New builds and warranties
Temporary drains still serve the new plot. Has the survey proved where the permanent outfall will discharge?
No. Temporary drains serving the plot show where water is going today, if the surveyor could see them. They do not prove where a permanent outfall will discharge, and the inspection has not traced a pipe that is not yet built. A visual look at a temporary run is not a drainage design and not a completion certificate for the finished connection.
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?
On a live site the pipes you can see may run to a temporary holding arrangement, a pumped tank, or a connection the builder intends to abandon. The surveyor reports what was visible: open trenches, temporary pipes, covers they could lift safely, and any obvious discharge against the wall of the house. They do not design the permanent outfall and they do not accept the builder's sketch as proof of where it will end. Standard visual inspection does not become a trace of a future sewer. If a chamber was not there, it was not opened.
Ask the solicitor for the drainage drawing that forms part of the contract and for any adoption or connection approval that has actually been issued. Ask the surveyor to keep temporary works labelled as temporary. Do not tell a lender the outfall is agreed because rainwater left the site somehow on the day of inspection. A working temporary pipe is evidence of a temporary pipe. The permanent discharge is unproved until the papers and the finished installation say where it goes.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- What drainage did you actually see, and what was still temporary?
- Did you open a chamber, or was there no chamber to open?
- Will you avoid describing a future outfall as if you had traced it?
What are the typical next steps?
- Ask the solicitor for the drainage drawing and any approval already issued.
- Treat temporary pipes as temporary in the report and in your notes.
- Do not tell the lender the permanent outfall has been proved.
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 water is leaving the plot, is the permanent connection done?
Not necessarily. Water leaving by a temporary pipe does not show the permanent outfall.
Does the survey camera-survey the drains automatically?
No. A home survey does not film the runs unless that extra was agreed. Temporary pipes are not that film.