New septic tank legislation

j_a_k

A bit pedantic, but agreed.

Not sure how you'd give written instructions on anything to a buyer without any written records though. My seller has no clue when the tank was last emptied as he has kept no written records.

AdrianC

"Written instructions on the maintenance requirements" are very different from "written records of historic maintenance".

Think of it as the owner's handbook of your car, with when services are due, versus the service history to date.

j_a_k

I get what you're saying, but in the real world solicitors ask for proof to ensure it's abiding by the rules.

I had a CCTV drainage survey done and the tank is empty. So we assumed the seller had emptied it. But he says he has no clue whan it was last emptied as he has no records, so the surveyor has concluded it must be leaking. So not maintained properly and therefore not legal.

Was just trying to be helpful with my post, based on my own experience, as it's a very confusing situation.

Davesnave

j_a_k wrote: »

I had a CCTV drainage survey done and the tank is empty. So we assumed the seller had emptied it. But he says he has no clue when it was last emptied as he has no records, so the surveyor has concluded it must be leaking. So not maintained properly and therefore not legal.

If the surveyor has concluded that years of solid waste have somehow vanished, I'd want a bit more of his thoughts on where it has gone!

I suppose it's possible its being carried away by an underground spring or something like that, but in my experience effluent that's in the ground invariably surfaces somewhere and is unmistakeable.

OP, you are dealing with property in the countryside, where things often aren't done by the book. Even if this property has no formal agreement with the landowner, one may be assumed via prescriptive rights if the tank/drainage has been in place for more than 20 years without interruption or protest.

j_a_k

Thanks I'm aware of both of the issues you've raised.

F8photo

Older tanks are built with two tanks, one where all the waste discharges into and a second next door where the effluent trickles into. the first tank is simply a water tight container, often rendered brickwork. The second is made like a sieve and is designed to allow the effluent to leak out into surrounding soil, At the top of the effluent tank there will be an overflow pipe, usually 100mm diameter and about a meter beneath ground level which serves to discharge the effluent either to 'finger' drains or often to the nearest ditch. It is these discharges to ditches etc that are now illegal whatever the age of the  system. The only certain thing is that even if you are on permeable land i.e. not clay and have drains they will eventually block.

lisssa

Hi

appreciate this post is now over 6 months, but it the OP is still active on the Forum I would be really interested to know how this was resolved.  We are in the middle of buying a house with a septic tank, similar circumstances, and are just waiting for clarification from the Seller as to whether it is compliant with the new general binding rules ( we will be amazing but relieved if it turns out they are).  Not sure what will happen after that, but ultiamtely we cant afford to pay for a compliant system, so unless they are willing to resolve the situation we will be forced to walk away from the sale - which we will be gutted about, but hey guess its better to find out now rather than after its our house !

j_a_k

Hi Lisssa

I'm not the OP but I did contribute to the thread.

Having been stung for £9000 at my current rural property when the council decided to install mains sewage and condemned my septic tank as it drained into the local river forcing me to join the new sewage system, I was really wary about buying another rural property with a dodgy septic tank.

There were definitely issues with the septic tank in the property I wanted to buy.  It was in a poor state of repair, was empty but seller said he hadn't emptied it in years (so where had all the sludge gone?) and seller had no clue what kind of drainage system was in place (the tank was in a farmer's field behind the house).  Also, if the seller hadn't been emptying the tank there was every chance the drainage field could be blocked (people who say old septic tanks don't need emptying are setting themselves up for trouble - the sludge needs to be emptied periodically to help keep them in proper working order).

I tried to renegotiate the price to take into account at least some of the cost of a new system if that turned out to be needed, or at least repair the current tank and put in proper access to the field but the seller was having none of it.  Consequently, the sale fell through :-(

I've discovered someone else is now buying the house, so either the tank issue hasn't come up, it's come up and they are naively not bothered, or they are willing to foot the bill to sort it themselves.

MessedUp

j_a_k said:

Hi Lisssa

I'm not the OP but I did contribute to the thread.

Having been stung for £9000 at my current rural property when the council decided to install mains sewage and condemned my septic tank as it drained into the local river forcing me to join the new sewage system, I was really wary about buying another rural property with a dodgy septic tank.

There were definitely issues with the septic tank in the property I wanted to buy.  It was in a poor state of repair, was empty but seller said he hadn't emptied it in years (so where had all the sludge gone?) and seller had no clue what kind of drainage system was in place (the tank was in a farmer's field behind the house).  Also, if the seller hadn't been emptying the tank there was every chance the drainage field could be blocked (people who say old septic tanks don't need emptying are setting themselves up for trouble - the sludge needs to be emptied periodically to help keep them in proper working order).

I tried to renegotiate the price to take into account at least some of the cost of a new system if that turned out to be needed, or at least repair the current tank and put in proper access to the field but the seller was having none of it.  Consequently, the sale fell through :-(

I've discovered someone else is now buying the house, so either the tank issue hasn't come up, it's come up and they are naively not bothered, or they are willing to foot the bill to sort it themselves.

I am currently getting ready to sell a property with a 30 year old septic tank, would you be able to give me a rough idea wat percentage of asking price or what figure you tried to get the vendors to reduce by? just curious so i can have an idea what to be prepared for

se2020

I was looking at buying a place.towards the end of last year (so before the tank regulations were even in place)
I was quite clearly told that the solicitor would have to report to the lender that the tank was not up to the incoming standards and that they would not lend against it .
I could not buy it and then sort out the tank myself afterwards as the property did not meet the legal standards that the mortgage company would request the solicitor to confirm. 

The sale fell through for other reasons but basically I had agreed with the seller to add £5k to the selling price and they would get it connected to a mains sewer (total cost £11k) before purchase.

As a buyer, If I was retaining the tank I would not want to pay anything towards the cost of making it legal or fitting a cheap system. 
I might be prepared to pay towards the cost of having a decent system fitted, ie. If the cheapest system was £5k but the system I wanted was £15k i would pay the £10k myself.

A lot of what i would be prepared to pay would depend on how the seller delt with it in the first place. If I went to view a house at £xxx and there was no mention of it being on illegal sewerage I would not be offering anything towards the cost when it came up in the searches. If the original details stated it was on a septic tank I would ask the questions and take the details into account when making an offer. 
I think a lot of buyers still dont know about the regulations though so if you are aware as a seller it would make sense to make it legal now at the least cost possible before it comes up as an issue and you get buyers asking/telling you to fit a £15k treatment system.