Buying New House - Shared Sewer under property extension.

CrazyE

Thanks all, I appreciate the feedback thus far. Just for reference it is a semi detected and the survey makes reference of the S24 Combined Sewer as the red line.

Is a CCTV survey expensive?

Section62

CrazyE said:

Thanks all, I appreciate the feedback thus far. Just for reference it is a semi detected and the survey makes reference of the S24 Combined Sewer as the red line.

Is a CCTV survey expensive?

For it to be a S24 sewer it has to serve at least one other property - the plan doesn't show any of the houses actually having shared drainage (this is what I mean by the inaccuracy of the plans) but we can guess there may be other pipes (not shown) that make it a S24 sewer.

A drainage survey would confirm what other connections there may be.

Depending where you are in the country a CCTV survey shouldn't be more than a few hundred pounds.  When getting quotes make it clear you want this done for a house purchase, not some kind of emergency situation.  You also need the permisison of the owner - the survey company would need to liaise with them to get access.

Has your solicitor asked the vendor if they have a copy of any buildover agreement?

For clarity - the reason why I'd suggest getting the CCTV survey done is so you know what condition the pipe under the house is in, whether it is public or private.  If it is private then you know what costs you may have to pay to rectify any defects. If public you will have the evidence you need to get on to the water company to repair any defects in their pipe before it damages your property.

If the extension was more recent (say within the last 5 years) and there was a buildover agreement in place you could forego the drainage survey with reasonable confidence, but with the extension heading towards 30 years old, and knowing that protection of drains/sewers back then wasn't given much consideration, I think there is enough uncertainty to justify the cost of the survey even if the vendor produces a copy of a buildover agreement.

Above all, don't assume that plan is an accurate representation of the existing drainage system.

Grumpy_chap

CrazyE said:

Hi all,

So we have found a house that we fell in love with and our offer got accepted STC. The house was built in the 1930s and had an extension added in 1996. We received the survey results from our solicitors today and we had an amber warning "The public sewer map included indicates that there is a public sewer, disposal main or lateral drain within the boundaries of the property."



So it looks like it run under the extension that was added. Now I am currently unaware if there is build over permission granted or if it applied since it was done in 1996 something I will ask our solicitors. 

My wife has her heart set on this property. Should I be seriously concerned about this? We are not planning any building extensions so my risk would be maintenance? Would it be better to walk away? Could we get an indemnity? 

Thanks,

That sewer (the red line) appears to only serve the one property (purple boundary) unless there is something that is not immediately clear from the plan.  If the sewer only serves the one property it will be a private sewer up to the boundary of the curtilage.

CrazyE said:

Thanks all, I appreciate the feedback thus far. Just for reference it is a semi detected and the survey makes reference of the S24 Combined Sewer as the red line.

Is a CCTV survey expensive?

Is it possible there is a mix-up of terminology in the survey?

S24 is a sewer that was private and serves more than one property and became public in 1937.

Combined sewer means it takes sewage and surface (roof) drainage.

When exactly (in the 1930's) was the property built?  If it was after 1937, the sewer cannot be an S24 sewer.

CrazyE

So just some conclusion for other that may read this in future for similar concern.

I had the CCTV Drainage survey done. It cost me £340 which on a quick google was a little on the high side but he could do it on short notice.

The report was very detailed, diameter of the pipes, material used, junctions, access points etc. Finding any isues and recommendations. Really worth doing in my opinion if you have concerns and he had a small recommendation which I will probably follow up on.

In short for us, everything looks sound, he was very happy with the condition and even found a access point not listed which appears to be covered by grass. There was no evidence the sewer is used other than by the property we are purchasing.

So thanks all for your comments, I think it was a good exercise and now we know what the current state is.