Who should pay for septic tank upgrade?

[harpygoducky]

In the middle of buying a house and specialist survey has flagged that the septic tank does not pass the regulations that came into force this year. Sellers do not want to do the upgrade work themselves, and will not agree a price reduction for us to do it. We do not want to buy a house with an illegal septic tank and feel like they should sort this out pre completion, and we feel even going 50/50 is unfair as by law they should have done this already.
Votes please!

YABU- Buyers should pay
YANBU- Sellers should pay

[callmeadoctor]

They have already broken the law though as it should have been done by January 2020, they will be unlikely to sell to anybody if its not done.

[fuzzyduck1]

Just found this on the internet so looks like the seller should make it right so I’d walk away from that one.

poster harpygoducky I see where your coming from now.


Selling Your Property & Septic Tank Regulations 2020

The majority of homeowners that have an old septic tank system do not know about these rules, as they have not been widely advertised. Many agents have had problems with sales recently as more and more solicitors are becoming aware of this new requirement and the homeowners find they are not able to sell their property before the works have been carried out. It is the homeowners responsibility to do this and must be done before completion at their own cost.

Some of our clients had their septic tank discharging into a field and whilst on paper this is acceptable, there are rules pertaining to how close it should be to a stream, river or ditch. Before bringing your property to the market we advise you to contact a respected contractor to survey your septic tank to check if it complies.

Even if your system complies with the septic tank regulations 2020, do make sure that you have your tank emptied and inspected before your property comes to the market, as you can guarantee that the solicitors will ask questions about when it was last emptied. I cant deny, I never understand why some sellers get a bit funny when buyers ask them to have their septic tank emptied before they take possession ….. I feel that this is a fair and reasonable request!

[Waveysnail]

www.whatmortgage.co.uk/news/warning-dont-let-new-septic-tank-rules-delay-sale/

[JacobReesMogadishu]

Ok if it’s actually illegal and they’ve had five years notice then yes I do think they should pay. If I were you I’d drop my offer by 15k if I was prepared to lose the house.

[donquixotedelamancha]

It is illegal, as it discharges to surface water and therefore should have been upgraded to a sewage treatment system by January 2020.

1. Increase your offer by 5k provided the work is done and the house completed in time to take advantage of the stamp duty holiday. Make clear that neither you nor anyone else can complete without the work done.

1. If they still say no, leave it and walk away. Then phone environmental health.

1. After they've been fined and had the work done it will be cheaper because the market will have dropped.

[justconcedealready]

They've had 5 years to sort it and didn't? I'd tell them they need to fund the upgrade. It's a lot of money!

[justconcedealready]

I'd also report them for not having upgraded properly in time if they don't sort it/drop the price so it can be sorted.

[VeganVeal]

Selling Your Property & Septic Tank Regulations 2020
The majority of homeowners that have an old septic tank system do not know about these rules, as they have not been widely advertised. Many agents have had problems with sales recently as more and more solicitors are becoming aware of this new requirement and the homeowners find they are not able to sell their property before the works have been carried out. It is the homeowners responsibility to do this and must be done before completion at their own cost.

[ForTheLoveOfCatFood]

I’d be worried what else they haven’t declared if they don’t care about this

Also think about it, anyone else would offer less than the asking price to cover the costs. So I would be calling their bluff so to speak and saying your revising your offer. I honestly would walk away if not purely because I think you will find other things once you move in

[30mph]

You must be prepared to walk away.

They'll now have to declare the issue to other potential buyers. If you are relying on a mortgage, then you may find that the valuation will be reduced - but, others will have the same hurdle too.

Chances are that there are other problems, albeit minor, if their attitude is consistent. Formally notify them of the issue and breach of regulations and repeat your reduced offer.

[SoupDragon]

@VeganVeal

Selling Your Property & Septic Tank Regulations 2020
The majority of homeowners that have an old septic tank system do not know about these rules, as they have not been widely advertised. Many agents have had problems with sales recently as more and more solicitors are becoming aware of this new requirement and the homeowners find they are not able to sell their property before the works have been carried out. It is the homeowners responsibility to do this and must be done before completion at their own cost.

The gov.uk Site says If you are buying or selling a property with a septic tank that discharges directly to a watercourse, you should agree with the buyer or seller who will be responsible for the replacement or upgrade of the existing treatment system. You should agree this as a condition of sale.

