Lead pipes and drinking water
Nothing on the visit sampled a shared supply pipe, opened the neighbour's stopcock or tested ownership the survey does not settle. What has to stay undecided?
Ownership, the neighbour's side and the water itself stay undecided. Nothing on the visit sampled a shared supply pipe, opened the neighbour's stopcock or tested ownership, and a home survey does not settle who owns a shared pipe. Lead or other metal may be involved, but that was not proved by a sample. The report can note that a supply appears to be shared. It has not traced the neighbour's pipe and it has not tested drinking water.
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?
Shared supplies are pipes that serve more than one house, often from an older layout, with a stopcock the neighbour controls or that sits on their land. Opening that stopcock was not done, so isolation, condition and what the pipe is made of on their side are unknown. Ownership is a legal and water-company question. The survey did not sample water and did not decide title. A note that the supply is shared is not a map and not a test result.
Ask the solicitor to raise the shared supply with the water company and the seller, including where the stopcocks are and who maintains the pipe. Do not rely on a viewing to open the neighbour's fittings. A water test, if you need one, is separate and was not done here. Tell a lender the survey did not settle ownership and did not sample the supply. Access to next door's stopcock is a legal practicality, not a survey finding.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Was the shared supply left unsampled?
- Did the visit avoid opening the neighbour's stopcock?
- Has ownership been left outside what the survey can settle?
What are the typical next steps?
- Leave the shared pipe, the neighbour's stopcock and ownership undecided.
- Ask the solicitor to enquire with the water company.
- Do not tell a lender the supply was tested or the title decided.
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
Does a stopcock under your own sink prove the supply is private?
No. An internal stopcock controls your branch. It does not show whether the pipe in the ground is shared, and it is not the neighbour's stopcock, which was not opened. The survey did not test ownership or sample the water. Ask the solicitor to trace the supply with the company rather than with the kitchen valve.
If the neighbour says the pipe is not lead, is that a sample?
No. A conversation is not a laboratory result and it does not open their stopcock. The survey did not sample the shared pipe and does not settle ownership. Ask the solicitor to get the reply in a form you can rely on, and if water quality matters, arrange a proper test. Speech on the path is not either of those.