Renegotiating or walking away
The drain has not been filmed and you cannot carry an unknown. Is walking away the survey's decision or yours?
Walking away is your decision, not the survey's. The drain has not been filmed, so the run, the joints and any hidden break stay unknown, and the report has not decided that you must leave the purchase or stay in it. A survey records limits and what it could see. It does not choose whether an unfilmed drain is a risk you can carry. That choice sits with you, with your solicitor and with any lender, once you have understood what was not inspected.
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?
An unfilmed drain is a gap, not a verdict. The surveyor can say the chambers were seen or not seen, and that no camera was run. The camera would be a drainage contractor's job if you instruct it. Until that film exists, nobody in this report has described cracks, displaced joints or roots inside the pipe. You may feel you cannot live with that unknown. The report can explain the limit. It does not convert the limit into an instruction to withdraw.
Decide what you need in order to continue: a drainage survey, a price adjustment you negotiate yourself, or an end to the purchase. Put that choice in writing to your solicitor so the file shows it was yours. If a lender has asked for a drain report, that is the lender's condition, not a line the surveyor can delete. Do not describe the survey as having told you to walk away. It told you the drain was not filmed.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Was any camera survey included in this inspection?
- Has the survey told you to withdraw, or only that the drain was not filmed?
- Is a lender's call for a drain report being kept separate from this text?
What are the typical next steps?
- Treat walking away as your decision, not the survey's.
- Instruct a drainage firm if you need the run filmed.
- Tell your solicitor in writing which unknown you will not carry.
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 an unseen drain prove the pipe has collapsed?
No. Not filming the drain leaves the inside unknown. It does not prove a collapse, a root mass or a sound pipe. The survey recorded the limit and stopped. A camera survey is later work if you instruct it. Until then, do not tell a lender the drain has failed, and do not tell them it has passed.
Can the price be rewritten by the surveyor to remove the unknown?
No. The surveyor does not set the price and does not negotiate it. The report can say the drain was not filmed. What you do with that gap, including any change you seek from the seller, is your negotiation with advice from your solicitor. The inspection will not rewrite the figure or decide the purchase for you.