A blocked drain in a tenement can cause a lot of arguments. Several flats may share one pipe, so nobody is sure who should call someone out. However, the rules are fairly simple once you know them. This guide explains the usual rules in Scotland and how to get moving quickly.
Why Tenement Drains Are Confusing
Many Aberdeen tenements were built long before modern drainage rules. Waste from every flat often joins a single vertical stack. That stack then runs into a shared pipe under the building or the back green.
Because of this layout, a blockage in one place can affect neighbours. A flat on the ground floor may flood when a flat above puts grease down the sink. That is why working out where the problem sits matters so much. For example, a blocked kitchen stack affects every flat above it, while a blocked toilet pipe may affect only one.
Private Drains and Public Sewers
In most cases, the pipes inside your flat belong to you. That includes the waste pipes from your sink, bath, toilet and washing machine. You usually pay for any work on them, since you own and use them.
Pipes shared by more than one property are different. In Scotland, Scottish Water has taken over many of these shared drains and public sewers, but the exact boundary varies. Your title deeds, a property factor or Scottish Water can confirm which section is which. If you cannot tell, a camera survey can show where the pipe runs and who it serves.
Who Usually Pays for What
As a rough guide, owners cover the pipework that serves only their own flat. Shared pipework inside the building is often a shared cost between owners. Your title deeds normally set out how those costs are split.
Public sewers sit outside the property boundary in most cases. Scottish Water normally deals with blockages in those. If a drain engineer finds the fault is in a public sewer, you can report it to Scottish Water instead of paying for the repair yourself.
First Steps When a Drain Blocks
Act quickly, because a blocked shared drain gets worse each time someone flushes or runs a tap. Follow these steps:
- Stop using the toilet, sink and washing machine in your flat.
- Knock on neighbours' doors, so they know not to use water either.
- Check whether the problem is only in your flat or in several.
- Contact your property factor if your building has one.
- Call a drainage engineer to find the cause.
A quick check of the signs will help you decide, because the pattern shows how far the blockage reaches. Heavy weather often triggers tenement blockages, so see blocked drains after heavy rain and our winter drain care tips. Our guide to the signs of a blocked drain lists the usual warning signs, such as gurgling and slow draining.
How an Engineer Finds the Cause
An engineer will start by locating the blockage. They may clear it using drain unblocking methods, such as rods or a high-pressure water jet. Drain jetting is often the best choice for shared stacks, because it also scours the pipe walls.
If blockages keep returning, a camera survey shows what is going wrong. You can read more in our post on what a CCTV drain survey shows. The footage also helps owners agree who should pay, because it shows exactly where the fault sits. In most cases, that ends the debate quickly.
Sharing the Cost With Neighbours
Once you know where the blockage is, talk to your neighbours early. Keep a record of the date, the findings and any invoice. Written notes help while memories are still fresh. Photos and survey footage are still useful if owners disagree.
Some cost questions are not simple. If damage to a shared pipe needs a repair, drain repairs may be needed. Our guide to pipe relining and excavation explains the options, which matters since a shared pipe runs under a back green or a shared close.
It also helps to understand what drives a quote. Our post on what affects drain unblocking cost explains the main factors in plain terms.
Local Help for Tenement Drains
Tenements are common in many of our areas. Our drainage engineers in Aberdeen deal with shared stacks and back-green drains regularly. While our base is Aberdeen, we also cover Dyce and Westhill, where older and newer properties both turn up. If sewage is coming back up, use our emergency drain service straight away, because we work 24/7.
We use fixed pricing and charge no call-out fee. Request a free quote online through our contact page, and we will help you work out the next step.
