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What should you ask about garden drainage?
Garden drainage is the question of where rainwater goes when it sits on a lawn or a path, and a soakaway has rules of its own. This page says what to put in the job, and it does not tell you where to dig.
Last reviewed:What problem are you describing?
Garden drainage, in the jobs people post, is standing water: a lawn that stays wet, a path that puddles, or a gully that does not take the rain from a roof. It is not a diagnosis. Two gardens with the same puddle can need different work, and this page does not tell them apart from a sentence. It tells you what to ask, and which rules a soakaway sits under.
Crewe, Nantwich and Sandbach are the first towns this page has in mind. Anyone in the UK can post or register. The rules below are the Planning Portal's, not a local custom.
A pipe inside the house is a different trade and a different page: PEX pipe. A trickle you can hear indoors is a trickling sound.
What does the Planning Portal say about a soakaway?
A soakaway does not normally require an application for planning permission, provided it deals with surface water and does not discharge into a public sewer [S1]. Additional regulations may apply if you are in a conservation area or within the boundary of a listed building [S1]. Building regulations will apply to the creation of a soakaway [S1]. The soakaway must comply with Part H of the building regulations, which specifies where soakaways can be located and the size that is permitted [S1].
That FAQ does not print the distance or the size. Do not invent one, and do not accept a quote that invents one without saying it comes from Part H. Ask the installer to write the measurement they are designing to, and ask who speaks to building control.
GOV.UK: find your local council for building control. QuoteZila is not affiliated with this organisation.
Read the Portal's soakaway answer on planning and building rules for a soakaway, and the separate GOV.UK page on building regulations approval. Building regulations approval is different from planning permission, and you might need both [S2].
What if the house is listed, or the garden is in a conservation area?
The same soakaway answer says additional regulations may apply in a conservation area or within the boundary of a listed building [S1]. GOV.UK says any works to alter a listed building in a way that affects its character as a building of special architectural or historic interest require listed building consent, whether or not planning permission is also required [S3]. Listing status covers the entire building, internal and external, unless the list entry says otherwise, and it may cover curtilage buildings or other structures [S3].
A lawn soakaway is not automatically a listed-building alteration. Digging next to a listed wall might be. Say if the house is listed, and ask the council rather than guessing. Doing works that affect that character, without listed building consent, is a criminal offence under the Act GOV.UK cites [S3].
What should the quote separate?
Write the symptom first: where the water sits, and for how long after rain, in your own words. Then ask the quote to say:
- Whether they are pricing a soakaway, a channel, a cleared gully, or more than one of those.
- Whether the water is surface water only, and whether anything discharges to a public sewer [S1].
- Who applies to building control, and whether that is in the price [S1].
- What happens to the soil they dig out.
- Whether the work is near a neighbour's foundation. This page does not decide the Party Wall etc. Act for you. If the dig is deep and close to next door, ask a surveyor or the builder to say whether that Act applies, as its own question.
Citizens Advice says some traders charge for quotes, so ask first, and to try to get written quotes from at least 3 traders [S4]. A quote is a fixed price and an estimate is a rough guess [S4]. Materials should be a separate line [S4]. For drainage, that means the crate or the pipe they name, not a single word "drainage".
Landscapers and builders both get asked. A landscaper who lays turf and a builder who forms a soakaway may both be right, and they may both be wrong for a gully that is part of the house drain. Say which symptom you have so the trade matches.
What should the job not promise?
Do not write a distance from the house unless that distance is the one your designer has taken from Part H. This page does not set it. Do not write "connect it to the sewer" as a casual extra. The planning sentence is for a soakaway that does not discharge into a public sewer [S1].
Do not describe a driveway replacement as drainage. A new drive has its own questions, and the live page for that work is the driveway cost guide. If the drive is why the garden floods, say so, and keep the prices apart.
A business registers for VAT when taxable turnover for the last 12 months goes over £90,000 [S5]. Ask whether the drainage figure includes VAT.
Jobs you might post
These are examples, not taken from real job posts.
- "Lawn holds water for days after rain. Please quote a soakaway for surface water only, say how you will meet Part H, and say who contacts building control. No connection to the public sewer."
- "Listed house. Puddle against the back wall. Please look and say whether the work needs listed building consent before you price a dig."
- "Gully under the downpipe overflows onto the path. Please quote to clear or remake that gully only. The lawn is a separate question."
How do you compare the replies?
Match each reply to the lines you asked for. A price with no mention of building control, on a job you described as a new soakaway, has not answered the Portal's point that building regulations apply [S1]. A price that adds a sewer connection you did not ask for is a different job.
Up to five matched local businesses can send a quote [QZ2]. QuoteZila is free for customers and local businesses [QZ1].
Honest status: QuoteZila is new. We're starting in Cheshire, beginning with Crewe, Nantwich and Sandbach, and growing area by area. Anyone in the UK can still post a job or register a business. How fast you get quotes depends on how many local businesses have joined near you. Businesses can register and receive jobs straight away. We don't check insurance, qualifications or registrations, so please check these yourself before you hire.
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Is a soggy lawn the same as a blocked sink?
No. A blocked sink is waste from a basin that will not empty. Garden drainage is rain and surface water in the ground outside. If a gully by the house is blocked, say so, because that can be a different visit from a soakaway in the lawn. Do not treat them as one price.
Does a soakaway need a planning application?
The Planning Portal says a soakaway does not normally require an application for planning permission if it deals with surface water and does not discharge into a public sewer. Additional regulations may apply in a conservation area or within the boundary of a listed building. That sentence is about a soakaway, not about every channel in a garden.
Do building regulations apply?
Yes for a soakaway. The Planning Portal says building regulations will apply to the creation of a soakaway, and that it must comply with Part H, which specifies where soakaways can be located and the size that is permitted. This page does not print that size. Ask the installer which measurement they are using.
Should the quote include a connection to the sewer?
Only if that is what you want, and only if it is allowed. The planning sentence above is for a soakaway that does not discharge into a public sewer. If someone proposes a new connection to a public sewer, say so as its own line and ask who gets the consent. This page does not describe how to make that connection.
Does QuoteZila check landscapers?
No. We don't check insurance, qualifications or registrations, so please check these yourself before you hire. You can report a quote or a business from your job page.
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Sources
- QZ1: QuoteZila product fact. QuoteZila pricing line.
- QZ2: QuoteZila product fact. QuoteZila FAQ How does getting quotes work.
- S1: Planning and building rules for a soakaway, Planning Portal. Accessed 2026-10-29. https://interactive.planningportal.co.uk/faqs/what-are-the-planning-and-building-rules-for-constructing-a-soakaway
- S2: Building regulations approval, GOV.UK. Accessed 2026-10-29. https://www.gov.uk/building-regulations-approval
- S3: Conserving and enhancing the historic environment, GOV.UK. Accessed 2026-10-29. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/conserving-and-enhancing-the-historic-environment
- S4: Before you get work done on your home, Citizens Advice. Accessed 2026-10-29. https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/getting-home-improvements-done/before-you-get-building-work-done/
- S5: Register for VAT, GOV.UK. Accessed 2026-10-29. https://www.gov.uk/register-for-vat