Landlord plumbing and drainage cover pays to clear or repair blockages and leaks in the pipes serving a let property, and the useful thing to understand first is where those pipes stop being yours. Drainage responsibility in England and Wales changed when most shared and lateral drains transferred to the water companies, and a landlord paying to insure pipes somebody else maintains is paying twice.
What is yours and what is the water company's
Broadly, the pipes inside the property boundary serving only that property are the owner's. Shared drains and the lateral drain running from the boundary to the public sewer transferred to the water companies for most properties, so a blockage beyond the boundary is usually the water company's to clear, free of charge, once reported.
What the cover actually pays for
Clearing a blockage in the private drainage within the boundary, repairing a collapsed or damaged private drain, and tracing a leak. Some products include the cost of accessing the pipe, which on a drain under a driveway is the expensive part. Blockages caused by misuse are usually excluded, which on a let property is a real limitation.
How it sits beside the buildings policy
Damage caused by escaping water is a buildings claim. The failure of the pipe itself is maintenance unless the policy has a specific accidental damage to underground services extension. Landlords sometimes claim for the wrong one and are surprised: the water damage is covered and the pipe that caused it may not be.
Whether to buy it
It is a modest add on and it earns its price on one collapsed drain. It is least useful on a modern property with a short private run and most useful on an older property with long private drainage, mature trees nearby, or a history of blockages. The first two are worth checking before deciding.
Questions people ask about landlord plumbing and drainage cover
Who is responsible for a blocked drain at a rented property?
The owner for private drainage within the boundary; the water company for most shared and lateral drains beyond it, which transferred to them for most properties.
Does buildings insurance cover a collapsed drain?
The water damage usually yes; the pipe itself often only with an accidental damage to underground services extension.
Are blockages caused by the tenant covered?
Usually excluded as misuse, which is a real limitation on a let property. Telling tenants what not to put down the drains is worth doing.
Is it worth buying?
Most on older properties with long private drainage or mature trees nearby, least on a modern property with a short run to the boundary.