How much does a CCTV drain survey cost in the UK?
A CCTV drain survey costs £200 on average in the UK. Most jobs fall between £100 and £600 per survey. Type of survey: Basic camera inspection of accessible runs £100 to £250, Full survey with written report £240 to £400, Large or older property £350 to £600. Prices reviewed September 2026.
A CCTV drain survey costs £100 to £600 in the UK, with most domestic surveys around £200 including VAT. A basic camera inspection to find the cause of a blockage sits at the bottom of that range, and a full homebuyer survey with a written report and drain map sits in the middle.
CCTV drain survey cost calculator
Use the calculator to price your CCTV drain survey in 2026. Adjust the options and area for a UK cost range. Nothing is sent anywhere.
CCTV drain survey cost breakdown
Typical CCTV drain survey costs, by option:
| Type of survey | Typical UK cost |
|---|---|
| Basic camera inspection of accessible runs, findings explained on site | £100 to £250 |
| Full survey with written report, footage and drain map | £240 to £400 |
| Large or older property, several manholes, half a day or more | £350 to £600 |
| + Jetting to clear a blockage before the camera can pass | add £100 to £250 |
| + Digging to reach a buried or lost manhole | add £100 to £300 |
What's included in the price?
Typical CCTV drain survey prices include:
- A drainage engineer feeding a camera through the underground runs from your manholes and inspection chambers, usually one to two hours on site
- Live footage reviewed as the camera goes, so cracks, root ingress, displaced joints, scale and standing water are spotted and explained to you on the day
- A verbal summary on a basic inspection, or a written report with still images, a coded defect list and the recorded footage on a full survey
- A drain map on a full survey showing where the pipes run, which way they fall and where they leave your boundary
- Confirmation of which pipes are yours and which belong to the water company, which decides who pays for any repair
- A quote for any repair the camera finds, priced separately from the survey
What changes the price?
The things that move CCTV drain survey prices most:
Whether you need a verbal inspection or a written report with footage and a drain map, which is the biggest single step in price
How many manholes and inspection chambers the engineer has to work from, since many firms price by access point beyond the first few
The size and age of the property, because longer runs and older clay pipes take longer to survey
Whether a blockage has to be jetted clear before the camera can get through, which is charged on top
Whether a manhole has been paved or decked over and has to be found and opened up first
Your region, with London and the Home Counties priced highest and rural areas often cheaper but with fewer specialist firms to choose from
How the price is built up
Most firms start from a fixed price that covers a set number of access points, commonly the first three or four manholes, with each extra one charged on top. A basic inspection with the findings explained on site is £100 to £250. Adding a written report, recorded footage and a drain map takes it to £240 to £400, and a large or older property with several manholes and half a day on site is £350 to £600. Jetting to clear a blockage first adds £100 to £250, and finding and opening a manhole that has been paved or decked over adds £100 to £300. VAT is included in every figure here, and most drainage firms quote without it. Almost all of the price is the engineer's time and the equipment. A professional camera unit with a recording head costs the firm thousands of pounds and is paid for across every survey it does, which is why even a basic inspection starts around £100 rather than at a plumber's hourly rate. The report is the other cost on a full survey. Coding each defect, drawing the map and editing the footage takes office time after the visit, and that is what the extra £100 to £150 over a basic inspection pays for.
Ways to keep the cost down
- Ask for a basic inspection if you only need to find the cause of a blockage, since the written report and drain map add £100 to £150 you may not need
- Get the full report with a drain map if you are buying, extending or claiming on insurance, because a basic inspection has to be repeated for those
- Report a blockage to your water company first if a neighbour's drain joins yours before the boundary, since a shared section is theirs to inspect for free
- Check whether the quote includes VAT and jetting, the two things a cheap headline price most often leaves out
- Find and clear your manhole covers before the engineer arrives, because a buried or seized cover is charged as extra time
Does where you live change the cost?
In London, a CCTV drain survey typically costs around £240, about 20% above the UK average of £200. In the North, Scotland and Wales the guide figure is nearer £190.
| Region | From | Typical | Up to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Midlands / East (UK average) | £100 | £200 | £600 |
| London | £120 | £240 | £720 |
| South East / South West | £110 | £210 | £630 |
| North / Scotland / Wales | £95 | £190 | £580 |
Guide prices per survey, scaled with the same regional multipliers as the calculator. Not quotes.
CCTV drain survey cost in major UK cities
| City | From | Typical | Up to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Belfast | £95 | £190 | £570 |
| Birmingham | £100 | £200 | £600 |
| Bristol | £110 | £210 | £630 |
| Cardiff | £95 | £190 | £580 |
| Edinburgh | £95 | £190 | £580 |
| Glasgow | £95 | £190 | £580 |
| Leeds | £95 | £190 | £580 |
| Liverpool | £95 | £190 | £580 |
| London | £120 | £240 | £720 |
| Manchester | £95 | £190 | £580 |
| Newcastle | £95 | £190 | £580 |
| Sheffield | £95 | £190 | £580 |
City guide estimates, scaled by local labour costs. Indicative averages for CCTV drain survey, not quotes.
London and the South East cost the most, on labour rates, travel time and parking, and the fixed-price firms based there start from a higher base than a local trader elsewhere. Rural areas and the North are usually cheaper, but there are fewer specialist drainage firms, so travel time is sometimes added to the quote. A firm based just outside a city will often survey inside it for less than a city-based one.
Common questions
How much does a CCTV drain survey cost in the UK?
