Build over agreement

[Bicyclethief]

So we are near exchange and the search has identified a public sewer running at the back of the house. This is a 1930s house and the extension was built in 1990s. There is planning permission for this. The manhole is just outside the extension wall, maybe a foot away. My solicitor has asked the sellers solicitor to let us know whether they have a build over agreement but seems unlikely.

I understand that you can get build over indemnity but it seems that since I enquired about this issue with the water supplier we are now not able to take this out as they have now been made aware.
I'm at a loss as to what we do next if there is no build over agreement. We like the house and have already invested time and money to get to this point.

Has anyone had any experience in this and were you able to resolve?

Grateful for any insights.

Are you sure it was a public sewer in the 1990s?

Regulations are now in force that require sewerage undertakers to own private sewers and drains, but that has only been in force since 2011.

But if your house was built before 1937 and the drain serves more than one property it would have been considered a public sewer back in the 1990s.

Yes, planning permission for the extension is dated 1992.

So when it was built at the time when the new requirements were not in force.

What does this mean, can I take from this that it was already defined as a public sewer and therefore taken into account in the planning regulations when they built the extension?

I think Buzz is suggesting that if may have been a private sewer in the 90s and only adopted recently?

The crucial thing is the date the property was built and if the drain at the rear serves just the house, or the neighbours' too.

If it was built before 1937 and is shared - it is and was a public sewer, and a buildover agreement who have been required.

Okay, so when they built the extension in 1992, they still would have had to obtain a build over agreement? If this was the case, would this have been picked up as part of the planning application?

Wow, won't be moving again. Ever!

No, not planning - building control.

In 1992, they would have needed buildover agreement if drain to rear was shared AND house is pre 1937.

We've bought a house with a sewer and no build over agreement. After much going back and forth, it seems they didn't need a build over agreement when the extension was built. I now plan to re-do the extension and will have to apply for a new build-over agreement. But this should be granted as its a small sewer. That's what the war firm company told me.
I told our solicitor not to bother with indemnity as it was useless to us!

• water company!

So before 2011, would the public sewer located within the owner's boundary be owned by the local authority?

If the extension was built without building control, what would be the implications?

Oly5 How did you find out the size of the sewer? Is it from the local authority?

"So before 2011, would the public sewer located within the owner's boundary be owned by the local authority?"

Argh hit post too soon. You need to ask the sewerage company when the sewer under the extension was adopted. Hopefully it wasn't adopted when the extension was built, in which case you wouldn't have needed a build over agreement.

Do you mean "hopefully it was adopted..." instead of "wasn't"?

If it wasn't adopted at the time your extension was built then there wouldn't have needed to be a build over agreement.

Thank you. There are couple of points. If it did need one and it hasn't got one what are the implications and on a more practical perspective, is there a greater risk that the pipe has failed as it may not have been built to standard? I understand this can cause problems with foundations.

I don't know about that side of it I'm afraid!