Drainage and septic tanks
The survey recommends a camera and you already have a recent video the surveyor did not watch. What has the home survey not reviewed?
The home survey has not reviewed that video. It recommends a camera because the buried drain was not seen, and a recent recording you already hold was not watched. A film the report does not discuss has not been assessed, however clear you think the run looks. The survey has not confirmed a clear bore, has not contradicted one, and has not adopted your own viewing. The recommendation stands as a limit of the inspection. It is not a comment on pictures the surveyor did not see. The home survey has not carried out its own camera survey either.
Last reviewed 24 October 2026. Written for buyers in England and Wales unless this answer says otherwise. No named surveyor has signed this page. It is general guidance, not a report on your house, and not legal advice.
What is the fuller explanation?
Buried drains sit outside a visual home survey. Opening a chamber still leaves the pipe beyond it unseen, which is why a camera is recommended. A video that already exists can inform the report only if the person instructed on the survey has watched it and written what it shows. That did not happen. Your viewing is not the survey's review. A run you believe is clear may be clear, but the report has not said so, because those frames were not part of the inspection.
Give the video to the solicitor and, if you want it interpreted, ask a drainage firm to review it against the recommendation. Do not tell anyone the recommendation has already been answered by a film the surveyor never saw. The home survey has not reviewed it and has not withdrawn the camera point. A later review can sit beside the report. It does not rewrite the visit. Any claim of a clear run belongs to whoever actually watched the pictures.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Did you recommend a camera because the buried drain was unseen?
- Was the recent video left unwatched, and therefore unreviewed?
- Have you avoided confirming that the run is clear?
What are the typical next steps?
- Treat the existing video as unreviewed by the home survey.
- Do not call the run clear on the survey's behalf.
- Ask a drainage firm to review the footage if you need that reading.
Costs vary with the building and with who you instruct. Where this page does not cite a published figure, ask the surveyor, a relevant specialist, or your solicitor for a written quote. Do not treat a forum average as the price.
Also asked about this
If the chambers were empty of water, has the pipe been proved clear?
No. An empty chamber shows that chamber only. It does not show the pipe, which is why a camera was recommended. The survey has not reviewed your video and has not filmed the drain itself. Water being absent on the day is not a survey of the buried run. The pipe stays unreviewed.
Can the video be sent later and treated as if it had been seen at the time?
The visit did not include it. A later look at the file would be a new instruction, not a silent change that pretends the surveyor watched the video then. The home survey, as written, has not reviewed the footage. Anyone who comments on it later should say that the comment is a later review.