Drainage and septic tanks
A tanker ticket dates from a previous summer. Why is that ticket not proof the tank is sized for this house?
That ticket is not proof of size because it only shows a tanker attended in a previous summer. It does not measure the tank, say how full it was, or show the tank matches this house and the way you would use it. A cesspool holds sewage and is emptied. A septic tank and a treatment plant are different, and the ticket does not by itself say which is in the ground. The survey records the paper it was shown. It has not sized the tank.
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?
Emptying is a service visit. Capacity is the volume of the vessel and the rate at which the household fills it. A date on a ticket can confirm that someone pumped something once. It cannot confirm the vessel is large enough, watertight, or still the system the house now discharges to. The survey only records what was seen and the ticket that was offered. It did not measure liquid levels through a season and did not test the tank. An old date also says nothing about the months since.
Ask the solicitor for the tank type, any permit or registration papers, and the emptying records as a set, not this one ticket alone. A lender may want the system identified properly. Do not invent a legal distance from the tank to a ditch or a building. The survey has not done that and has not decided the ticket proves capacity. If the type is still unclear, that is a question for the papers and, if needed, a drainage specialist.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- What date and what address does the tanker ticket show?
- Does the ticket name a cesspool, a septic tank or a plant?
- What did the visit itself see of the tank?
What are the typical next steps?
- Treat the ticket as a record of one visit only.
- Ask the solicitor which type of system is installed.
- Do not describe the ticket as proof of capacity.
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 recent smell prove the tank is too small?
No. A smell, if you notice one, is not a measurement of volume, and this ticket is not that measurement either. The survey did not size the tank and did not test it. A cesspool, a septic tank and a treatment plant behave differently. Type and capacity belong to the papers and, if needed, a specialist, not to one summer’s ticket.
Was the tank opened and dipped on this visit?
Only what the report says was opened should be treated as opened. A tanker ticket from a previous summer does not mean this visit dipped the tank or measured it. The survey records the ticket it was shown. It has not proved the tank is sized for this house, and it has not decided which kind of system the ticket refers to.