FTB help- advice needed with drain search report

sparkle01

Hi,

I'm wondering if any of you lovely people can offer me some advice. I am in the process of purchasing a lovely semi in a really nice area and just had the drain search results back. The search shows that the public drains come right down the side of the property and then crossing into the rear garden. I was hoping to eventually extend to the side but I assume this will not be possible (I don't think sewer pipes can be built on top of- and the pipes cannot be moved as there is no where for them to go).

Also there is a conservatory in the rear garden and looking at the drain plans, it seems like the conservatory is built on top. Could this be an issue?

This house is the only one with the sewage pipes in the side and rear, all the other houses are okay and most have extensions.

I'm unsure whether to loose my dream home and pull out, or see if the vendor will accept a new offer in view of this?

Any help will be much appreciated.....thanks

marksoton

You can build over them but you'll need to meet the relevant water companies permission and specifications.

This would normally require pipe protection and additional manholes. No reason to walk away from a property!

Davesnave

You should be able to get a build-over agreement. Look this up on the service provider's web site for your area. Here's the page for mine.

http://www.southwestwater.co.uk/index.cfm?articleid=9914

I built over a public sewer at my last house. It added to the cost considerably, but each situation will differ, depending on the angle of the pipe and its depth. Mine was just about the worst it could be.

Don't expect your vendor to lower the price just because you might want to extend, as that's not a reason for treating their property as defective. The conservatory built over the drain without permission might be viewed as a problem, but that would depend on how long it had been there and the nature of its construction.

Conservatories may be nice to have, but they don't significantly alter value one way or the other.

GoldenShadow

Conservatories add a bit of value in my neck of the woods.

You can get drains re routed but you need the permission of the company it belongs to.

If they're definitely public drains they won't belong to you, but if they only serve your property and are in your boundary I believe they're usually yours. Not sure how that affects it.

We looked at a house where extending would have meant moving one hence I did some reading. Current house has three in the back garden but all are down the side in a row and I would extend to the back as opposed to side here, so shouldn't be a major issue.

Davesnave

GoldenShadow wrote: »

You can get drains re routed but you need the permission of the company it belongs to.

If they're definitely public drains they won't belong to you, but if they only serve your property and are in your boundary I believe they're usually yours. Not sure how that affects it.

OP has already established ownership of the drain and determined that it cannot be re-routed due to lack of space.

Sedge123

We are purchasing a house where the conservatory is built over a public sewer. The vendors have purchased an indemnity policy as there is no build over agreement.

chappers

Since 2011 most sewers that link into the main sewer became under the control and ownership of the local water company and would require a build over notice to build over, near or to reroute them.
Provided that the sewer isn't a main sewer this usually quite straight forward. However if there is a manhole within the footprint of your proposed extension this will need to be re-located, it is no longer permissible to fit an airtight double sealed manhole within your property except under exceptional circumstances.

sparkle01

Thank you all very much for your comments, you have all been really helpful......looks like I'm going to have to walk away from the sale and start again as the house is not big enough without an extension.

Again, many thanks 😊😊😀😀

Ithaca

It's highly likely you can still build an extension... as noted you just need to follow a fairly straight-forward process to get permission from the water company to build over the drain.

It'll add some cost onto your build, but not a huge amount (couple of £thousand maybe), so no reason to ditch a property on that basis.

Davesnave

Ithaca wrote: »

It's highly likely you can still build an extension... as noted you just need to follow a fairly straight-forward process to get permission from the water company to build over the drain.

It'll add some cost onto your build, but not a huge amount (couple of £thousand maybe), so no reason to ditch a property on that basis.

That's the conclusion I would have come to as well, but it all depends on the OP's level of confidence, the likely value added and the availability of alternatives.

Chanes

I think some of the advice you can get from a post on this forum is fantastic, imagine having to pay for it! Anyway, if your instinct is to walk away it's usually best to follow your instinct. I didn't pay any attention to the drain report for the house I bought in Aptril because we have no intention to build, but I am thinking a should have looked harder at the report given the additional cost and inconvenience if we ever sell and someone wanted to build an extension!