Very common in this area - 3 hours per shared sewer IIRC in the streets off Grierson.

Since October 2011 the shared part is owned and maintained by Thames Water under recent changes. See http://www.thameswater.co.uk/cps/rde/xch...l/8654.htm for more.

In our house there is an access cover in the back garden. I guess there's a risk of a pipe burst under your house but no more so than if it was your own sewer. House across the road had a blockage in the shared section and Thames Water came and fixed in no time.

If there's a fault/flood in the shared section then it's clear from the new law that Thames Water would be liable - doesn't help if you get flooded but at least you don't need to argue responsibility with neighbours.

HTH