[lunar1]

The best thing you can do is decide to walk away, and make sure they know you are serious. If they can't seek at all without the upgrade and you have already offered a fair price then they might back down if they want to sell.

[CrotchetyQuaver]

Is it actually illegal in that it drains into a watercourse rather than into the ground via a soakaway? I believe all in my neighbourhood drain to soakaways and certainly there's been no increased activity round here getting septic tanks replaced?

[Reedwarbler]

They don't want to reduce the price and want you to pay for it. I don't think the property will be mortgageable without the work being done, so you need to check that. (Or there might be a retention of funds pending the work being done) However, their thinking might be that, it's a strong market, and you are probably saving in stamp duty what a new system would cost, so you would be able to afford it.
If you really want the house, you will have to pay to get the work done, otherwise walk away. If the property is desirable I'm pretty sure someone will be along who is more than happy to pay the asking price plus paying for a new sewage plant.

[Nanny0gg]

@harpygoducky

It is illegal, as it discharges to surface water and therefore should have been upgraded to a sewage treatment system by January 2020. The law was actually changed in 2015 but there was a 5 year grace period to allow septic tank owners to make the changes. We haven’t had any quotes yet but I believe it will be about £10-15k to sort.
To answer the pp who asked if the house was “cheap” to start with, no it wasn’t. We are paying a good and fair price. We wouldn’t renegotiate on anything else the survey flagged up (eg that the boiler will most likely need replacing) because that is all stuff you expect in a house purchase. But this is a huge and unexpected expense, for something that in the eyes of the law they should have done already.
To the person who said I was whinging- I can hear myself doing it too! But it does feel unfair!!

Then they need reporting to Environmental Health, surely?

[TheYearOfSmallThings]

It just comes down to whether the property (as is) is worth what they are asking to you. If not, you just have to be willing to walk away. It's not about what they "should" agree to do.

[yolopolo]

www.omdi.co.uk/news/selling-a-house-with-a-septic-tank/

[VodselForDinner]

OP, I walked away from purchasing my dream house earlier this year because of a similar issue.

I’m not in the UK and regulations are different here, but what started as a small problem with a septic tank turned out to be a major planning issue which would have caused a massive neighbour dispute to resolve.

We walked away. They said fine, they had another buyer lined up.

Got a call from the estate agent a few months later to say that the second buyer pulled out as all the issues had taken months and cost them a lot but they couldn’t get a resolution, and the sellers wanted to offer us the house at a reduced price to reflect the issue.

We didn’t take them up on it. Just too much hassle and didn’t want to start life in a new area where the neighbours were already pissed off at the house.

It’s a stunning house in a great location but still unsold so I’d imagine other buyers are similarly put off.

Not the same as your situation, I know, but it’s taught me to walk away as early as possible on any septic tank or planning type issues. They’re rarely worth the hassle.

It’s hard though. I loved that house, so understand where you’re coming from.

[flopsygirll]

They really have 2 choices, do the work themselves or reduce it for you to do it. Or if you really love it you can choose to absorb the cost.
Are they aware it's illegal?
I'd ask your solicitor (I'd of thought they would of had an opinion on this) to forward theirs all the legal info if that hasn't been done already. Lots of things are okay if they were installed to the acceptable standard at the time so they may be unaware the tank is illegal and just think it's now outdated.

[WhatKatyDidNxt]

I think they should pay but you can’t make them. It’s either a big enough deal that you walk away or you suck it up, then pay when you own it

[NewtothisFBK4921]

@harpygoducky did you ever resolve this? We're just buying a house and having the septic tank inspected next week, think it'll probably not comply with regulations. Was it very expensive/difficult to change it? This one is in an enclosed courtyard, with the house surrounding it on all sides, so really not ideal to dig up and change!

[Johnnysgirl]

It doesn't matter who "should" pay
The sellers have told you they're not going to. There's nowhere you can go with this, either pay or walk.

[Johnnysgirl]

A fucking Zombie... 🙀

[RIPWalter]

If you decide to go through with the sale and sort the septic tank out, with or without a reduction in price, you need to make sure you can get a power supply to the septic tank site, as new sewage treatment plants need a power supply for the aeration device (only a very small amount of power). Our system is in a field across the road from the house and we had to spend a lot more on an expensive system which doesn't need power (wind driven aeration) and this was a whole lot of hassle!!