sewage

[mr.bungle]

a friend of mine has been told that because he is at the end of the line in the seware system that he is responsible and has to pay for cracks in the pipe work even though the crack is not on his property. anyone know where he stands on this?

[Simeon]

As far as I know that is rubbish. All owners of a party owned sewage line are equally responsible for maintenance. Tell him to look at the deeds of his house it should be mentioned there.

[mr.bungle]

Thank you simeon. Thats what i thought. He doesn't mind splitting the cost with everyone in line but one of the neighbours thinks he is responsible being at the end of the line.

[Catso]

I second simeon - it's rubbish. He's only solely responsible until his pipe joins some other(s). Then the responsibility gets split, in proportion.

Also, there may be some other factors to take into account, something to do with properties built before a certain date. The water company may be responsible - it's worth asking them about it.

[JudgeJ]

Unless it is stated otherwise (for example, in the deeds) if your house shares a drain with one or more others, either the company to whom you pay your sewage disposal charges (usually your water company) or the local authority is responsible for the maintenance of the shared system.

If you house was built prior to 1st April 1936 it is the responsibility of the water company, if built on or after that date, the responsibility lies with the local authority.

This does not mean that they will not try to recover their costs if they believe the system was damaged maliciously or negligently, but that is another matter.

[rojash]

JudgeJ, your answer is not necessarily correct. Before I left the UK I lived in a Cul de Sac which was built in the early 1960s. Although the pipes used for the sewage system were legal, they did not conform to the standards required by the local authority, which refused to adopt them. (we didn't know this when we bought the house - it didn't show up in the search or the deeds).

When, in the 90s, they started to leak, it was determined that all those on the "wrong" side of the leak would have to pay. However, our local councillor got involved and negotiated a deal with all the individual homeowners' insurance companies, whereby we all (even those of us on the "right" side of the leak) made claims. The entire system was replaced, and the local authority then agreed to adopt it.

[kjn2]

I have recently been through what rojash has commented on in the cul de sac where I live in Kent we were all responsible for the repair of the sewer pipe up to the main pipe where the water board take over responsibility, a company come to a meeting that we all had and informed us that we can all get together through them and claim off our insurance companies (these cases have been tested in the past and are legal ) I suggest that you contact a reputable company for advice, I do not want to scare you but am sure I read somewhere a while ago that the further away from the main sewage pipe the more costs is borne by you, which us why I was happy to go along with the idea given to us from the company to go through insurance (only had to pay excess)please take advice and ensure that your insurance company accept to pay for the costs.They may take some persuading but

[kjn2]

Sorry pressed submit before end of answer and edit----I have recently been through what rojash has commented on in the cul de sac where I live in Kent we were all responsible for the repair of the sewer pipe up to the main pipe where the water board take over responsibility, a company come to a meeting that we all had and informed us that we can all get together through them and claim off our insurance companies (these cases have been tested in the past and are legal ) I suggest that you contact a reputable company for advice,Your local council should be able to put you in touch with such a company I do not want to scare you but am sure I read somewhere a while ago that the further away from the main sewage pipe the more costs is borne by you, which is why I was happy to go along with the idea given to us from the company to go through insurance (only had to pay excess) please take advice and ensure that your insurance company accept to pay for the costs.They may take some persuading but keep on to them THEY PAID OUT ON OURS..