Patio slab collaping into sewer and gurgling loo

[jwava88]

I'm wondering if someone can give me some advice before I contact the letting agents again.
I moved into this Victorian terraced rental property about three months ago. The bathroom is downstairs and everything is pretty old. Even the waste pipe behind the toilet is badly discoloured.. I've scrubbed it but it's obviously just age.

After about four or five weeks of living here the toilet started gurgling and siphoning the water out of the bowl really quickly after flushing. At first I just assumed it was because it was an old toilet as I've never lived in an older property before, then it started flushing really slowly.
I used a proper plunger which sorted it for a while but then it suddenly stopped working altogether. I contacted the letting agents but couldn't get anyone out so I ended up paying for a drainage specialist myself.
He found I have two inspection chambers in the back yard: a rectangular one near the back door and a circular one near the gate leading to the alley. The rectangular chamber was full to the brim with sewage and toilet paper. He opened the circular chamber and found evidence of rats. He put a CCTV camera down the drain but said he couldn't see any structural problems with the pipework.
I reported everything to the letting agents. At first they weren't going to reimburse me because I'd used my own contractor. They then sent out a pest control company who laid rat traps around the circular inspection chamber. A week later they came back and repointed some of the old brickwork and cement around the chamber because it was crumbling and had gaps.
Everything was fine for about a month. Then when I took my bins out a couple of weeks ago I noticed the patio slab above the circular inspection chamber is collapsing into it. There are bits of cement being pushed up around the cover and the whole area looks like it's sinking.

Now the toilet has started doing exactly the same thing again - it's gurgling and siphoning the water out of the bowl very quickly after flushing. It's not backing up yet but I'm worried it's heading the same way as before.
I know nobody can diagnose it without seeing it, but does this sound more like a drainage or venting issue? Could the collapsing patio slab over the inspection chamber be contributing to the problem or would that be unrelated? Could it simply be an old toilet or is that unlikely?


I'm definitely not flushing anything I shouldn't be - just normal toilet paper, so I'm worried I'll end up getting blamed for something that seems like an ongoing issue with the property.


I'd really appreciate any thoughts from people with drainage or plumbing experience before I go back to the letting agents. Thank you

 

[HERTS P&D]

If this is a shared drain run then contact your water provider, there should be a number on the back of the bill for shared sewage runs.

Andy

 

[jwava88]

If this is a shared drain run then contact your water provider, there should be a number on the back of the bill for shared sewage runs.

Andy

 

[jwava88]

This is my first time renting, do I contact them or is it the lettings agents and land lords responsibility? Do you think the patio slab is causing the toilet to gurgle and eventually back up? Thank you for your reply

 

[HERTS P&D]

Call the letting agent/landlord asap.

Andy