Elena called her insurance, but they said shared drains were the responsibility of the freeholder. The freeholder, a distant property company, took three days to respond. In that time, Elena found a local specialist: , based near the Hammersmith flyover.
Elena now has the video on a USB stick in her fireproof safe. She jokes it’s her most valuable document – more useful than the title deed.
The story doesn’t end there.
Carla lifted the manhole cover in Elena’s garden – a small, brick-lined shaft filled with murky water. She fed in the camera, its light cutting through the gloom. Elena watched the screen.
The freeholder tried to split the £4,500 repair cost between all four flats. Elena went back to the CCTV footage. It showed the collapse was directly beneath her section of pipe, but the law (the Water Industry Act 1991) states shared drains serving multiple properties are the freeholder’s responsibility. She sent the relevant clip to a solicitor. The freeholder backed down. cctv drain survey hammersmith and fulham
Six weeks after moving in, the problems began.
When Elena bought the ground-floor flat in a converted Victorian townhouse near Fulham Palace Road, the surveyor’s report mentioned only “limited drainage inspection.” She didn’t think much of it. The flat had high ceilings, a compact garden, and was a short walk to the Thames. Perfect. Elena called her insurance, but they said shared
As Carla packed up her camera, she told Elena: “In Fulham, the drains are older than most of the houses. Treat them like a listed building – inspect them before they collapse.”