Question 1

Who is responsible for a shared drain between terraced houses in Macclesfield?

Accepted Answer

Very often it's United Utilities, not you — and they'll clear it free. Since October 2011, drains shared by more than one property have been the water company's responsibility from the point where your drain meets your neighbour's. In a Macclesfield terrace that's usually a few feet outside the back door, which means a great many blockages people pay privately to clear were never theirs to pay for. This is the single most useful thing on this page, and it is routinely missed. The rule is about where drains join. The pipe that runs from your loo and your sink, serving only your house, is a private drain and it's yours to look after. But the moment it joins a pipe carrying a neighbour's waste as well, it stopped being private in October 2011, when shared drains and sewers across England and Wales were transferred to the water companies. From that junction onwards it belongs to United Utilities. Now think about a Victorian terrace in the town centre, or off Hurdsfield Road, or anywhere in Macclesfield's older streets. The houses were built as a row, and the drainage was built as a row: each house's waste drops into a shared run that carries the whole terrace down to the sewer in the street. That shared run is very often the bit that blocks — and that shared run is United Utilities'. So the sequence, if your drains back up and you're in a terrace, is: lift the cover, have a look, and before you book anyone in to dig or jet, ring United Utilities and ask them to confirm whether it's their pipe. If it is, they will come out and clear it at no cost to you. It costs a phone call to find out, and it can save a bill you had no obligation to pay. If the blockage turns out to be in your own private run — between the house and that first junction — then it's yours, and that's what we're for. But it's worth establishing which is which first, and any plumber worth ringing will tell you the same rather than quietly clearing United Utilities' pipe on your money.

Question 2

Do I have to pay to unblock a shared drain?

Accepted Answer

Very often it's United Utilities, not you — and they'll clear it free. Since October 2011, drains shared by more than one property have been the water company's responsibility from the point where your drain meets your neighbour's. In a Macclesfield terrace that's usually a few feet outside the back door, which means a great many blockages people pay privately to clear were never theirs to pay for. This is the single most useful thing on this page, and it is routinely missed. The rule is about where drains join. The pipe that runs from your loo and your sink, serving only your house, is a private drain and it's yours to look after. But the moment it joins a pipe carrying a neighbour's waste as well, it stopped being private in October 2011, when shared drains and sewers across England and Wales were transferred to the water companies. From that junction onwards it belongs to United Utilities. Now think about a Victorian terrace in the town centre, or off Hurdsfield Road, or anywhere in Macclesfield's older streets. The houses were built as a row, and the drainage was built as a row: each house's waste drops into a shared run that carries the whole terrace down to the sewer in the street. That shared run is very often the bit that blocks — and that shared run is United Utilities'. So the sequence, if your drains back up and you're in a terrace, is: lift the cover, have a look, and before you book anyone in to dig or jet, ring United Utilities and ask them to confirm whether it's their pipe. If it is, they will come out and clear it at no cost to you. It costs a phone call to find out, and it can save a bill you had no obligation to pay. If the blockage turns out to be in your own private run — between the house and that first junction — then it's yours, and that's what we're for. But it's worth establishing which is which first, and any plumber worth ringing will tell you the same rather than quietly clearing United Utilities' pipe on your money.

Question 3

Is my blocked drain United Utilities' responsibility?

Accepted Answer

Very often it's United Utilities, not you — and they'll clear it free. Since October 2011, drains shared by more than one property have been the water company's responsibility from the point where your drain meets your neighbour's. In a Macclesfield terrace that's usually a few feet outside the back door, which means a great many blockages people pay privately to clear were never theirs to pay for. This is the single most useful thing on this page, and it is routinely missed. The rule is about where drains join. The pipe that runs from your loo and your sink, serving only your house, is a private drain and it's yours to look after. But the moment it joins a pipe carrying a neighbour's waste as well, it stopped being private in October 2011, when shared drains and sewers across England and Wales were transferred to the water companies. From that junction onwards it belongs to United Utilities. Now think about a Victorian terrace in the town centre, or off Hurdsfield Road, or anywhere in Macclesfield's older streets. The houses were built as a row, and the drainage was built as a row: each house's waste drops into a shared run that carries the whole terrace down to the sewer in the street. That shared run is very often the bit that blocks — and that shared run is United Utilities'. So the sequence, if your drains back up and you're in a terrace, is: lift the cover, have a look, and before you book anyone in to dig or jet, ring United Utilities and ask them to confirm whether it's their pipe. If it is, they will come out and clear it at no cost to you. It costs a phone call to find out, and it can save a bill you had no obligation to pay. If the blockage turns out to be in your own private run — between the house and that first junction — then it's yours, and that's what we're for. But it's worth establishing which is which first, and any plumber worth ringing will tell you the same rather than quietly clearing United Utilities' pipe on your money.

Who is responsible for a shared drain between terraced houses in Macclesfield?

Got a plumbing job in Macclesfield?

Got a plumbing job? Let's get it sorted.