DRAIN BLOCKED..TOILET NOT FLUSHING..

I’ve never had to pay to have the drains unblocked. But if it was a problem from my water meter in the front garden to my house I think I’d have to pay.

Happy New Year Shandy57

MayBee70, Thames Water will clear our drains here, promptly and free of charge, as our houses are 90 years old. Therefore, we don't need extra insurance or emergency plumbers.

When the mains burst in my front garden (probably due to next door's tree roots) I didn't have to pay, either (for a first 'offence') but I was warned that next time I'd get a bill. I persuaded next door's landlord to remove the tree.

That’s interesting. I have a massive Scots pine next to my house, the roots of which are pushing up my driveway where the water supply pipes go. I had all the trees removed from my garden ( hated doing it even though they were only small) because if there was a problem I wanted to point out that the tree wasn’t mine. The farmer who owns the land refuses to have the tree taken down and, in fact he can’t anyway because it’s a conservation area. No one seems to care that, if that tree came down it would demolish my house. As it is I think I’ll struggle to sell the house. When we bought it the rules about how close a tree could be to a house we’re different. I do have tree surgeons check it out on a regular basis but after seeing the devastation caused by Storm Arwen anything on that scale would bring it down. I try not to think of it too much!

Back in 2011, the law changed nationally regarding responsibility for blocked drains (to the benefit of homeowners). Our water company even sent us a diagram at the time showing various scenarios.

Home owners are responsible for blockages in the drain up to the boundary of their properties OR until that drain connects into a shared drain.
I have found a website showing a similar diagram which makes it clear
draindetectives.co.uk/blog/who-is-responsible-for-drains/

Just had a memory from my late mother's property..she had a beautiful Lilac Tree and its roots entered the drain and completely blocked drainage system...

One of the biggest culprits for blocking the drains is oil, grease and fat from cooking. They dont mix with water and attract all kinds of other bits and pieces, Eventually they can solidify into a fatburger mass and block the drains.

I have an NDN from a group who use this extensively and she is always whining that her drains are blocked. I dont even own a chip pan and am very careful what I put down (things like wet wipes go into the bin and I dont have kids or use sanitary products). This NDN has form for fly tipping onto my property and other offences so I doubt very much that she is carefully re-cycling all her cooking oil and disposing of it responsibly. More like she is letting it go down the sink. I clean my drain with a mixture of baking soda and white vinegar every few weeks. Ive never had a provblem with any of the toilets or sinks.

This NDN has repeatedly sent plumbers round to my house and also the local water authority. At first I allowed them to lift the drain cover but it was always clear. Now I just dont answer the door to her (as I have a ring type doorbell) when I see her whining face. She can sort out her own problems.

It's a bit late, I know, but we always keep a wire coat hanger around as they're great for dispersing extra large logs and for pulling up anything that is blocking the loo. Just wash after use, or use wipes, and put out of way of children & idiots!

Maybee you can get permission to take a tree down in a conservation area I live in one but the trees in my garden were dangerously close to my building and in high winds I was scared I had to fill in forms and send in photos but it went through and I had them taken down

This is an HA property, it is the responsibility of the HA to solve the problem.Do not mess with what may be a noisome and serious problem yourself. call the HA and keep calling until they do something. Th problem is clearly not in your plumbing but further down the system.