You can check the pipe where water enters your home, and your water company can test the water at your kitchen tap. Older homes are more likely to have lead pipes; only a check or a test tells you whether yours does.
61% of homes in England and Wales were built before 1973 — estimate, not a test.
Homes whose council-tax records give a build period, across England and Wales (2026 records). Allowing for suppressed counts: 59–61%. Council-tax build-period records cover England and Wales only, so we can't estimate housing age in Scotland or Northern Ireland.
Source: Valuation Office Agency, Council Tax: stock of properties ↗, published 24 September 2026
See the housing-age estimate for your area
How to check for a lead pipe
“Find your internal stop tap, where the water first comes into the property. This may be in or behind the cupboards in your kitchen or a downstairs toilet.”
“Unpainted lead pipes appear dull grey and often have a swollen joint next to the tap. The metal is soft and, if gently scraped with a coin, you will see the shiny, silver-coloured metal beneath. Wear disposable gloves while you do this and be careful not to breathe in any dust.”
Source: Drinking Water Inspectorate, Lead in Drinking Water ↗
Who owns which pipe
- The part of the service pipe that links the water main in the street to the stop valve outside your property belongs to the water company.
- The part of the service pipe leading from the stop valve outside your property to the point where it enters your home is the responsibility of the owner.
- All the plumbing inside your home to the kitchen tap is the responsibility of the property owner.
Source: Drinking Water Inspectorate, Lead in Drinking Water ↗
Get your water tested
“If you suspect that your home has lead pipes you can ask your water company to test the water at your kitchen tap. If the water company investigates and finds lead pipes or another source of lead in the plumbing system, they should provide you with written advice on what to do.”
Source: Drinking Water Inspectorate, Lead in Drinking Water ↗
Find your water company from your postcode
What to do if you have lead pipes
“For drinking and cooking, run the tap to clear any water that has been standing in the pipework for while, for example, overnight. A washing up bowl full is normally enough to clear the pipe of standing water, although if you have long service pipe you may need to run the tap for longer.”
“This short-term measure will protect you and your family, but if there are lead pipes or another source of lead present, these should be replaced as soon as possible.”
“When arranging this you should also notify your water company because they are legally required to replace their communication pipe, if it is made of lead and is at risk of contributing to the amount of lead in the drinking water supply.”
“Those at particular risk are infants (including unborn babies) and children because lead can have an adverse impact on mental development.”
Source: Drinking Water Inspectorate, Lead in Drinking Water ↗
Test kits and filters
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Links go to amazon.com; Amazon's Earn Globally service can localise them to amazon.co.uk. Check the model and UK delivery before buying.
We haven't verified a lead test kit for UK buyers yet.
What a pick has to pass:
- A lead result reported by a laboratory accredited for that test (UKAS, ISO/IEC 17025), named on the kit's listing
- UK availability evidenced by Amazon UK, the manufacturer or a UK retailer, checked in the last 90 days
Start with your water company: if you think you have lead pipes, you can ask it to test the water at your kitchen tap. Which water test you need
Filters certified for lead
LifeStraw
LSH7GLSPK21
Performance certification:
Certified by WQA to NSF/ANSI 42 for Aesthetic Chlorine and Taste and Odor; Certified by WQA to NSF/ANSI 53 for Lead and Mercury; Certified by WQA to NSF/ANSI 401 for Microplastics (a US/international standard; it is not UK approval)
View Detailsreduces lead in drinking water.
A UK retailer lists this model. Amazon UK stock and delivery are unverified; this Amazon link may not ship to the UK. Check the exact model and UK delivery before you pay.
UK availability evidence checked 14 October 2026.
Related pages
Sources
- Valuation Office Agency, Council Tax: stock of properties ↗ · Open Government Licence v3.0 · read 12 October 2026
- Drinking Water Inspectorate: Lead in Drinking Water ↗ · Open Government Licence v3.0 · read 14 October 2026
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.