Sewer blocked: who pays? Tenant, landlord, owners' association (VvE) or municipality

The main rule: own property or public property

The sewer consists of two parts. The section on your own property, from the drains in the house to the property boundary, is usually the responsibility of the property owner. The section after that, under the public road, is usually owned by the municipality. Many municipalities use the access point or boundary chamber at the property line as the dividing point. Where exactly that boundary lies varies by municipality; this is often stated on your municipality's website.

Owner-occupied property

If you are the owner, you usually pay for unblocking the drains and sewer on your own property yourself. If the blockage is in the section under the street, the municipality is usually responsible.

Tip: are the neighbours also affected, or is water coming up from the access point at the property boundary? Then the blockage may be in the municipal section. In that case, contact the municipality first. Many municipalities require you to report a blockage before you call in a company yourself.

Rental property

For rental properties, the tenancy agreement and the Besluit kleine herstellingen (Minor Repairs Decree) play a role. That decree describes which minor maintenance is the tenant's responsibility. Unblocking drains in the property usually falls under this. In broad terms:

• Usually for the tenant: a blocked kitchen sink, washbasin, shower or toilet in your own home, especially if the cause lies with usage (grease, wipes, hair).
• Usually the landlord's responsibility: blockages caused by a defect in the pipe, such as subsidence, a break, root ingrowth or insufficient fall, and blockages in shared pipes such as the soil stack.

Many housing associations have a service fund or service subscription with which drain unblocking is arranged for the tenant. Therefore always report a blockage to the landlord first. If you call in a company yourself without consultation, you risk having to bear the costs yourself. Many landlords also have a fault line outside office hours.

Flat with an owners' association (VvE)

In an apartment building, the communal pipes, such as the vertical stack and the sewer beneath the building, are usually owned by the owners' association. The drain within your own flat, up to the connection to the stack, is generally the responsibility of the flat owner. What exactly is communal is stated in the deed of division and the regulations. If you rent a flat, everything goes through your landlord. Also read our article on a blocked vertical stack.

What if the cause is unclear?

Sometimes it's not immediately clear where the blockage is or what's causing it. A camera inspection shows what's going on and where. Those images help to establish with the landlord, owners' association (VvE) or municipality who is responsible. Also read subsided sewer or tree roots in the sewer.

Step-by-step plan for a blocked sewer

1. Limit water use as soon as water comes up.
2. Check whether you rent, own or live in an owners' association (VvE), and look up your tenancy agreement or the regulations.
3. Ask if the neighbours are also affected. That tells you something about the location of the blockage.
4. Report it to the correct party: rental to the landlord, communal pipes to the VvE manager, a suspected blockage under the street to the municipality.
5. Commissioning the work yourself? Ask for the price in advance and keep the invoice and any photos or camera footage.

Want to know what the price of unblocking depends on? Read what does sewer unblocking cost?