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Deed of easement - sewer connection...

Hi There,
We own an end of terrace property and we currently have 3 manhole covers in our back garden which is for the 3 adjoining houses.
We have been approached by a property developer that is building 2 houses behind our house (at the end of our back garden), and he has asked if we would agree to get a deed of easement for them to make a connection to the main sewer which site on our land. They said they will compensate us £3,000 for them to do the work.
The work will consist of them digging a trench about 2ft wide and 3ft deep, 30 yards long. They said the work will take a couple of days and they will put everything back as it was.

Please can you advise if this will affect the value of our property and also what the going rate is for the compensation for a deed of easement?
We are first time homeowners so we do not want to make the mistake of agreeing to something that will regret later on.

Any advice is greatly appreciated.
Thank you,

Comments

  • AdrianC
    AdrianC Posts: 42,189 Forumite
    Eighth Anniversary 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    It's entirely possible that a potential future purchaser will balk at having a main sewer junction under the garden - but given that you've already got that, I don't think it'll make a lot of difference.

    Going rate? Whatever you can negotiate...
  • System
    System Posts: 178,167 Community Admin
    10,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    Has the developer got permission from the water authority to connect into the sewer?
  • bigadaj
    bigadaj Posts: 11,531 Forumite
    Ninth Anniversary 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    They should not only have permission from the sewer owner but also a report to aimialr confirming there is capacity, get a copy of this.

    Cynically speaking their development is probably largely reliant on this, as alternatives would be very awkward and expensive, so I'd be tempted to hold out for more.
  • Thank you all very much for your fast replies. I will ask for more details and certainly try and get a little more cash out of them.
  • G_M
    G_M Posts: 51,977 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    I'd want to be sure the sewer has the capacity for the additional waste going through it. You don't want it regularly blocking under your garden......

    I also agree that if this is the developer's only option, you have a strong financial barganing position. If there is an alterative route for him, of course, upping the cost for him might just make him connect elsewhere.

    Which might be no bad thing anyway unless you want the £3K badly!
  • RDG
    RDG Posts: 214 Forumite
    Assuming the sewers behind your house are public and adopted i.e. they are maintained by the water authority.

    Then if the developer is building 2 properties then he will have planning permission as part of that the water authority will have been consulted so there should be their response available online. Usually they will identify the nearest sewers to the development and give an indication of whether there is capacity or not. If this isnt stated then the developer should have undertaken a pre planning enquiry with the water authority to identify the nearest connections and if there is capacity. You should ask to see these, if he doesnt have them phone your water companies development team and ask them about it.

    If these are public sewers then the developer will need to apply for either a section 106 or section 102 agreement for connection with the water authority prior to connection anyway so the water authority will have these on record if he has.

    The developer is doing this work himself, however if you did not agree to allow him to do this he could apply to the water authority for them to requisition the connection, this would mean that the water authority could put the connection in and compensate you for it, but it will cost the developer significantly more than the £3000 he is offering.

    If you are happy for the connection to go ahead, assuming the developer has permission from the water authority then it would be worth negotiating to see how much he is willing to give you, depending upon his options and his profit on the plots he may up his offer.
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