A CCTV drain survey costs £100 to £600, with most domestic surveys around £200 including VAT. A basic camera inspection of the accessible runs, with the findings explained on site, is £100 to £250. A full survey with a written report, recorded footage and a drain map, which is what you need when buying a house or applying to build over a sewer, is £240 to £400. A large or older property with several manholes, taking half a day or more, runs £350 to £600.
How much is a homebuyer drain survey, and is it worth it?
A homebuyer drain survey is £240 to £400 for a typical house, and it is the full-report version of the survey rather than the basic inspection. You are paying for the written report, the recorded footage and a map of the drains, all of which your solicitor, lender or insurer can read. A standard building survey does not put a camera in the drains, so this is the only way to see them before you exchange. Whether it is worth it depends on the house. On a Victorian or Edwardian terrace with its original clay pipes, or anywhere with mature trees close to the building, it usually is, because relining costs £85 to £150 a metre and digging up and replacing a collapsed run is commonly £3,000 or more. On a modern estate house with plastic drains and no history of blockages, it is a harder case to make.
How long does a CCTV drain survey take?
One to two hours for a typical house, and up to six hours for a large property or a complex system with many access points. A basic inspection gives you the findings there and then. A full written report with footage and a drain map normally follows within a few working days, and some firms send it only once you have paid the invoice.
Who is responsible for a shared or public sewer?
Since 1 October 2011 the water company has been responsible for any sewer shared between two or more properties in England and Wales, and for any lateral drain, which is the section of your own drain that runs outside your boundary. The 2011 transfer moved those private sewers to the water and sewerage companies whether they run under gardens, houses or roads. You still own the drain that serves only your property and sits inside your boundary. This matters for a survey because if the camera finds a defect on the shared or public section, the water company repairs it and you do not pay, so ask the engineer to mark on the map exactly where your pipe becomes theirs.
What is a build-over agreement and why does it need a survey?
It is the water company's written consent to build over or within three metres of a public sewer. Approved Document H of the Building Regulations covers building within 3m of the centreline of a drain or sewer on the sewer records, and says that anyone building over or near one should consult its owner, who for a public sewer is the water company. Most water companies ask for a CCTV survey of the sewer before the work starts, to record its condition, and some ask for a second one afterwards to show the build has not damaged it. The survey for this is the full-report version at £240 to £400, and the water company charges its own fee for the agreement on top. Building control will usually want to see the agreement before it issues the completion certificate for the extension.
Why do drain survey quotes leave off the VAT?
It adds 20 per cent, so a survey advertised at £199 plus VAT is £239 to you. Most drainage firms do a lot of commercial work, where the customer reclaims VAT, so they quote the way the trade does and add it at invoice. Any business with taxable turnover over £90,000 a year has to charge VAT, which is every national and most regional drainage firms. A sole trader below that threshold can quote you a VAT-free price, which is one reason a small local firm is often cheaper for the same camera. Ask whether a price includes VAT before you compare quotes. Every figure on this page includes it.
Will the survey clear a blockage as well?
Often, if the blockage is minor: most firms will rod a small obstruction out of the way as part of the survey. A serious blockage is a separate job. The camera cannot see through a pipe full of fat, roots or debris, so the engineer has to jet it first, which adds £100 to £250 and is sometimes a return visit with heavier equipment. Ask when you book whether jetting is included, because the cheapest quotes usually leave it out.
Can my water company survey the drains for free?
Not your own drains. The water company will attend a blockage or a suspected defect on the public sewer or a shared section without charge, because it owns those pipes, but it will not survey the private drain inside your boundary. If you are not sure where its responsibility starts, report the problem to the water company first. If the fault turns out to be on its pipe, the visit costs you nothing, and if it is on yours, you pay for the survey.
Can I survey the drains myself with a cheap inspection camera?
Not usefully. A cheap inspection camera has a short cable and no way to tell you how far in it is or which way the pipe turns, so it shows you the first metre or two and nothing else. A professional camera has a self-levelling head, a distance counter and usually a transmitter so the position of a fault can be marked above ground, and the engineer knows what a displaced joint or root ingress looks like on screen. Where a cheap camera earns its keep is a blocked kitchen waste under the sink. For anything underground, pay for the survey.
What happens if the survey finds a problem?
You get a quote for the repair, and you should get another one or two before you accept it. Relining a cracked pipe costs £85 to £150 a metre and is done from the manholes without digging. A collapsed run has to be dug up and replaced, which is commonly £3,000 or more depending on how deep it is and what is on top of it. If the defect is on a shared or public section, the water company does the repair at its own cost. Keep the footage and the report whichever way it goes, because the firm that surveyed is not always the cheapest to repair.
Official guidance and sources
The rules and schemes referenced on this page come from these official UK sources. The price figures are Costwise's own; see how we price.
- Drainage and waste disposal: Approved Document H GOV.UK · Section H4 applies to building over or within 3m of the centreline of a drain or sewer shown on the sewer records, and says the developer should consult the sewer's owner, which for a public sewer is the water company, who may arrange an inspection.
- Responsibility for pipes and pumping stations Ofwat · Household drains and private sewers are the householder's responsibility up to the point they connect with the public sewer, which since the 1 October 2011 transfer is usually at the property boundary.
- Water customers no longer liable for sewerage repairs GOV.UK · The 2011 transfer moved private sewers shared between two or more properties, and lateral drains outside a property's boundary, to the water and sewerage companies; a drain serving one property inside its own boundary stays with the owner.
These are independent guide prices based on typical UK jobs in 2026. Your actual cost depends on your property, spec, access and where you live. Always get at least three written quotes before committing.