Buying a house with a shared sewage treatment plant in the garden

bigmango

Hi there,

We're in the process of buying a house and have just found out via the searches that there is a sewage treatment plan under the garden, which serves an estate of 4 or 5 properties. 

We're thinking of pulling out, first of all because the property was advertised as being connected to the mains (including drainage), and then because we don't really want to carry the responsibility for it and any inconvenience that might result from it.

Would it be silly to pull the pin on this process for this reason?

Thanks

canaldumidi

Depends how much you like the house!

It's not really a big deal, but as with surveying the property, make sure you establish that the treatment plant is in good repair and has been properly maintained.

My neighbour and I shared a septic tank in his garden which we upgraded this year to a treatment plant. He subsequently died and the house is in probate so I've taken over responsibility for keeping an eye on it and will arrange the annual service in due course. No biggie.

Oh! the other thing to check is that all user-properties have legal liability to contribute to costs, but your solicitor will check that (provided you make sure the solicitor is aware - remember he's not seen the property so needs to be told).

Vectis

We have a septic tank in our garden but each house in the street has their own. Would I want a shared septic tank or sewerage treatment plant in our garden? No, probably not, simply because of the problems shared use of anything can bring between neighbours. If it was a single neighbour, that might be fine so long as we got on ok, but 4 or 5 neighbours from down the street would probably be a no-no for me. 

We've had a shared pathway in a previous house and you would think that would be straightforward but it really does depend on your neighbours and how well you get on with them. But, remember, neighbours change and the next ones might not be so amenable!

Do you want to be chasing your neighbours for payment of maintenance bills, repairs etc. And, remember, it will probably be your garden that everyone's poo ends up in if it gets blocked by people putting inappropriate items down the loo etc!

ProDave

There is nothing wrong with a treatment plant.  Perhaps though it would be a good idea to find out what type?  when i bought ours I specifically bought one that was based on an air blower to agitate the contents, as when it goes wrong it's little more than a new air pump.  The alternative sort has big rotating discs down in the sludge to agitate it, and when that goes wrong, someone has to extract a motor and a pump from down there to fix it.  Not a job I would volunteer for.

You also need to know that agreement is drawn up between the sharers as to how costs are shared and who is responsible for organising maintenance and servicing.

On the plus side, you won't pay any sewage charge and the money saved on that is likely to be more than you spend on your share of the servicing and maintenance of a private system.

MalMonroe

Even if, as ProDave says, 'there is nothing wrong with a treatment plant', the main problem here is that you were not told about it at any stage during your purchase of the property and, in fact, were misled by being told that the property was connected to the mains (including drainage). You could definitely raise a complaint about that with the seller as they are supposed to disclose important information of that nature. I hope you will and I hope they'll pay you for your inconvenience, too.

To my mind, it's a really major issue and you would not be silly at all for withdrawing. I would, and so would many others. It would be a totally different matter if you had been fully informed at the outset and you didn't mind having other people's effluent under your garden. 

It's obvious that the sellers think they won't be able to sell when prospective purchasers find out about the plant (and nothing to do with flowers either) and they are right. Some people don't care, as is evidenced by comments on this thread. I would. But as I said, the part that would really bug me the most is the seller's omission.

Pull out, tell them why and also tell them that you're disappointed (putting it mildly) that they have allowed things to get to this late stage - and they STILL haven't told you!!

Falafels

Are you sure you'd be liable? The water companies took over all private sewers and pumping stations in 2011 and 2016 respectively, so you may find this is a complete non-issue. More here: https://www.ofwat.gov.uk/publications/transfer-of-private-sewers/

Searches on the house I sold last year showed that there was a public sewer running through the back garden. In fact, it had been a private sewer which connected four properties to a pumping station; my neighbours and I had set this up a few years previously and shared the maintenance costs. Once the Transfer of Private Sewers legislation had taken place it was no longer our responsibility, no further expense for us - and I could put hand on heart and say the property was connected to mains drainage.

When I was selling, my purchaser's solicitors enquired about the sewer; I explained the situation, and it really wasn't a problem.

So... my advice to you is to find out what the situation actually IS before making any further decisions. Your vendors may well have done nothing wrong.

user1977

Falafels said:

Are you sure you'd be liable? The water companies took over all private sewers and pumping stations in 2011 and 2016 respectively, so you may find this is a complete non-issue. More here: https://www.ofwat.gov.uk/publications/transfer-of-private-sewers/

That is of course if they connect to the public sewer - the OP says it's a private treatment plant, so (like septic tanks) they're not taken over by the water companies..

Section62

bigmango said:

...and then because we don't really want to carry the responsibility for it and any inconvenience that might result from it.

The main issue is what arrangements are in place to cover the running costs, maintenance, and eventual replacement.

Sometimes in cases like this the developer sets up a limited company for the purpose of taking responsibility for the treatment plant, and as each property is first sold, the purchaser becomes a shareholder (and possibly director) in the company.  The company then charges each property to cover the annual costs, and ideally builds up a fund for future replacement.

Does anything like that exist in this case?