The operational reality
The problem we help solve
Since 2011 most shared drains and lateral drains transferred to the water company, which means a significant proportion of blockages an agent pays to clear were never the landlord's responsibility. Contractors rarely volunteer this. The recurring blockage in a converted Victorian house is the classic case: three flats sharing one original stack, a private section and a public section, and an invoice that should have gone to Thames Water.
What we do
- Responsibility established before the invoice: whether the blockage sits on the private section or past the boundary, with evidence.
- Where it is the water company's, we tell you and help you report it rather than clearing it and billing you.
- CCTV survey where a blockage recurs, because clearing the same drain four times costs more than finding out why.
- Reports written so they can be passed to an insurer or a freeholder without translation.