Drainage and septic tanks
A rodding eye in the pavement is the only access and it was seized. What of the shared run was not rodded?
The shared run beyond that seized rodding eye was not rodded. The eye in the pavement was the only access, and it would not turn, so nothing past it was cleared or seen by rod. The survey can record a seized fitting at the surface. It has not rodded the shared length, has not camera-surveyed it, and has not decided that the run is blocked or clear. A lid you cannot open is a limit, not a drain test.
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?
A rodding eye is a small access for rods, not a chamber you can look along. When it is seized, the shared pipe stays a line on a plan. Grease, roots, a broken joint or an open bore are all still possible, and the inspection has no evidence to choose among them. Shared means more than one house may use it, which the survey also has not mapped by lifting neighbours' covers. The only fact is the eye that would not move.
If the shared drain must be known, ask a drainage contractor to free the eye or find another access and to rod or camera what this visit could not. Tell the solicitor the survey stopped at a seized fitting. Do not tell a lender the shared run was tested. The home survey did not rod it, and a seized cap should not be written up as a clear pipe.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Was the rodding eye the only access, and was it seized?
- What length of the shared run did you therefore leave unrodded?
- Did you record a limit rather than a pass or a blockage?
What are the typical next steps?
- Treat the shared run as not rodded.
- Ask a drainage contractor if that length must be opened and seen.
- Do not describe a seized eye as a tested drain.
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 pavement is dry, is the shared run clear?
No. A dry pavement shows the surface, not the bore of a pipe that was not rodded. The eye was seized, so the shared run stayed unseen. The survey has not called it clear. Dry flags can sit over a partial blockage just as easily as over an open pipe.
Can the seller's word replace the rod?
No. A seller may believe the drain runs. The survey still did not rod the shared length past the seized eye. Belief is not a test. Until a contractor frees an access and rods or cameras the run, that length remains outside the report.