Avoiding septic tank blockages when it comes to selling

Avoiding septic tanks blockages when it comes to selling  

 

This year’s housing market has been characterised by slumping prices and sluggish sales in many areas, posing a challenge to would-be sellers looking to move on.  

And for those who are not connected to mains drainage, generally in rural areas, there’s an added challenge, with many unaware of stricter rules regarding septic tank systems and soak-aways, which must be dealt with as part of the conveyancing process.  

According to Dawne Jenkins, our, property law expert “Property owners with a septic tank or small sewage treatment plant could find themselves with a headache if they aren’t up to date on their responsibilities and meeting the latest legal requirements.” 

Those are set out in the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016 and the Small sewage discharges in England: general binding rules. For homeowners, the important points relate to the amount of waste being discharged, and where it is being discharged.

If it’s domestic waste, you can discharge up to 2 cubic metre per day to the ground via a septic tank or small sewage treatment plant.  If it’s discharging to a river, stream or other surface water, then up to 5 cubic metres per day is permitted, but only if a small sewage treatment plant is being used. 

Any septic tank discharging to surface water will have to be replaced or upgraded by the end of 2019, or when the property is sold, if that happens earlier.

The Environment Agency has provided a simple calculator to enable homeowners to work out their estimated daily discharge, which is based on the size of the property. 

If a system is being installed or upgraded, then it must be to British Standard BS EN 12566 and both planning permission and building regulations approval will be needed.  Approval will not be given if public sewers are accessible within 30 metres.  

Dawne Jenkins added: “These approvals apply to any installations from 2015 onwards, so any system that has been upgraded in that time without planning permission and building regulations approval would have to apply for permission retrospectively, and that’s going to cause delays and problems if it is only discovered during the sale process.

“When selling, the home owner is legally obliged to tell the purchaser if sewage is being handled by a private drainage system, with a written notice that sets out details of the waste water system, its location and the maintenance requirements.  There’s a legal responsibility to ensure the system is in good working order and does not cause pollution, so it makes sense to check everything is OK on a regular basis, and certainly before putting the property on the market. It is also important to be sure that all rights and obligations are in place if any part of the system is located on someone else’s property, as any gaps would be thrown up as part of the conveyancing process.” 

The discharge limits do not apply to cesspits, as they are self-contained tanks, but cesspits must be maintained and emptied regularly by a registered waste carrier.

 

This is not legal advice; it is intended to provide information of general interest about current legal issues.

House sellers are facing testing questions

House sellers are facing testing questions

 

Springtime is traditionally the busiest time for the property market, but with a knotty problem affecting more homes than ever, it’s worth doing some horticultural homework before you start, whether you’re buying or selling. 

Japanese knotweed is a highly invasive, aggressive and destructive plant, able to grow as high as four metres in just a few months and with roots that can spread seven metres.  It’s non-native with no natural predators, and is able to cause significant structural damage, growing through asphalt and other hard surfaces, often compromising building structures.   Getting rid of it is a costly and time-consuming business, involving specialist waste disposal, because simply digging up the roots is not enough to kill it. 

You can be fined up to £5,000 or sent to prison for two years if you allow contaminated soil or plant material from Japanese knotweed to spread into the wild, and now a landmark court ruling has found that a landowner is responsible if they do not prevent the plant from spreading from their land to adjoining properties.  

The case involved a group of homeowners in South Wales, who took action against Network Rail after Japanese knotweed grew into their garden from adjoining railway sidings.  The knotweed had been there for at least 50 years and had been actively treated since 2008, to ensure visibility for trains on the line.  In weighing up the claims of the homeowners, the judgement considered the extent of nuisance suffered, and found in their favour, saying that the presence of Japanese knotweed was enough, without any physical damage, as it had the potential to seriously affect the market value of a property. 

Many mortgage lenders restrict their lending on properties that are affected and homeowners may have difficulty in selling, or find the value of property reduced by as much as 50%. 

There have been few previous rulings involving Japanese knotweed infestations, and the outcome is likely to put extra pressure on property owners to control the plant, and have a significant impact on larger land owners and those responsible for tracts of public land.

Glyn Morrice Evans  of Gamlins Law commented:  “If you’re not a skilled gardener, it’s worth getting to grips with the Japanese knotweed identification sheet.  If you can see it growing on your property, then take steps to eradicate it.  If it’s growing on neighbouring properties, speak with your neighbours, and if they don’t tackle the problem then it’s worth considering action. 

“If you are successful with a nuisance claim, you can push for neighbours to undertake a five-year eradication programme and ask for a guarantee from the specialist company involved, as well as seeking compensation, if there is evidence it has travelled through your boundaries.” 

He added:  “Taking action to protect what is probably your biggest asset is a simple but sensible option, whether you’re buying, selling or staying put.  These days, when you sell a property, you will be asked whether Japanese knotweed has been found on the property and the reply will be included in the comprehensive pack of buyer’s information that lawyers compile during the conveyancing process.”

Web site content note: 

This is not legal advice; it is intended to provide information of general interest about current legal issues.