DI, south London
A “drain” is a pipe that conveys foul water (from sinks, and so on) or surface water (eg, rain) from one house only. Drains pass into “sewers”, pipes conveying foul or surface water from more than one house. Invariably, homeowners have a right to drain water through pipes and sewers passing across other people’s land into the public sewer.
On a new housing development, the developer should enter into an agreement and bond with the local water company in respect of making up, and adoption of, sewers on the estate. Once the sewers have been adopted, they become “public” sewers, maintained by the water company. In your case, it appears that the blockage has occurred in a sewer that is not yet a public sewer, so the water company is not responsible.
Furthermore, the person who owns the land through which a sewer runs is not liable to repair it unless he has specifically agreed to do so. So, check your property documentation to see whether the developer (or management company) undertook to maintain the sewers until adoption by the water company. If there is no obligation, then it becomes a game of cat and mouse.
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You (and any other affected neighbours) have a right to use the sewers and a right to repair them at your own expense. However, if you refuse to do the work, the owner of the land may soon have a problem that will require him to do the work at his expense. Ideally, all affected parties should agree to share the costs.
Desmond Kilcoyne is a barrister at 22 Old Buildings, Lincoln’s Inn, specialising in housing and property law