Drainage and septic tanks
Three cottages are said to share a cesspool and no wayleave is in the pack. What rights has the survey not established?
The survey has not established any right for the three cottages to use the cesspool, to cross land to reach it, or to empty it. They are said to share it, and no wayleave is in the pack. A cesspool holds sewage and is emptied. It is not a septic tank and it is not a treatment plant. The visit can note a tank that was pointed out. It cannot create a right or decide who may empty the tank. Those rights are unestablished.
Last reviewed 24 October 2026. Written for buyers in England and Wales unless this answer says otherwise. No named surveyor has signed this page. It is general guidance, not a report on your house, and not legal advice.
What is the fuller explanation?
Shared drainage depends on a paper right: an easement or wayleave to use the tank and to get a tanker to it. Talk between cottages is not that paper. The survey did not see a deed, did not trace three inlets and did not watch an emptying. Who pays, and who may enter, are legal questions. The inspection records the claim that the tank is shared. It does not prove the rights behind the claim.
Ask the solicitor to look for a wayleave or deed that names the cottages and the cesspool, and to ask how emptying is arranged. A drainage firm can describe the tank that was seen. The survey has not established the rights and has not divided the cost of emptying. Do not tell a lender the shared use is documented. Until the paper appears, the rights stay unread.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- On whose land does the cesspool actually sit?
- Is any deed in the pack that mentions shared drainage?
- Who arranges emptying, according to the seller rather than the survey?
What are the typical next steps?
- Ask the solicitor for a wayleave or easement for the shared cesspool.
- Do not treat the neighbours' account as an established right.
- Keep the survey note of what was seen apart from the missing paper.
Costs vary with the building and with who you instruct. Where this page does not cite a published figure, ask the surveyor, a relevant specialist, or your solicitor for a written quote. Do not treat a forum average as the price.
Also asked about this
Does a cesspool treat sewage as a septic tank does?
No. A cesspool holds sewage until it is emptied. A septic tank settles sewage, and a treatment plant is different again. The survey has not changed the type because neighbours say the tank is shared. No wayleave is in the pack, so the rights to use and empty it are still unestablished. Sharing is a claim, not a treatment process.
Has the survey booked the next emptying?
No. The survey does not book tankers and has not established who may empty the cesspool. No wayleave is in the pack. Emptying is an arrangement the solicitor should ask the seller about. The visit only records that sharing is said to happen. It has not set up a contract or a rota.