Would you buy a house with public sewer within boundary of the house and running under it

Catman2025

Looking for some advise. Please help. Looking to buy a house and the drainage search has revealed that there are public sewer (pipes) not only within the boundary of the property i.e. front driveway and the back garden but also running under the property.

I am concerned about any potential health risks, plus will this hinder property value/sale in the future? As well as any future/additional (ongoing/maintenance) costs if something was to go wrong i.e. damp, subsidence, blockages etc.

Would you buy or pull-out? The solicitors have put forward various questions to the sellers including  built over agreement and am waiting response.

The redline shows the foul sewer pipes running from the front of the property, through to the garden. The blackline is the boundary of the property. 

Appreciate any advise/guidance.

marcia_

Catman2025 said:

Looking for some advise. Please help. Looking to buy a house and the drainage search has revealed that there are public sewer (pipes) not only within the boundary of the property i.e. front driveway and the back garden but also running under the property.

I am concerned about any potential health risks, plus will this hinder property value/sale in the future? As well as any future/additional (ongoing/maintenance) costs if something was to go wrong i.e. damp, subsidence, blockages etc.

Would you buy or pull-out? The solicitors have put forward various questions to the sellers including  built over agreement and am waiting response.

The redline shows the foul sewer pipes running from the front of the property, through to the garden. The blackline is the boundary of the property. 

Appreciate any advise/guidance.

 I have a public sewer under my house with an inspection chamber in my back garden. Never thought twice about it. Had united utilities out a couple of times when it gets blocked but the blockage didn't cause me any problems.

WIAWSNB

Catman2025 said:

Looking for some advise. Please help. Looking to buy a house and the drainage search has revealed that there are public sewer (pipes) not only within the boundary of the property i.e. front driveway and the back garden but also running under the property.

I am concerned about any potential health risks, plus will this hinder property value/sale in the future? As well as any future/additional (ongoing/maintenance) costs if something was to go wrong i.e. damp, subsidence, blockages etc.

Would you buy or pull-out? The solicitors have put forward various questions to the sellers including  built over agreement and am waiting response.

The redline shows the foul sewer pipes running from the front of the property, through to the garden. The blackline is the boundary of the property. 

Appreciate any advise/guidance.

How old is the house? And is the part which is over the sewer the original property, or a subsequent extension?
If it's original house, and of a certain age, I wouldn't personally be concerned if there's a lack of B-O agreement; it seems clear that the WB are aware of the layout, and have full responsibility for it - it's on the map.
If it's an extension, then I would be looking for a BOA, although I am not aware if there was a date from when this became a requirement. But, again, that map shows the drain and the house footprint, so it seems clear to me that the WB, again, has full knowledge and responsibility for it. Easy to confirm with them, and I'm sure your solicitor will be doing this. Worst case - the seller provides an indemnity policy.
Is it a problem? In a word, no. This is very common. 
Should the worst case occur, say the sewer under there collapses, the WB has a number of ways of addressing this, including moling or sleeving or redirecting the pipe, but it ain't your problem.
Is it a health issue? I guess under a very extreme scenario, it could be, but one would have to be of a somewhat paranoid or hypocondriactic (sic) disposition to give it a moment's thought. 
Will it affect future sale? It shouldn't, but bear in mind it has given you some pause, so it might discourage a very small number of potential buyers.
What to do? Exactly what you are doing - due diligence in order to confirm the above - ownership and responsibility. Once you are given that assurance, then you live happily in your new home, and have this info to pass to the next happy owner.

Grumpy_chap

Is the sewer actually in the location shown, or is it actually a bit north at the property boundary and, hence, not under the property?
You could check by locating the manhole either side and lifting to see the position and direction of the sewer.

Section62

WIAWSNB said:

Catman2025 said:

...

If it's an extension, then I would be looking for a BOA, although I am not aware if there was a date from when this became a requirement. But, again, that map shows the drain and the house footprint, so it seems clear to me that the WB, again, has full knowledge and responsibility for it. Easy to confirm with them, and I'm sure your solicitor will be doing this. ...
Should the worst case occur, say the sewer under there collapses, the WB has a number of ways of addressing this, including moling or sleeving or redirecting the pipe, but it ain't your problem

...

Sewer record plans are usually held on a GIS system which 'knows' where the manholes and pipes are, but isn't 'aware' of what is built above them.  The OS mapping is overlaid by GIS when the sewer information is displayed or printed.  So the water company won't necessarily have "full knowledge" that the pipe has been built over.  Nobody systematically checks the records when new updates to the OS mapping are published.

