership of the local water company, such as United Utilities in the North West or Thames Water in London. If your blockage sits on a transferred section, the water company is responsible for clearing it, not you.
What's still your responsibility
- The pipework inside your property boundary that serves only your home
- A private drain that doesn't connect to a shared or public sewer
- Blockages caused by something put down your own drain (fat, wipes, etc.)
What's likely the water company's responsibility
- A shared drain serving more than one property, beyond your boundary
- A public sewer under the street
- Sections transferred under the 2011 private sewer transfer
How we handle it
When we attend a blockage, we check where it sits before quoting. If it's on a section that's the water company's responsibility, we'll tell you honestly and help you report it to them rather than charging you for work that isn't yours to pay for.
Scotland and Northern Ireland
The 2011 transfer only applied in England and Wales. In Scotland, Scottish Water looks after the public sewers, and in Northern Ireland it's NI Water. In both, the drains serving only your property are usually yours, and where a drain is shared between properties, the owners are often jointly responsible. We'll check where a blockage sits and explain what applies before quoting.
Which water company covers you?
- NI Water: Belfast
- Northumbrian Water: Newcastle
- Scottish Water: Edinburgh, Glasgow
- Severn Trent: Birmingham, Coventry, Derby, Leicester, Nottingham
- South West Water: Plymouth
- Southern Water: Brighton
- Thames Water: London
- United Utilities: Cumbria, Liverpool, Manchester
- Welsh Water: Cardiff
- Wessex Water: Bristol
- Yorkshire Water: Bradford, Hull, Leeds, Sheffield