Help - survey shows drain passes under house!

[Froghat]

The survey on a property I am trying to buy says that there is a drain that passes under the kitchen. It opens to a manhole cover in the back garden. Surveyor says that a licence would be required if the house were constructed today. The house is Victorian so presumably no issue about licence but I'm worried about any risks of having a drain under the house. Surveyor says the drain is badly blocked (he didn't take a photograph because it was too unpleasant!!) and needs to be rodded out and a CCTV survey done to establish why it's getting blocked because the blockage looks serious to him. Should I be worried about the drain being under the house?

Mine runs under my Victorian house and straight onto the main sewer, same as every house in my terrace. Better to be responsible for your own drain only, than a 1930s house where whole rows of houses tend have a shared drain.

We had problems with ours being cracked and I had visions of to having to dig up the entire floor but it was relined with minimal intrusiveness (all clever stuff) so should now be ok.

Obviously, do not buy a house with a blocked drain due to unknown causes!

Have booked a CCTV survey to find out what the problem is. Good to know that it’s not necessarily an issue to be on top of a drain.