A recent change in the law will benefit homeowners say Conveyancing Solicitors in Leicester

In 2010 Leicester Conveyancer Laura Gill acted for the buyer of a home on Wigston Lane, Leicester, Leicestershire, LE2. The property was a typical terraced house which Conveyancing Solicitors in Leicester frequently deal with. And as is often the case with such properties, Laura found that the house was not connected directly to a public sewer, but instead was linked into a  private combined drain. The pipe ran for some distance beneath the gardens of adjacent properties before connecting into a public main.

The usual search carried out by Conveyancing Solicitors in Leicester with Anglian Water confirmed that the property was connected to an adopted sewer. The plan supplied with the search results showed that this was located some distance from the house. Water companies do not have any records of privately owned pipes, and their precise location could only be ascertained by survey, although sometimes plans on older deeds may show their approximate location.

If homes are connected to a private drain running through other properties then each owner would  need a legal right to use any part of the pipe which does not lie within his own boundaries. Of more importance to owners is the fact that they would have been responsible for the repair of any shared pipe within their property. They could also be asked to pay for work which another owner had had to carry out. And sometimes a local council would declare that a whole length of pipe was a public health nuisance, and replace it – then charge all the affected owners for a share of the cost.

Shared drains now taken over by water companies

As from the beginning of October 2011 the liability for shared lengths of drain, or lateral sewers as they are known, has generally been taken over by the water companies. Laura had been able to confirm to her client that the sellers were not aware of any existing drainage problems, but in future homeowners will no longer have to worry about the cost of repairs, or have a problem when another owner fails to clear a blockage within his property which is affecting adjoining owners.

Despite this change Conveyancing Solicitors in Leicester will continue to make drainage and water searches for buyers. Not all properties will benefit from the new arrangements, such as those which are served by privately-owned pumped systems. Homeowners will also continue to be responsible for any drains which only serve their own property. 

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