Who Is Responsible for Blocked Drains — You or the Council?

If the blocked drain is entirely within your property boundary and serves only your home, it’s your responsibility. If it’s a shared sewer serving multiple properties, it’s Anglian Water’s. The confusion usually comes from not knowing exactly where your pipes end and the shared network begins — here’s how to work it out.

Your responsibility

You (or your landlord, if you rent) are responsible for:

• Internal pipework — sinks, toilets, baths, showers
• The drain running from your property to where it joins a shared sewer or the public network
• Gullies and gutters that only serve your building

If the blockage is anywhere in this section, it’s a normal call-out — get it cleared and move on.

The water company’s responsibility

Anglian Water is responsible for:

• Public sewers — the main network running under roads and public land
• Shared (lateral) drains — a pipe serving two or more properties before it connects to the public sewer, even if it runs under your own garden

This second category catches a lot of people out. Many Victorian and older properties share a single drain run with neighbouring houses — if that shared section blocks, it’s the water company’s job to fix, not yours, even though part of it may be on your land.

How to check which applies to you

1. Look at where the blockage is. If it’s a sink, toilet, or an internal pipe, it’s yours — no need to check further.
2. For an external blockage, check whether the drain is shared with a neighbour. If you and next door both flush into the same pipe before it reaches the street, it’s likely a shared drain.
3. Ask Anglian Water directly if you’re unsure — they hold sewer maps and can confirm liability for a specific drain run, usually free of charge for a straightforward enquiry.

What this means in practice for a blockage right now

None of this matters much if water is backing up into your bathroom or garden right now — that’s a problem to solve today, not a liability question to research first. In practice, most people call a plumber, get the blockage cleared, and only then work out whether to claim the cost back from the water company if it turns out to be their section. We can usually tell you on the day, once we’ve located exactly where the blockage is, whether it looks like it’s within your boundary or part of a shared run — which at least points you in the right direction if you do want to follow up with Anglian Water afterwards.

What causes the confusion

Responsibility rules changed in 2011 (under DEFRA’s sewer transfer scheme) — many previously “private” shared drains were transferred to water companies. So if you’ve owned your home a long time and remember drains being your problem before, that may no longer be true for a shared section.

For more on what actually causes blockages in the first place, see our guide on what causes blocked drains.

What to do right now

Don’t wait to establish liability before dealing with standing water or sewage — that’s a health and property risk. Get the blockage cleared first (we can usually attend the same day for blocked drains in Norwich), then sort out who’s responsible for the cost afterwards. If it turns out to be Anglian Water’s section, we’ll tell you and help you report it.

Get in touch if you’ve got a blocked drain and aren’t sure who’s responsible — we’ll take a look and give you a straight answer either way.