A home buyer CCTV drainage survey is an inspection of a property’s below-ground drainage using a purpose-built camera, carried out before you commit to the purchase. It is the one part of a house that a standard building survey cannot see, and it is the part that produces the largest unexpected bills after completion.
Why buyers have one done
Because drainage is the classic post-completion surprise
A homebuyer’s survey stops at ground level. Nobody knows whether a drain has a displaced joint, a collapsed section, root ingress or a shared connection until a camera goes down it. Where those faults are found after completion they are the new owner’s problem, and a private sewer repair in a garden runs into thousands rather than hundreds.
Because it gives you something to negotiate with
A coded survey report is evidence. It tells you what the defects are, where they are, how serious they are and what putting them right involves — which lets you decide whether to proceed, ask the seller to deal with it, or adjust what you are prepared to pay. That conversation is very difficult to have without a report.
Because surveyors and lenders now expect it
Home buyer drainage surveys have become routine across the UK, and building surveyors and mortgage lenders recognise their value. Buyers of both domestic and commercial property are usually advised to have one carried out by a certified contractor rather than a general handyman with a borrowed camera.
Because of what it rules out
Most surveys find nothing serious, and that is a perfectly good outcome. You get a record of the drainage layout, confirmation of where the property’s responsibility ends and the public sewer begins, and a baseline to compare against in future.
What the survey covers
- A CCTV inspection of the accessible foul and surface water drainage serving the property.
- A drainage layout showing runs, chambers and the direction of flow.
- Defects identified and coded to industry standard, with still images and video.
- Confirmation of connections — including any shared with a neighbouring property, which matters for liability.
- A written report with recommendations, and a clear distinction between what needs doing now and what is worth monitoring.
You can see the format in our example home buyer drainage report. If any of the terminology in a report is unfamiliar, the drainage glossary explains it.
In a hurry?
Property purchases run to other people’s timetables. Exjet offers an express home buyer CCTV survey with a guaranteed three-day turnaround from the point of order — please ask for it when you book, as it needs to be scheduled that way from the start.
Booking one
Home buyer surveys are a fixed-scope job, so we quote them as a fixed price rather than by the hour — tell us the address and roughly what you know about the drainage and we will confirm the cost before we attend. We carry them out across Devon, Cornwall, Somerset and Dorset. Full detail is on our home buyer CCTV surveys page.
Talk to Exjet about your drains
Exjet Services has been solving drainage and sewer problems across Devon, Cornwall, Somerset and Dorset since 1986, with commercial and planned work right across the South West. Our engineers are directly employed, and we are certified to ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 45001.
Related services: home buyer CCTV surveys, residential CCTV drainage surveys and residential drainage repair. See also what happens during a drain survey.
Blocked now? Ring 0800 328 6655 — answered any hour — or request a quote.