Public sewer within property boundary

[LilMissSunshine9]

Hi all

So I am looking for advice.. I have received all the searches information and contract papers to sign to exchange contracts on the house I am buying. The drainage search has come back showing there is a public sewer located under 3m from the back wall of the house its more like under 1m away. I was intending to build an extension - not straight away but sometime in the future because for a family the lounge is not a great shape/ size. This issue of a public drain has put in a quandary.

Do I go back and negotiate on price because the outcome of an extension application will either be a straight no or it will cost me to move the drain. What would you do? And how much less would you take off the asking price? 1k/ 2k?

I had to increase my orig offer by £5k initially because the vendor wanted closer to asking price as they were moving into rented accommodation - then reason changed because of other offers ( which I am not sure there really was any). Not only do I now find myself in a chain because vendors have found somewhere there is this drain issue.

Any advice is welcome :o)

It is unlikely that you can move a public drain.
If you want to extend you apply for a "build over" agreement and design the foundations to bridge the sewer. That is minimal work if it is small diameter.
You might have to CCTV the sewer before and after the work to prove it is in good condition and/or that you have not damaged it.
It doesn't cost a lot - speak to the utility company/water board.
The utility company remain liable for any repairs in the future.
However the technical details of the agreement mean that (if necessay - which is rare) they could dig up your extension and leave you to put it right.
We have such an arrangement with an extension built by a previous owner.
There is little chance of it beiing dug up because repair techniques can reline drains without excavation.
I can't see how it would affect the price for the house really, but I can see you might reduce your offer because of the chain issue which adds more risk and delay to the purchace - ie they have changed the terms under which you offered.

I can't better Tricot's response except to add that I think it might affect the value. It may be irrational but I wouldn't want to buy a house that had the neighbours' excrement flowing through the garden.

You must have trouble crossing the street missp!! Some of the trunk sewers are 3m diameter - how do you cope with the thought of that effluent under the road!!

We had exactly this issue when we wanted to build a small kitchen extension. Although we had huge problems establishing whether or not the sewer in our back garden was a public one or not (the local council was convinced the local water company could tell us, and vice versa!), in the end I think they said it was probably private, and the builder just built a little bridge over it, to protect it within the foundations of the extension.

I would be really surprised if it affected the value of the property. I think loads and loads of Victorian terraces have a sewer flowing through the back gardens of adjoining properties, before branching out into the road and joining the main public sewer. Personally if I was the vendor I might think you were pretty cheeky asking for money off the property.

More info here from Thames Water.

Why not ring the planning dept of the local Council about exactly what happens in your area? The chaps there were really really helpful to me, knowledgeable and happy to have a chat and even hand-deliver me a leaflet about the issue.

Oh, and are you sure that you will need planning permission for the extension? Depending on its size / exact location within the property boundary, you might be able to do it under permitted development. The Government's Planning Portal is very helpful. We didn't need planning permission for a 3m x 3m extension at the back of our house.

Widgeon I think the OP was talking about consent under the Building Regulations rather than planning approval.

For a small extension, provided it is not adjacent to a highway and a few other minor restrictions planning aprval would not be required.

SOMEWHERE in the deeds for your property it will show the drain - what size, what depth
find that out and then deal with whether your footings for an extension would cut through it or whether it is even still in use etc etc