town property with no mains drainage

[poppymad]

I'm looking for some advice please. Bought a property in 2006, no drainage search was carried out by us and we saw no need. took 2 years to renovate property and finally let it out as we couldn't sell at the time. Anyway 3 months after tenants moved in they reported an awful smell in the property and waste sewage was backing up into the house and was appearing around the front garden manhole. Turned out after investigation there is a huge....and i mean huge chamber in the front garden which was overflowing with raw sewage. i had been paying for mains drainage but when the water company came and put dye down our manhole (after we had the chamber emptied!!) the dye was not reaching the main drain across the road. all my local water company did was reimburse my waste water charges and suggest i contact a civil engineer for a quote for mains drainage. did as they suggested and received a quote for £10,000!!! as the road would need to be closed completely for however long it took to did across. All neighboring properties are connected to the mains and elderly neighbors did not recall the previous ever having the chamber emptied.
I am now looking to sell the property and can see this being a problem!!! it has also always bugged me that I bought the property on the basis it had mains drainage, i was shown the bill from the previous owners, do you think i have any redress?
any thoughts very welcome. thanks in advance

[des8]

Re: town property with no mains drainage

When you purchased the property did you use a solicitor to do the conveyancing?
The pre contract searches should have included Water and Drainage enquiries, which should have revealed matters such as the proximity of public sewers, whether there is a sewer running through the boundaries of your property, whether foul water and surface drainage is from property drain to a public or private sewer.
It will depend on whether the searches were done properly, or false answers given as to whom, if anyone, you can proceed against.

[poppymad]

Re: town property with no mains drainage

Hi Des8!! the property was a probate sale, all info given on the property was given by the niece who inherited the property, she answered the questions on the basis her aunt had always paid mains drainage according to bills found at the property.

- - - Updated - - -

and sorry yes, we used a solicitor.

[des8]

Re: town property with no mains drainage

Your solicitor should have made an enquiry of the relevant water authority using form CON29DW, not just relied on pre contract enquiry of the vendor
http://www.con29drainagewater.co.uk/the-con29dw

I would ask the solicitor for a copy of the response from water authority. Interesting to see what he comes up with.
It might be they no longer have the records as there is a time limit of 6 years for taking court action.
In view of the Limitation Act what was the exact date you were informed that the property was not connected to main sewer?

[poppymad]

Re: town property with no mains drainage

Thanks Des8.....i know that no drainage search was carried out as it was an optional extra , we had no reason to suspect there was no mains drainage as we were supplied with a copy of a water bill showing the previous owner was billed for it. we found out in 2010 that there was a cess pit.

[des8]

Re: town property with no mains drainage

Well it seems then that you have no comeback.
You opted out of the drainage search, and the vendor would seem to have answered truthfully. in that she genuinely believed the property was connected to the foul sewer.
Perhaps the cesspit won't be such a draw back : point out to prospective buyers it only had to be emptied so often and look how much they save in sewerage charges. Look on the bright side:tinysmile_twink_t2:

I suppose it is a cesspit and not a septic tank?

[poppymad]

Re: town property with no mains drainage

its an enormous brick chamber, found under a concrete slab.I think looking on the bright side is what we did when we found out back then. we saw it as a toss up between 10 grand to have road dug up or paying to have emptied every so often. we did have insurance company involved but they made no suggestion of redress or even asking water company why they had always charged for drainage so ho hum as you say.....turn it round....sell it as an original feature lol. and if worse comes to worse have road dug up!!! thanks for your input Des8.

[poppymad]

Re: town property with no mains drainage

just a quick update. i decided to contact local water company to enquire as to why I and the previous owner had been billed for wastewater charges......and that i was tinking of taking legal action.......result.......water company very eager to "look into the matter for me!!!". came out, inspected drain, found 3 separate blockages, cleared them and now the property is miraculously back on mains drainage. the pit that had been filling up and being emptied in the garden was an "interception chamber"?? amazing what a threat of legal action can do. i can now sell the property with mains drainage....yay!!!!

[des8]

Re: town property with no mains drainage

Oh well done you!

As a matter of interest did they ask for a return of the drainage charges which in post 1 you said they had repaid you?