If the sewer has been built over (or near) without an agreement where one was required then it could be a problem for the owner of the property.  The water company could be entitled to compensation for additional costs involved in repairing/maintaining the sewer, and if necessary could get a court order requiring the building removed to allow access to the sewer.

Trenchless methods like pipejacking or lining can be used, but they aren't always possible.  For example lining requires that the pipe is reasonably free from obstructions - it is unlikely lining would be suitable if the sewer has collapsed.  Diversion is also a possibility, but there needs to be a route to divert to, and if the diversion is longer there needs to be adequate fall between the start and finish point.

This doesn't mean the OP should panic, but it would be wrong for them to go away from the thread thinking it wouldn't be their problem if something did go wrong, or that it is always possible to do a repair with minimum cost and inconvenience.

The first step is finding out exactly where the sewer is located, as the water company records are generally not that accurate.

Section62

Grumpy_chap said:

Is the sewer actually in the location shown, or is it actually a bit north at the property boundary and, hence, not under the property?
You could check by locating the manhole either side and lifting to see the position and direction of the sewer.

It wouldn't surprise me if it was nearer to the northern boundary so it ran under what I guess is/was a garage, rather passing under the main house.

tooldle

We we have a main sewer running under our front garden (about 5m down). Access chamber is in the neighbours garden. It has blocked due to crumbling infrastructure further up the line. Water company dealt with matters and compensated for damage caused. 
We also have a private sewer running across our back garden and for this there is an access point in our garden. This particular sewer services one of the first houses to be built in our area, and runs for an enormous distance before connecting with another main sewer. It has been there for around 200 years and to my knowledge has never been problematic.
Top tip from our water company is to get ahead of any issues. Basically if you experience ‘smells’ around the property, report it right away and definitely before any heavy rainfall 

WIAWSNB

Catman2025 said:

Where did that map come from? 

Catman2025

WIAWSNB said:

Catman2025 said:

Looking for some advise. Please help. Looking to buy a house and the drainage search has revealed that there are public sewer (pipes) not only within the boundary of the property i.e. front driveway and the back garden but also running under the property.

I am concerned about any potential health risks, plus will this hinder property value/sale in the future? As well as any future/additional (ongoing/maintenance) costs if something was to go wrong i.e. damp, subsidence, blockages etc.

Would you buy or pull-out? The solicitors have put forward various questions to the sellers including  built over agreement and am waiting response.

The redline shows the foul sewer pipes running from the front of the property, through to the garden. The blackline is the boundary of the property. 

Appreciate any advise/guidance.

How old is the house? And is the part which is over the sewer the original property, or a subsequent extension?
If it's original house, and of a certain age, I wouldn't personally be concerned if there's a lack of B-O agreement; it seems clear that the WB are aware of the layout, and have full responsibility for it - it's on the map.
If it's an extension, then I would be looking for a BOA, although I am not aware if there was a date from when this became a requirement. But, again, that map shows the drain and the house footprint, so it seems clear to me that the WB, again, has full knowledge and responsibility for it. Easy to confirm with them, and I'm sure your solicitor will be doing this. Worst case - the seller provides an indemnity policy.
Is it a problem? In a word, no. This is very common. 
Should the worst case occur, say the sewer under there collapses, the WB has a number of ways of addressing this, including moling or sleeving or redirecting the pipe, but it ain't your problem.
Is it a health issue? I guess under a very extreme scenario, it could be, but one would have to be of a somewhat paranoid or hypocondriactic (sic) disposition to give it a moment's thought. 
Will it affect future sale? It shouldn't, but bear in mind it has given you some pause, so it might discourage a very small number of potential buyers.
What to do? Exactly what you are doing - due diligence in order to confirm the above - ownership and responsibility. Once you are given that assurance, then you live happily in your new home, and have this info to pass to the next happy owner.

I think it is a 1950s/60s built. However, the current owners built a side extension on top of the sewer pipes (on the right of the property across the garage and added the new side extension) more recently in the last 10 years' or so. Solicitors have asked for a BOA and we are awaiting to hear back on this as well as a possible indemnity policy (if it comes to that).

Sorry new to this but what is WB? Water company?

Catman2025

Grumpy_chap said:

Is the sewer actually in the location shown, or is it actually a bit north at the property boundary and, hence, not under the property?
You could check by locating the manhole either side and lifting to see the position and direction of the sewer.

I think it could be under the garage and going across the new side extension on the right. I have asked about the location of the manhole and waiting to hear back from the seller. But do you think  a CCTV drainage survey and/or a subsidence survey will be helpful?

Catman2025

WIAWSNB said:

Catman2025 said:

Where did that map come from? 

Drainage and Water Asset Plan - Drainage Search Report