DIY Doctor UK DIY Forums

I have lived in my house for nearly 3 years now and the private sewer in the back garden keeps getting blocked. Since living here the drain must have blocked approx 10 times and hearing from neighbours this has gone on for many years. The property is 18 years old.

I share the private sewer with 4 other houses and it is my neighbour (who lives in the first house) and myself who are the second house in who have a manhole cover each, the other houses dont have manhole covers. When the blockage occurs it backs up to my house then my neighbours so becasue of the manhole covers we get the smell of sewage in our first floor bathrooms and in the lounge due to air vents in the base of the house. We have had the council in who blast it and clears the blockage which they say is way off the properties when the hit the block, the water authority has cleansed the pipes outside but it just happens along our row and the block doesnt appear to be on any of the 5 houses property but way off and further down the line. The council say it is nothing to do with them and each time the 5 houses have to pay the council to clear it and Anglian Water say it is not their problem as nothing to do with them when our private sewer backs up.

Has anyone ever experienced this continual blocking and a possible solution to the problem.

Could be anything from tree roots to a collapsed sewer. Needs investigating probably with a CCTV survey to see what the problem it.

Your main issue would be who has ownership of the sewer as that's who would pay for it.