Few blocked drains in managed property are just a trade job. Someone has to decide who pays, someone has to explain to a landlord or leaseholder what actually happened, and the file needs evidence rather than a contractor’s verbal opinion. TrueFlow is a Bracknell-based commercial drainage firm built around that paperwork: a written, photo-backed report on every instructed job, a clear statement of where responsibility sits, and an exact price agreed before an engineer attends.
A written report closes every job
Every instructed visit ends with a written report: what was found, where in the run it sat, what caused it, what was done, and anything that still needs attention. Photographs are standard, and where the job includes a CCTV drain survey, from £120 inc VAT, the recorded footage is supplied with the report so the finding can be checked by anyone who later questions it.
That matters because drainage decisions in managed property are usually contested decisions. A deposit deduction, a recharge to a leaseholder, a works order a freeholder has to fund: each one is easier to defend when the file holds dated images of the wipes pulled from the trap or footage of the fractured joint, not just an invoice line reading “cleared blockage”.
Who pays: the demarcation call in writing
Most blockages in a managed property fall into one of four buckets, and the report states which one applies and why:
- Tenant misuse. Wipes, sanitary products, fat and food waste in a run that is otherwise sound. The cause is photographed at the point of removal, which gives a recharge or deposit claim something concrete to rest on.
- Fabric failure. Root ingress, a displaced joint, a fractured or collapsed section. This is a repair for the landlord or freeholder, and the report records the defect’s position and depth so repair quotes can be compared like for like.
- Shared and communal runs. In a block, a stack or communal drain serving several flats is normally a service-charge matter rather than any single tenancy’s problem, and a drain shared between properties, or running beyond the boundary, generally belongs to the water company, which took over most private sewers. The report says which side of that line the fault sits on.
- The sewer itself. Where the evidence points at the public network, the report says so, giving the manager grounds to refer the job to the undertaker instead of paying for it.
In most tenancies, Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 makes sanitary pipework the landlord’s to repair, but the diagnosis decides whether it applies. There is a fuller breakdown of the legal position in the guide to blocked drain responsibility.
Tenants handled directly, the account holder kept informed
Chasing access is a coordinator’s least favourite job, so TrueFlow arranges attendance with the tenant directly where the agent prefers: appointment time, access, and the courtesy call when the engineer is en route. The account holder stays in the loop throughout and receives the report and completion confirmation, so the office knows the job is closed without having fielded any of the logistics.
Commercially, the arrangement is just as tidy. The exact price is agreed with the instructing agent or manager before attendance, nothing is added on site, and the invoice matches the quote. A works order raised at a known figure goes through management accounts without queries, and there is no scenario where a tenant is asked for payment on the doorstep.
Blocks and portfolios: maintenance quoted per site
For managed blocks and larger portfolios, planned maintenance is quoted per site rather than from a generic rate card, because a 1960s block with a single cast-iron stack and a modern development with adopted sewers up to the curtilage need very different schedules. A typical arrangement pairs scheduled jetting of communal runs with a periodic camera inspection, so the service-charge budget covers prevention at a known annual cost instead of absorbing emergency call-outs as they land. Reactive work across the same portfolio runs on the same terms as any single job: priced before attendance, reported after.
Leaks between flats: evidence before argument
Water appearing in the flat below is the classic three-way dispute between two leaseholders and a management company, and it stays a dispute until someone identifies the source. TrueFlow provides leak detection with free quotes, tracing the water to a failed pipe, a bathroom seal or an external ingress point and recording the finding in the same written format. With the source identified and documented, the block policy excess, the recharge and the repair instruction all have a factual basis, and the two households stop arguing about whose ceiling it is.
Letting agent and block manager FAQs
Who pays when a drain blocks in a managed property?
Whoever is responsible for the cause. Misuse by the occupier (wipes in the pan, fat tipped into the sink) typically goes back to the tenancy; a defective pipe within the demise is the landlord’s or freeholder’s repair; a communal run in a block is usually a service-charge cost; and a shared or off-boundary drain is generally the water company’s. TrueFlow’s report states the cause and location with photographic or CCTV evidence, so the manager can apply the right rule rather than absorb the cost by default.
Will insurers and leaseholders accept the reports?
The reports are written to stand scrutiny: dated, photo-backed, with recorded CCTV footage supplied where a survey was carried out, and the work itself is fully insured and guaranteed for 6 months. That is the standard of evidence loss adjusters and leaseholders’ own surveyors expect to review, and because the footage is included rather than summarised, any party can verify the finding independently.
What happens when a tenant reports a drainage emergency out of hours?
The phones are answered 24/7, 365 days a year, emergency call-outs start from £120 inc VAT, and there is a 60-minute response target for urgent attendance. The agreed account price still applies: the figure is confirmed with the duty contact before the engineer sets off, so an overnight flood does not turn into an unbudgeted invoice.
How is ad-hoc work priced on an account?
Every job is priced exactly before attendance, with all prices inc VAT: rodding from £80, high-pressure jetting from £150, CCTV surveys from £120, and jetting with a camera survey from £220. Drain unblocking carries a No Fix, No Fee commitment: if a blockage cannot be cleared because the pipe turns out to be collapsed, the charge covers only the survey and diagnosis, never the failed attempt.
Instruct TrueFlow on your next drainage job
Send the next blocked stack, flooded car park or flat-to-flat leak to a contractor whose output is a closed job and a defensible file. Ring with the property details for a price before attendance, or request a callback and the commercial team will come back to you.
Call 0808 175 7440, any hour, any day of the year.