Drainage and septic tanks
Roots are growing through a joint in the chamber and no tree was named as the source. Why should the survey not pick a culprit tree?
The survey should not pick a culprit tree because no tree was named and roots in a joint do not identify one. Roots are growing through a joint in the chamber, which shows that roots have reached that joint. It does not show which plant they came from. The survey has recorded roots at the joint and the absence of a named source. It has not excavated to a stem, has not identified a species, and has not decided that one tree is the cause.
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?
Roots in a drain joint are a drainage defect you can see in the chamber. They can come from a shrub, a hedge, or a tree some distance away, and several plants can share the same run. Naming a culprit needs identification of the roots or a proper link to a particular stem, which this visit did not make. The surveyor's job here was to record what was in the chamber. Choosing a tree from the skyline would be a guess dressed up as a finding.
Ask a drainage contractor, and if the tree matters an arboriculturist, to identify the roots rather than adopt a guessed tree. Tell the solicitor roots were seen at a joint and no source tree was named. Do not write one species into the enquiries as if the survey had chosen it. Keep any later root identification separate from this chamber note.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Which chamber joint has roots growing through it?
- Why was no tree named as the source?
- Did you identify the roots, or only record that they were there?
What are the typical next steps?
- Ask a drainage contractor to deal with the roots at the joint.
- Do not name a culprit tree the survey left unnamed.
- Tell the solicitor no species was identified as the source.
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 only one tree stands near the chamber, may the survey name it as the source?
No. A single nearby tree is a candidate someone might suspect. The survey did not name it, and roots at a joint still do not prove that stem is the source. Picking it now would go beyond what was seen. The report's restraint is the right reading.
Do roots at that joint show the pipe has collapsed further along?
No. Roots at one joint show roots at that joint. They do not show that the pipe has collapsed further along, because the rest of the run was not seen and no camera was used. The survey has not described a collapse. It has described roots in the chamber joint.