Indemnity for soakaway

GrSunshine

We are in the process of selling our home which has a septic tank in our garden, the soakaway however, along with five other properties, is in an adjoining farmers field. Although there is nothing written in the deeds no one has ever had a problem accessing the soakaway or pipes on the field. Our buyer is asking for indemnity insurance to cover any future issues. I can understand this but would like advice on
1) Any ideas on how much this would cost
2) Would we have any redress with the solicitor, who dealt with our purchase of the property 3 years ago, for not addressing this situation when we actually bought the property.
Would appreciate any help or advice
Thanks in advance
Hopefully Happy Mover

Thanks for responses - Managed to get Indemnity and buyer happy

G_M

GrSunshine wrote: »

......
1) Any ideas on how much this would cost
At a guess £100 - £200.

If you are DIYing your conveyancing, now is the time to stop.
If you are using a conveyancer, he will source the policy for you

2) Would we have any redress with the solicitor, who dealt with our purchase of the property 3 years ago, for not addressing this situation when we actually bought the property. Possibly but it's really not worth the hassle

But a much better long-term solution is to formalise the rights of the 6 properties to use the field for this purpose, and to have access rights for maintenance purposes at the expense of the 6 properties.

Again a decent conveyancing solicitor could draw up a suitable Deed between the 6 properies and the field owner.

Provided everyone agrees of course......

More importantly, are you aware of the new Environmental Agency regulations on septic tanks and their run-offs? Much stricter rules about how run-offs are managed. For existing systems, these come into effect in 2020, or on sale of a property, whichever is sooner.........

davidmcn

GrSunshine wrote: »

2) Would we have any redress with the solicitor, who dealt with our purchase of the property 3 years ago, for not addressing this situation when we actually bought the property.

Was your solicitor even aware of the situation? If there aren't clues in the deeds then they're usually relying on you or the surveyors to tell them what's actually on the ground. Admittedly with a septic tank they ought to be treading carefully and asking where it and the soakaway actually are.

Davesnave

If the septic tank drainage field has been there 20 years without challenge and you can prove it, you may keep it there via what's called prescriptive rights.

I know this because a neighbour has exactly this arrangement in one of my fields. There's nothing on paper. It was a 'gentleman's agreement' apparently.

The only thing to watch out for from a buyer's POV is whether the drainage field can meet the modern requirements set by the Environment Agency. This is because all drainage fields clog eventually and replacement would be a new installation, subject to the newer laws.

My neighbours are blissfully unaware of this and there is no way they could comply because of a nearby watercourse.