Who Owns Your Drains And Who Is Responsible For A Blocked Drainage Pipe?

All homeowners in some point in time may find themselves in a plumbing emergency – you have a blocked drain. You may be experiencing overflowing plumbing fixtures in your house due to your sewer line backing up, horrible smells will be coming from your drains, and raw sewerage more than likely will be flowing from your outside gully trap.

You need this problem fixed very quickly but are you responsible for the cost? Is it your problem? Or is it the problem of your local council or water authority?

What property owners are responsible for:

The owner of a property is responsible for drainage pipes on their property up to and including where they leave the boundary and connect to water authority or local councils connection into the main.

The drain blockage is likely on your side of the boundary:

When houses next to you are not experiencing any blockages to their plumbing, and you’re the only one experiencing an overflow when using water on your property. All houses should also have an Inspection opening or cleanout located at the property boundary, opening the lid on the cleanout can also determine if the drain is empty or full. If the drain is full at this point, it would mean the blockage is further downstream and outside the boundary. Hence, it would not be the responsibility of the homeowner. When determined that it is your line that is blocked, contact a licensed drainage expert to clear the blockage in your drain. If the problem is on the other side of the boundary, contact your local council or water authority so they can organise to clear the blockage at no expense to you.

What is a local council or water authority responsible for:

Local authorities and councils are responsible for the wastewater infrastructure in their network up to the property connection point.

The drain blockage is likely to be the responsibility of a local authority or council if:

The backup is visible past your property boundary, e.g. from a maintenance hole located on public space or at the inspection opening where your drain leaves your property boundary. If your neighbours are experiencing the same problem, the blockage will be past your boundary also. If this is the case, you need to report the issue to your local authority, usually a municipal council or a water and sewerage board. They will send a crew to the site to investigate.

If all else fails, call a licensed drainage expert.

A friendly, licensed drainage expert will investigate your pipework using specialised CCTV equipment so you can understand who is responsible for the blocked drain.

King Plumbing is a licensed drainage expert. From blocked drains to broken and collapsed pipes, we can determine who is responsible and what the issue is.

Contact us today on kingplumbing.com.au if you need further information and like to find out more about our services.