Is this conveyancing negligance?

MattLBeck

Hi all,


My wife and I purchased and moved into our first house at the beginning of this year. Our conveyancing experience was poor - there were huge delays in getting many of the checks and surveys completed and many questions raised by our solicitors after receiving the initial itinerary that were not properly answered and then not chased up.


One such question was over detail about our septic tank. Our conveyancers probed for additional detail beyond when it was installed such as where it was located, if it was shared etc. and did not receive any proper answer from the other side. After having moved into our house, we were then informed by our helpful neighbors that our septic tank was probably discharging in to the stream beyond our garden, and an upcoming 2020 environmental regulation would make this illegal, so we have to upgrade it in the next few months. We have had quotes for the upgrade, which are a minimum of around £6k.


If we had discovered this detail about the septic tank and known of the environmental regulation, we would have certainly re-negotiated with the vendor to compensate for having to upgrade within the year.



My question is, have our solicitors been in some way legally negligent for not following up on queries relating to the septic tank during conveyancing? And is there some avenue that we can pursue to gain compensation for the money we have lost due to this negligence?


I appreciate that we, as the buyers, did not properly push our solicitors to follow up some of the queries that were not properly answered - it had been a long, drawn out process, our first time going through it, and we were completely out of our depth. But I do feel like a conveyancing team has some professional responsibility to 1) be aware of environmental regulations on the horizon that may effect house brokering and 2) discover this kind of information about a property for us.

SpiderLegs

Have you raised a formal complaint with your solicitors?

G_M

Your sellers had a legal obligation, under the General Binding Rules, to advise you in full about the septic tank. Pursue your sellers.


https://www.gov.uk/permits-you-need-for-septic-tanks/general-binding-rules

You sell your property - tell the new owner about the sewage treatment system

If you sell your property, you must tell the new operator (the owner or person responsible for the sewage treatment plant) in writing that a sewage discharge is in place.
Include:

• a description of the treatment plant and drainage system
• the location of the main parts of the treatment plant, drainage system and discharge point
• details of any changes made to the treatment plant and drainage system
• details of how the treatment plant should be maintained, and the maintenance manual if you have one
• maintenance records if you have them

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/general-binding-rules-small-sewage-discharge-to-a-surface-water

lincroft1710

MattLBeck wrote: »

One such question was over detail about our septic tank. Our conveyancers probed for additional detail beyond when it was installed such as where it was located, if it was shared etc. and did not receive any proper answer from the other side. After having moved into our house, we were then informed by our helpful neighbors that our septic tank was probably discharging in to the stream beyond our garden, and an upcoming 2020 environmental regulation would make this illegal, so we have to upgrade it in the next few months. We have had quotes for the upgrade, which are a minimum of around £6k.


If we had discovered this detail about the septic tank and known of the environmental regulation, we would have certainly re-negotiated with the vendor to compensate for having to upgrade within the year.



My question is, have our solicitors been in some way legally negligent for not following up on queries relating to the septic tank during conveyancing? And is there some avenue that we can pursue to gain compensation for the money we have lost due to this negligence?


I appreciate that we, as the buyers, did not properly push our solicitors to follow up some of the queries that were not properly answered - it had been a long, drawn out process, our first time going through it, and we were completely out of our depth. But I do feel like a conveyancing team has some professional responsibility to 1) be aware of environmental regulations on the horizon that may effect house brokering and 2) discover this kind of information about a property for us.

Do you know for definite that the septic tank discharges into the stream?

Your vendor may not have agreed to a price reduction

Until you have the work carried out you have not lost any money

I would doubt that many property solicitors/conveyancers would be aware of pending legislation regarding septic tank discharge

Thrugelmir

MattLBeck wrote: »

I appreciate that we, as the buyers, did not properly push our solicitors to follow up some of the queries that were not properly answered us.

Then as buyers the onus was on you to consult with professionals in the field to satisfy yourselves. A full and proper independent inspection of the sceptic tank should have been undertaken. Solicitors only work on your instructions and can only do so much.

m0bov

What did the ta1 form say? When the sol didnt get more info what did they? What did your survey say about waste water?

davidmcn

MattLBeck wrote: »

Our conveyancers probed for additional detail beyond when it was installed such as where it was located, if it was shared etc. and did not receive any proper answer from the other side.

And they told you they hadn't received any proper answer? What advice did they give you around that?

G_M

lincroft1710 wrote: »

I would doubt that many property solicitors/conveyancers would be aware of pending legislation regarding septic tank discharge

It is a specialist area and solicitors in cities may not be familiar with septic tank regs.


However, the regs are not new, nor 'pending'. For example, discharges into water courses (eg streams) require systems to be upgraded by 2020 or on sale of a property, whichever is sooner.


Assuming the septic tank is discharging into a water course, and assuming it is a standard septic tank, the OP as new 'operator' will almost certainly have to install a 'small sewerage works' to further treat the waste before discharge.

Davesnave

G_M wrote: »

It is a specialist area and solicitors in cities may not be familiar with septic tank regs.

However, the regs are not new, nor 'pending'. For example, discharges into water courses (eg streams) require systems to be upgraded by 2020 or on sale of a property, whichever is sooner.

Assuming the septic tank is discharging into a water course, and assuming it is a standard septic tank, the OP as new 'operator' will almost certainly have to install a 'small sewerage works' to further treat the waste before discharge.

I agree with this, but I think it's a red herring whether the solicitor was a city gent or a country lad; he/she accepted the job of conveying a country property and should have been aware of the environmental changes afoot, especially as they've been advised years in advance.

Similarly, the government has laid down the responsibilities of sellers with private drainage, so this vendor failed in their duty of full disclosure.

I think the OP's solicitor should waive their fees for going after the seller for their failure to comply with government's binding rules. Had the solicitor alerted the seller, the need for a full drainage survey would have been clear.

da_rule

The solicitors told you that the answers to their questions hadn’t been received? Therefore, why did you authorise them to exchange and complete the sale?

Also, did you commission a survey of the septic tank?

Mutton_Geoff

G_M wrote: »

Assuming the septic tank is discharging into a water course, and assuming it is a standard septic tank, the OP as new 'operator' will almost certainly have to install a 'small sewerage works' to further treat the waste before discharge.

My previous house in the Cotswolds had one of these "Klargester" systems that was faulty when I bought the house (lack of use as old owner deceased over two years prior). At my builders suggestion, it was cheaper to dig trenches and install slotted pipes deep into the ground to allow the run off from the tank to digest naturally through the ground than it was to process it and then dump into a stream. Zero future maintenance too.