Cess pit soak away license/ indemnity issues

Vianirone7

In process of buying a property with a modern air pump sewage system ( cess pit) with an extended soak away . The soak away is on the farm next door and the license agreement allows the farmer to terminate this agreement at any stage.

I really want to make this purchase happen and am looking at work arounds.

Ideally the farmer and seller amend the licence so this issue is removed and that it must continue so if that land is ever sold. Chances?

The sewage system manufacturer says a soakaway is 100% needed and that chances are the only place the soakaway could be re routed to if necessary would be my new garden. The garden is unlikely to be able to ‘ carry’ the ‘ output’ and council permission could be refused. 

If that hat happens then the property could become uninhabitable and unsellable . 

Could it be possible for an indemnity policy to cover the risk effectively?
( yes I will direct that question at solicitor too).

Collrcting in a tank for removal is I am told extortionately expensive .

The garden loss would be an issue for me. 

Is there something i havemt thought of yet worth trying? 

Many thanks fir any help  

ProDave

This is a private sewage treatment plant, it is NOT a Cess pit, that is a very different thing.

I would walk away unless you get a permanenrt easement.  If the farmer terminated the agreement you simply would not have anywhere to drain the outflow to.  So what do you expect an indemnity policy to do?  Potentially the house could be devalued to almost zero as without drainage it would be inhabitable.  Do you really think an indemnity policy would pay you that much?

silvercar

The agreement with the farmer needs to be rewritten as a right rather than him being able to terminate, he can name his price for doing so or alternatively he can refuse.

woodpeckerx

Would an absence of easement indemnity cover it?

canaldumidi

If you might end up living there you need to understand the difference between a cess pit, a septic tank, a soak away, a drainage field, and a small sewage treatment plant!

Vianirone7 said:

In process of buying a property with a modern air pump sewage system ( cess pit)

Which? A cess pit is just a hole that fills up with sh*t and needs emptying every month or so.

An air pump sewage system is probably a treatment plant that cleans the sh*t and then runs the clean water off to...... somewhere (eg soak away).

with an extended soak away . The soak away is on the farm next door and the license agreement allows the farmer to terminate this agreement at any stage.

Seems strange. Please quote. In full.
I really want to make this purchase happen and am looking at work arounds.

Ideally the farmer and seller amend the licence so this issue is removed and that it must continue so if that land is ever sold. Chances? Depends entirely on the farmer (and maybe his future plans for that area). He might want money.

Does the current agreement specify who pays for maintenance etc?

The sewage system manufacturer says a soakaway is 100% needed

So no nearby stream, pond, canal or (maybe) road drain?

 and that chances are the only place the soakaway could be re routed to if necessary would be my new garden. The garden is unlikely to be able to ‘ carry’ the ‘ output’ and council permission could be refused.

Only way to tell is dig trial holes, fill with water, and time how quickly the water is absorbed into the ground. There are mathmatical calculations dependant on size of property (ie volume of liquid based on bedroom numbers) etc
If that hat happens then the property could become uninhabitable and unsellable .

Could it be possible for an indemnity policy to cover the risk effectively? That would pay out if you had to fight a legal battle eg with farmer or council or Environment Agency, and might cover losses if the property could not be sold. It would not get around the problem of where the sh*t could go!
( yes I will direct that question at solicitor too).

Collrcting in a tank for removal is I am told extortionately expensive . Cess pit. Yes, a possible solution. Monthly emptying, and if you forget, or have guests so it fills up faster, it could overflow..........

Installation is not extortionate, but the monthly charges........£150 per month (just a guess)?

The garden loss would be an issue for me. 

Is there something i havemt thought of yet worth trying? 

Many thanks fir any help  

Read up on the subject, and new rules.

Vianirone7

Thank you all for helping  

it is not an old style cess pit, that has been replaced with a system that uses an air pump and produces a treated ‘clear water’ which drains to the soakaway pipes laid under the farmers field . 
I agree, change the license or walk away. 

Real shame .