False information from Estate Agent

Stairguy

Moved house three years ago and have had trouble with the Septic tank, recently had a drainage company inspect it with a video camera and found out it was not a septic tank at all, it was a cesspool and someone in the past had knocked a hole in the side to let the water drain out. This worked to some extent but finally failed completely. The house was marketed by the agent as having a septic tank and if I had known it had a cesspool I would never have considered buying the house. Does anyone know if Estate Agents have liability insurance for this type of mis selling as it now appears it is going to cost £10,000 to get it sorted.

SpiderLegs

How would the agent have known what it was?

dimbo61

I am sure the Estate agents will have a disclaimer that details cannot be relied upon.
Do you think estate agents know the difference between a cesspit and a septic tank ?
They are very good at playing dumb when asking questions about a property.
Q: What's the council tax band ?
A : Don't know
Q: What the EPC rating ?
A: Don't know 
Q: Are there good schools nearby ?
A: Don't know.
They will refer you to the Vendor and solicitor.
What did the fixture and fittings list say.
Does the estate agents brochure state it was a cesspit or septic tank in print ?

moneysavinghero

Estate agents usually have a disclaimer somewhere along the lines of "These particulars are believed to be correct but their accuracy is not guaranteed and they do not constitute or form any part of any contract.". So you are probably going to be out of luck.

NameUnavailable

What did your survey say about it? You won't have any recourse to the EA, they  probably were told it was a septic tank by the vendor who might not have known that a septic tank and cesspit are not the same thing.

AdrianC

It isn't "the water" draining out that I'd be concerned about. This has the potential to be very, very unpleasant indeed - you've not emptied it for three years... and how long was it un-emptied before that?

But, having said that, what makes you say "Cesspit with hole" instead of "septic tank"? Older tanks really don't have much in the way of internals. Our old one was a simple breezeblock pit.

And bear in mind it's almost certainly now uncompliant so needs upgrading anyway. But, yes, caveat emptor. You should have had it surveyed pre-purchase.

davidmcn

Did you really just rely on the estate agent's description without raising any enquiries with the vendor, or getting a surveyor to look at it? What about regulatory compliance, didn't that come up?

macman

You didn't buy from the EA, you had no contract with them...
Your only possible action is against the vendor, if they mis-described the property. Did they?

stormCat99

There's specific questions on the property information form, asking if the house is on mains drainage, or has a septic tank, or a cesspit or a small sewage treatment plant. Can you check back at what it said on there? I'd argue this is the legal document you can fall back on, if this stated things incorrectly I imagine it's worth taking up with your solicitor, although no idea what (if anything) they can do.