Yorkshire Water - Whose pipe is it?

Whose pipe is it?

If there’s a problem with your water supply or drains, do you know who’s responsible for fixing them? And what if you share a pipe with your neighbours, then who’s responsible? This handy guide will help with any queries.

Clean water pipes

Homeowner's responsibility

As a homeowner, you’re responsible for all the pipework up to the street boundary.

This includes:

the pipe between your home and the street boundary (the supply pipe)
stop taps on your property (inside or outside)
all the plumbing in your home.

If your supply pipe runs through someone else's property, it's still your responsibility.

If any of these pipes leak or you have faulty plumbing in your home, it's down to you. Before you look for a plumber, check if your plumbing is covered by your home insurance or under a separate policy.

Joint homeowner's responsibility

If your home is older, you might share a supply pipe with your neighbours. If you’re not sure if you share, we can find out for you. One sign may be if you experience low pressure or flow from your taps when your neighbours use the supply.

If you have a shared supply pipes, you’re jointly responsible for maintaining and repairing it.

Yorkshire Water's responsibility

At Yorkshire Water, we’re responsible for all the pipework outside the street boundary.

This includes:

water mains
stop taps in the road or pavement (these often mark the point where your supply pipe ends if it's just outside the boundary)
the communication pipe leading up to the boundary of your home.

Your water meter and its connections also belong to us and we’ll take care of any repairs or replacements.

Did you know?

If your home was built before 1966, it might be earthed by the metal water supply (unless it’s been reviewed since). If you think your home might be earthed this way, we recommend you get in touch with an electrician or your electricity provider to make sure your home is earthed properly. We’re not responsible for earthing your home.

Property boundary

Green and white dashed line

Homeowner's responsibility
Water supply pipe

Coral coloured pipe

Joint homeowners’ responsibility
Common supply pipe

Dark blue pipe

Yorkshire Water’s responsibility
Mains pipe, communication pipe and external stop tap

Light blue pipe

Drainage pipes

Homeowner's responsibility

If there's a blockage in a drainage pipe or sewer, responsibility for fixing it depends on where the problem is.

As a homeowner, you're responsible for:

all the pipes inside the property. These include toilets, sink drains and any outdoor guttering or pipes attached to the property.
the section of pipe that goes into the ground, either directly or into a gully close to the property, until it reaches a shared drainage pipe or public sewer.
drains shared between more than one property if your home was built after 2011, unless they've been adopted by Yorkshire Water.

Yorkshire Water's responsibility

At Yorkshire Water, we're responsible for:

drains shared between more than one property which flow into a public sewer, if your home was built before 2011.
drains outside of the property boundary which flow into a public sewer.
public sewers.