HOW TO HIRE · PLUMBING & HEATING

How to hire a drain survey engineer in the UK
The checks, the questions and the paperwork.

No register applies to drain surveys. The value is the report — what was found, where, and whose drain it is.

  • Search and compare — no account needed
  • Nearest to you first
  • One score from Google, Trustpilot and Locufy reviews

THE 60-SECOND VERSION

Hiring a drain survey engineer in five steps

  1. Say why you want itBuying a house, a recurring blockage, or an insurance claim — the report differs.
  2. Find the coversUncover every manhole and inspection chamber before the visit.
  3. Ask for video and a planA written report with footage and a drain plan.
  4. Ask whose drain it isYours, shared or public changes who pays for the repair.
  5. Separate the repairThe survey price should not depend on you booking repairs.

BEFORE YOU BOOK

Check before you book

No register applies

No licence or register applies to drainage contractors in any UK nation, so anyone may offer a CCTV drain survey. The checks that matter are whose drain it is, the contractor's insurance and a written record of what was found.

Ask for the business name, the insurer and a written report or invoice for the a CCTV drain survey.

Whose drain it is

In England, council guidance explains that from 1 October 2011 sewer pipes outside property boundaries, and pipes shared with a neighbour, passed to the sewerage company; you remain responsible for pipes that serve only your home and sit inside your boundary. That can decide who pays for the drain survey.

Before paying for the drain survey, ask the contractor whether the fault is in a drain serving only you, or a shared or public one. hinckley-bosworth.gov.uk →

Insurance and trader status

The Consumer Rights Act 2015 requires a drain survey to be done with reasonable care and skill; a written report is how you can tell. Ask whether the business carries public liability insurance.

Look for the trader badge and the insurer's name before the drain survey.

VAT

A CCTV drain survey is standard-rated at 20%, and so is any jetting done to clear the line for the camera. Registration is compulsory above £90,000 of taxable turnover, and a registered firm has to charge it and itemise it rather than fold it into the price.

Ask the survey firm for its VAT number and whether the report price includes VAT. gov.uk →

“Will the drain survey cover every run, or just one?”

A good answer: A stated scope: which runs, from which chambers.

“Will I get video, a written report and a plan?”

A good answer: Yes, all three, usually within a few days.

“Will the report say whose drain each section is?”

A good answer: Where they can tell — private, shared or public.

“Is the report suitable for my insurer or lender?”

A good answer: A plain answer about format and detail.

“Do the drains need jetting before the survey?”

A good answer: A view, and a price, if the camera cannot see.

“Do I have to use you for the repairs?”

A good answer: No. A survey with no strings is worth more.

Getting the quote right

  • Runs covered and chambers lifted
  • Report format — video, written report, plan
  • Jetting, if needed, priced separately
  • Who actually attends with the camera — an employed engineer or a subcontracted operator
  • The VAT number, with VAT at 20% on its own line

Walk away if

  • Finds expensive faults but will not show the footage
  • Report only valid if you book their repair
  • No mention of shared or public drains
  • Pressure to book relining on the day
LOW
£80
TYPICAL
£250
HIGH
£400

What a drain survey engineer costs: £80–£400 per survey

CCTV drain surveys are priced per survey by scope and report; jetting and repairs are separate. CCTV Drain Survey price guide →

Guide prices compiled by the Locufy team from published Irish and UK provider price lists and 2026/27 cost guides. Updated 2026.

KNOW WHAT TO LOOK FOR? NOW FIND ONE

Drain survey engineers near you, with the badges that matter shown

ID checked, trader status and one score from every review — on the card, before you message anyone. Nearest first. No account needed to look.

Or post the job free and let them come to you.

  1. Lift chambersManhole and inspection covers lifted.
  2. Camera inA CCTV camera pushed through each run.
  3. Note defectsCracks, roots, displaced joints and collapses logged.
  4. MapThe drain layout sketched or plotted.
  5. ReportWritten report with video and plan.

Inspection chamber
An access point to a drain.
Lateral drain
The section of pipe outside your boundary to the sewer.
Root ingress
Tree roots growing into a drain through joints.
Displaced joint
Pipe sections knocked out of line.
Jetting
Clearing a drain with high-pressure water.
Relining
Repairing a pipe from inside with a resin liner.

AFTER

When the job is done

Keep the footageIt is the evidence for a repair quote, an insurer or a buyer.
Get a second quote on repairsUsing the same report.
Contact the sewerage company if neededIf the fault is in a shared or public sewer in England.
Leave the reviewReviews on Locufy are tied to a booking, so yours about the drain survey carries weight. If something is not right, the make-it-right step gives the drain survey engineer the first chance to fix it before it is published.

STEP 1Complain to the drain survey engineer firstSay what is wrong with the drain survey and what you want done about it. Under section 49 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 the drain survey had to be carried out with reasonable care and skill; if it was not, you can ask the drain survey engineer to put it right at their own cost (section 55) or for money off (section 56).
STEP 2Use the make-it-right stepA score under four stars opens the make-it-right step: you choose whether the drain survey engineer gets the chance to put the drain survey right first, and we chase it to an end before you publish.
STEP 3Trading Standards, through the helplinesFor advice about the drain survey, or to have the complaint passed to Trading Standards, call the Citizens Advice consumer helpline on 0808 223 1133 (England and Wales), Advice Direct Scotland on 0808 800 9060, or Consumerline on 0300 123 6262 in Northern Ireland.
STEP 4Small claims, if money is owedAn unpaid refund or repair bill from the drain survey goes to small claims: £10,000 is the limit in England and Wales, £5,000 in Scotland using simple procedure, and £5,000 in Northern Ireland — all designed to be used without a solicitor.

Hiring a drain survey engineer: questions people ask

No. No register applies; judge them on the report.

In England, since 1 October 2011, shared pipes and pipes outside your boundary are the sewerage company's; pipes serving only your home inside the boundary are yours.

It shows the drains' condition before you commit; ask for a report a lender or insurer can use.

£80–£400 per survey, around £250 typical with a report. The CCTV drain survey price guide explains the range; your town in the search box above shows engineers who cover it.

No; jetting, repairs and relining are separate.

One to two hours on site, with the report within a few days.

MORE GUIDES

More hiring guides in plumbing & heating

How to hire: Drain RepairHow to hire: Drain UnblockingHow to hire: Leak DetectionHow to hire: Septic Tank Inspection & RepairHow to hire: PlumberHow to hire: Sump Pump InstallationHow to hire: Emergency PlumberHow to hire: Septic Tank EmptyingAll 701 hiring guides →

Drain survey engineers near you

Drain survey engineers in LondonDrain survey engineers in ManchesterDrain survey engineers in BirminghamDrain survey engineers in GlasgowDrain survey engineers in BelfastAll drain survey engineers on Locufy →

Sources — checked October 2026

  1. Hinckley & Bosworth Borough Council — drains: who is responsible (the 1 October 2011 transfer)
  2. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 49 — reasonable care and skill
  3. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 54 — what you can ask for when a service falls short
  4. Citizens Advice — more help with a consumer issue (England)
  5. nidirect — the small claims process (Northern Ireland)
  6. VAT rates on different goods and services — Utilities: sewer and drain cleaning, unblocking or maintenance is standard-rated
  7. GOV.UK — VAT rates
  8. GOV.UK — Register for VAT: when to register