Transfer of Ownership of Sewers and Drains

Water Industry Regulations 2011

Transfer of private sewers and drains to ownership of water and sewerage companies

Introduction

The Water Industry Regulations 2011 came into force on 1^st July 2011. According to Water UK the changes involve the transfer of 200,000km of sewers in England and Wales to the 10 water and sewerage companies. Water UK describes it as the biggest change in sewerage responsibility since 1937.  The transfer took place on 1^st October 2011.

The aim of the transfer is to rationalise the current system and avoid homeowners having to pay for expensive repairs. It is hoped that by concentrating ownership in the hands of water and sewerage companies the network can be managed more efficiently.  However, there will be implications for commercial property owners, managers and developers as a result.

Benefits for homeowners

Under the previous system, homeowners often only realised the impact of shared responsibility for pipes beyond their own property’s boundary when a problem occurred. There was a sense of unfairness at “paying twice” for sewer services, firstly to the water company and then again when pipes needed repairing. Under the new system the cost of repairs will be shared among all water customers. The government estimates the extra cost per customer will be £3-14 per year. In addition, the changes are intended to lead to fewer disputes over responsibility between neighbours.

What has transferred?

All private sewers and lateral drains that connect to the public sewer have transferred to the ownership of the 10 water and sewerage companies.

“Private sewers” are pipes serving more than one property, the ownership of which was previously shared between the owners of the properties served.

“Lateral drains” are defined as pipes which serve single properties but which lie outside the property boundary.

“Private drains” that are serving a single property and lying within that property’s boundary, will remain in private ownership

Implications for owners of commercial property and developers

Large multi-occupier commercial sites are likely to come within the definition of a single property for the purposes of the Regulations by virtue of being singly owned and managed.  For example, the following types of site are expected to retain ownership of sewers and laterals:-

• Business parks, science parks, and shopping centres
• Docks, airports, railway land
• Hospitals and associated sites
• Schools and university campuses
• Caravan and mobile home parks

This means that the owners of such sites will continue to have to bear the burden of maintenance costs and arrange repairs through private contractors.

By contrast, where a development comprises a number of blocks of residential apartments, each block should be regarded as having a curtilage (comprising the land immediately surrounding and obviously attributable to an individual block). The pipes connecting the separate blocks will have transferred.

Conclusion

Although homeowners will welcome relief from liability, the picture is more complex for commercial landowners who may retain responsibility for pipework. It remains to be seen whether the transfer will bring about improvements in how the sewerage network is managed. 

For more information or to discuss your legal obligations contact David Marlor

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