Drainage Responsibility Checker

Drainage problems between neighbouring properties cause confusion because responsibility depends on where the drain is, whether it is shared, and when it was built. Since 2011, most shared sewers are the responsibility of the water company rather than individual homeowners. Answer a few questions about your drainage issue and find out who is responsible.

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Find out who is responsible for a drainage problem. Takes 1 minute.

1 What is the problem?

2 Is the drain shared between properties?

3 Describe the situation

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Drainage responsibility can be complex, particularly for shared or historic drains. For definitive answers about specific drains, contact your water company or a drainage surveyor. This tool provides general guidance.

What this tool is for

Drainage disputes between neighbours are one of those problems where nobody is quite sure who should be picking up the bill. This tool gives you a quick answer on who is likely to be responsible for a blocked, damaged or overflowing drain, based on where the drain runs and what type it is.

It covers the most common situations in England and Wales, including private drains on your own land, shared drains that cross a boundary, and public sewers that are now looked after by the water company.

When you might want to use it

It is aimed at homeowners and tenants who have spotted a drainage issue and need to work out whether to fix it themselves, speak to a neighbour, contact the water company, or report it to the council. Typical examples include a blockage that keeps coming back, a smell coming from a gully, water pooling near a boundary, or a neighbour whose waste pipe seems to be causing a problem on your property.

It is not a substitute for a drainage survey or legal advice, but it should point you in the right direction before you spend money on a plumber or start a dispute. If your issue involves flooding inside the home or raw sewage, contact your water company straight away rather than working through the questions here.

How it works

You answer a handful of short questions about where the drain is, whether it serves one property or more, and what the problem looks like. The tool then gives you a plain English summary of who is most likely responsible, along with a suggested next step, such as contacting your water company or raising it with your neighbour. Nothing you enter is saved, and you do not need to give your name, address or email to use it.

4 Comments

Add Your Comment

ProblemNeighbours Editor 2 Jul 2026

@brianboru That ivy is a real headache and you're right to worry, because once it gets into the guttering it lifts tiles, blocks downpipes and eventually causes overflow onto your property. Since the gutter serves three houses, it's a shared drainage matter, so you could put it in writing to him (recorded delivery) flagging the risk before any damage occurs. If he ignores it and water then damages your wall, you'd have grounds for a nuisance claim. Environmental Health at your council can also step in if it's affecting drainage.

brianboru 2 Jul 2026

my neighbour lives at a gable end house i live next door his front drainpipe takes 3houses trough water into a drain he has ivy growing on his gable end it has now spread into the drainpipe and to the front of his house under the trough and maybe into it and eventually water may come over my trough and down the front of my house i have live here 60 yrs never had this problem before we do not converse with each other and the problem could escalate

ProblemNeighbours Editor 5 May 2026

@P That sounds really unpleasant to deal with, especially with the smell making things worse. A blocked toilet that won't flush usually needs sorting quickly before it overflows or causes further damage. If you're a tenant, your first step should be contacting your landlord or letting agent, as they're generally responsible for plumbing repairs unless the blockage was caused by something you've put down the toilet. Make sure to report it in writing so there's a record. If you own your home, calling out a local plumber or drainage specialist would be the quickest route to getting it cleared. On one of our other sites we had an article about putting a bin bag on a mop head and ramming it down the toilet. It was suprisingly successful and worked often by creating pressure to unblock the blockage. Give this a try and if it doesn't work leave it to a professional. Hope it gets resolved soon.

P 5 May 2026

Toilet has a blockage and smells like waste it also won't go down.

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