Blocked drain in a rented home: landlord or tenant?

Blocked drains are one of the most common repair calls in rented homes in Bristol. They happen a lot in shared houses, where five or six people use one kitchen and one bathroom. Bishopston, Horfield, Redland and Cotham have many homes like that. The usual question is who pays. The answer depends on where the blockage is and what caused it.

If you live or let in BS7, our Bishopston area page covers the terraced housing and drainage common there.

Step one: find out whose pipe it is

Before the landlord and tenant question, there is a bigger one. Is the blockage on a private pipe at all?

Wessex Water says homeowners are responsible for pipes that serve their own property, up to the boundary or the point where they join a shared pipe. Most shared pipes and all public sewers belong to Wessex Water. Since October 2011, most shared private sewers that connect to the public network in England and Wales became the water company’s job. Citizens Advice explains the change.

So:

Where the blockage is	Who clears it	Who pays
Public sewer or shared sewer	Wessex Water	Wessex Water
Private drain serving only that home	Drainage contractor	Landlord, unless tenant misuse
Inside the home: sink trap, toilet, waste pipe	Plumber	Landlord, unless tenant misuse
Road gully	Bristol City Council	The council

Our guide to whether Wessex Water will clear your drain shows how to check the inspection chamber.

Step two: what caused it

For private pipes, the landlord is usually responsible for repair. In England, Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 says the landlord must keep in repair the installations for water, sanitation and drainage. That covers drains, toilets, sinks and pipes.

Tenants have a duty to use the property in a tenant like way. If the blockage is caused by something the tenant did, the landlord can ask them to cover the cost.

Usually the landlord’s cost:

• Tree roots in an old clay drain.
• A collapsed or cracked pipe.
• Scale and rust narrowing an old cast iron soil stack.
• A pipe laid with too little fall, so waste settles.
• Wear and tear in an old system.

Often the tenant’s cost:

• Wet wipes, sanitary products or kitchen roll flushed down the toilet.
• Fat and oil poured down the kitchen sink.
• Food waste or coffee grounds washed down.
• Hair building up in a shower trap that was never cleaned.

The drainage contractor’s report is important. Ask them to note what they pulled out and where. Photos or a camera survey help if there is a dispute. Our guide to CCTV drain surveys explains when a camera is worth it.

Bristol landlord licensing

Bristol City Council runs a citywide additional licensing scheme for houses in multiple occupation. It also runs selective licensing in the Bishopston and Ashley Down, Cotham, and Easton wards from 6 August 2024, and in Bedminster and Brislington West. If a licence applies, the landlord has to meet its conditions on repairs and safety. Drains that keep blocking or leaking sewage are the kind of problem a licence inspection looks at.

What tenants should do

1. Stop using the blocked sink, bath or toilet.
2. Tell your landlord or letting agent in writing, with photos.
3. If sewage is coming into the home, say so clearly. That is urgent.
4. Lift the inspection chamber cover if safe, and tell them whether it is full.
5. Do not pour strong chemicals down. They can damage pipes and burn whoever clears it.
6. Let the contractor in and ask them what caused it.

What landlords should do

1. Respond quickly. Sewage is a health risk.
2. Check whether it is a Wessex Water blockage before sending a contractor.
3. Use a contractor who will write down what they found.
4. If it keeps happening, get a camera survey to see if there is damage.
5. Give tenants clear guidance on wipes and fat. A sign by the toilet in a shared house costs nothing.

Repeat blockages in Bishopston and Horfield terraces

Victorian and Edwardian terraces off Gloucester Road often have the kitchen, bathroom and toilet all draining into one run at the back. Many have old clay drains under the yard and cast iron soil stacks. When a house that was built for one family has five sharers, that run works harder than it was designed for. Repeat blockages are common, and the cause is often a mix of use and an old pipe.

Our blocked drains page explains how we clear blockages, test the run and report what we find for landlords and agents.

Flats in converted houses

Redland, Cotham and parts of Bishopston have many large houses split into flats. Here one drain often serves every flat in the building. A blockage on that pipe is not one tenant’s fault or one landlord’s repair. If the pipe serves more than one property and connects to the public sewer, it is usually Wessex Water’s. If it is still a private drain inside the building’s own boundary, the freeholder or management company is normally the one to arrange it, with costs shared under the lease.

Tenants in a flat should report to their own landlord or agent. Landlords should then pass it to the freeholder or managing agent if the problem is on shared pipework.

Keeping a record

Landlords in licensed wards benefit from a simple log. Note the date of each blockage, where it was, what was found and what was done. If the same run blocks twice in a year with nothing unusual pulled out, that points to a fault in the pipe, not tenant misuse.

What affects the cost

We do not publish fixed prices. The cost is confirmed after a look at the job. It depends on where the blockage is, how easy the chamber is to reach, whether a camera survey is needed, and whether any repair is required after it is cleared.