The first question most Solihull homeowners have when a drain backs up isn’t “how do I fix it.” It’s “is this actually mine to fix.” It’s a fair question, and the answer genuinely does change who you should be calling first. Bee Maintenance covers Solihull as part of the wider West Midlands, and it’s worth answering before you book a call-out.

In short:

• Drains inside your property boundary that serve only your home are normally your responsibility. Pipes shared with neighbours, and pipes outside your boundary, are normally the water company’s.
• Since October 2011, private sewers and lateral drains that were already connected to the public network have been the water company’s responsibility, which changed who’s liable for a lot of pipework that used to be the homeowner’s problem.
• In Solihull, the public sewers are run by Severn Trent Water.

Where does your responsibility actually end?

As a rule of thumb: pipework serving only your property, from the building to your boundary, is yours. Once your drain crosses your boundary, joins a pipe shared with other properties, or connects to the public sewer, responsibility usually passes to the water company. The exact point varies by property and street layout, which is exactly why a CCTV survey is useful here: it doesn’t just find the blockage, it shows you which side of the ownership line it sits on.

What changed with the 2011 transfer rules?

Before October 2011, a lot of private and shared sewers connecting properties to the public network were the homeowners’ responsibility, even though they ran under other people’s land or the street. On 1 October 2011, those that were connected to a public sewer by 1 July 2011 became water company assets. Pipes built after the transfer only become the water company’s if they’re formally adopted. In practice, this means many Solihull homeowners are responsible for less pipework than they assume. It also means a blockage on your own boundary-to-house section is still entirely on you.

How do you actually find out which side it’s on?

Start with a CCTV survey. It maps the run, shows exactly where the blockage sits, and gives you a report you can put in front of either your insurer or Severn Trent if the fault turns out to be on their side of the junction. If the fault is on the public side, report it to Severn Trent, who look after the public sewers.

“It’s outside my house — surely that means it’s not mine?”

Not necessarily, and it’s a common misunderstanding. “Outside the house” and “on the public network” are not the same thing. Your own drain run, from the building, under your garden, potentially under your driveway, can extend a long way past the house wall and still be entirely your responsibility, as long as it stays inside your boundary and serves only your home. Distance from the building tells you very little on its own; a survey tells you the actual junction point. For the full detail on what a survey shows and how the visit works, see our complete CCTV drain survey guide.

Bee Maintenance has been trading for three years, covers drainage services in Solihull and is SafeContractor accredited.