Septic Tank & Chimney Flue Inspections

Due to the implementation of the General Binding Rules for small sewage discharges in 2015, we have seen a considerable uplift in enquiries from prospective home buyers. This, rightly so, is being advised by solicitors and we advise any new homeowner to have a pre-purchase survey done.

While a survey with us will cost between £250 and £500 the costs to repair or replace a non-compliant or faulty system can be very high. For instance, a new tank discharging to surface water, for a 4 bedroom house with good access will cost around £8-£10k + VAT. A new tank and drainage field £10-£12k + VAT or a drainage field around £5k to £7k + VAT. Even without the relatively new rules it still pays to get a survey done just to look at the pipework.  Pipe repairs can make a new tank look cheap, with leaking pipes also likely to cause subsidence issues if close to the building.  

We have seen a trend for companies to offer visual surveys, while this may be cheaper we would strongly suggest that without looking at the pipework you have no idea if a system is in a condition fit for sale. Further, some of these companies are asking for the tanks to be emptied before a survey, avoid anyone who says this, without seeing a tank at its working level you have no idea if it is working correctly. We will carry out an initial inspection, if the system is in good working order an empty will not be necessary. If the system has a serious issue then we may need to arrange an empty and return to complete the survey. Generally, this is not the case, if this is necessary we will need to cross charge the empty, this is generally around £150, there is no extra charge for us to return.