Survey finding
Gutters and downpipes: what to do about it
Gutter and downpipe findings appear on almost every UK survey. This page covers when they matter, what they cost, and the second-order damp risk to watch for.
Last updated: .
Finding
Gutters and downpipes
What this usually means
Gutters and downpipes (rainwater goods) catch and direct roof runoff. Failure shows as overflowing in heavy rain, sagging brackets, joint leaks, blocked outlets, or staining on the wall below. Cast iron is the original on Victorian and Edwardian properties; uPVC is the post-war norm. Both fail at different points: cast iron rusts; uPVC becomes brittle.
Why it matters
Failed rainwater goods cause damp on external walls and saturate the ground around foundations, both compound subsidence and damp risks. The fix is cheap; the second-order effects are more expensive if left.
Ask your surveyor
- Check:Are the gutters cast iron, uPVC, or aluminium?
- Check:Are there visible leaks or joints failing?
Ask the seller
- Check:When were gutters last cleared, and how often are they serviced?
- Check:Have any gutters or downpipes been replaced in the last 15 years?
Next steps
- •Get two written quotes from local trades before negotiating with the seller.
- •Speak to your mortgage broker before exchanging if the finding affects mortgageability.
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What you need to know
Severity
Maintenance item. Worth quoting and including in negotiation.
Typical cost to fix
Clear and re-bracket existing gutters: £150–£400. Replace a section of uPVC gutter: £200–£600. Replace whole-house cast iron with uPVC: £700–£1,800. Replace cast iron with cast iron (period property): £2,500–£6,000.
Mortgage impact
Standard for most lenders. Not a refusal item.
Insurance impact
Storm-damaged gutters are typically claimable. Damp damage from blocked gutters is consequential and depends on the policy.
When to pull out
Never a pull-out trigger.
When to renegotiate, and by how much
Get a roofer's quote. Negotiate on quote plus 10%.
Thinking of pulling out or renegotiating? What to do after a bad survey
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The Survey Decoder explains the wording. The full report adds address-specific flood, subsidence, EPC, crime, listed status, building age and price comparison data, so a single finding isn't judged in isolation.
Run the check
Check the property before you offer
Free preview: flood risk, EPC rating, crime, tenure and air quality. The £9.99 report adds the remaining 17 checks, 22 in all, drawing on up to 15 public datasets.
Run a free previewRead next
Roof issues , often sits near gutters and downpipes on a survey and is the next thing to check.
House survey cost UK , what a Level 2 and a Level 3 actually cost in 2026, and Level 2 vs Level 3 , what each level does and does not cover. Not every finding here is something a surveyor assesses — some are a conveyancer's search — and the comparison says which is which.
How MyPropertyScan produces this guide, and what it is not
Published by MyPropertyScan and written by Ziad Nasr, who is accountable for its accuracy. No page here is written or reviewed by a chartered surveyor, conveyancer or regulated adviser, and we do not claim otherwise.
This page is not:
- Chartered surveying: we do not inspect properties or produce RICS Home Survey reports
- Legal advice: we do not act as conveyancers or advise on title, tenure or contracts
- Mortgage or insurance advice: we are not regulated by the FCA and give no recommendations
Figures and process steps come from the published UK datasets and standards listed on this page, not from professional practice. Pages are updated when source coverage, survey cost assumptions, or lender and legal requirements materially change. Dataset limitations are set out on the methodology page.
Spotted something out of date or wrong? Email [email protected] and we will correct it and change the update date.
Sources used
We use UK public and specialist sources where they are available. Public datasets can be incomplete, delayed, or missing for some addresses. Treat them as a starting point, not as a replacement for professional advice.
Source standard: preference goes to official government datasets, statutory bodies, professional standards, and primary dataset publishers. We cite the source family on the page and explain coverage limits rather than filling gaps with unsupported estimates.
- Professional standard: RICS Home Survey StandardRICS standard for condition-based residential surveys in the UK.
- Learn more from: RICS consumer guide to surveysConsumer-facing guide to survey types and when each level is appropriate.
- Official guidance: GOV.UK buying or selling your homeGovernment overview of the home buying and selling process.