Services issue post purchase with inaccurate PEC

[DC5]

Hello all, 

we purchased an existing rural cottage on land with services.
The plan was to extend significantly rather than knock down and build new.

The property was shown on the PEC report and home report as having mains water, gas and a septic tank.

 

It turned out that the property drew water from a mains tank via a private pipe over a significant distance.

Every summer a commercial user, uses said pipe for irrigation and we loose our supply.

This has gone on for years, and simply connecting to the mains is problematic and costly. The seller / landowner and solicitor have gone round in circles.

We cannot go on any longer with no or sporadic water supply during the summer months. The cost of connection will be significant and would prefer to recoup something legally does anyone have any suggestions?

We feel the original owner would have know the situation and there were red flags which we feel the conveyancing solicitor should have been spotted.

Any help appreciated.

[Nickfromwales]

23 minutes ago, DC5 said:

Every summer a commercial user, uses said pipe for irrigation and we loose our supply.

Do they draw constantly, or does the supply come back at night/other time?

[Temp]

How far is it from your house to the nearest water main ? Across fields or roads or ?

 

The cost of getting the water co to install a new pipe might be high but you might be able to save a lot by either digging trenches yourself or paying a local farmer to dig them.

 

You might have a case for misrepresentation if you can argue the sales particulars were incorrect. You might consider getting quotes from the water company and threatening court action unless the seller comes to an agreement. Then see if you can get a local farmer to dig the route for less.

 

I've no idea how successful you might be if it actually went to court so ge prepared to settle out of court if they make an offer.

[Temp]

Would a bore hole supply be cheaper?

[torre]

When you say a "mains tank" are you saying this tank is owned and maintained directly by the water supplier for your region? I didn't know this was a thing. If not then I'd have thought your claim would be against the seller.

 

Is a sensibly sized cold tank of your own an option to even out demand if supply restores overnight for example? Not ideal I know but not unheard of

[nod]

I would get an estimate to sort this out and go back to your solicitor with it 

The seller must have known there was an ongoing issue You are asked in the solicitor’s forms 

You could find that that one day the water supply is cut permanently 

Put in a claim against the seller to sort it out 

[DC5]

Hello all, apologies for the slow reply (school holidays...!) thank you all very much for the responses. To answer some questions - 

 

Do they draw constantly, or does the supply come back at night/other time? - They don't draw constantly, but it goes off for hours at a time it feeds a very large tank and irrigation system. We did have a bit of an agreement with the owner to just draw at night but they don't keep to this and its not a long term solution. We have been without any water for 3 days at one point. 

 

 

How far is it from your house to the nearest water main ? Across fields or roads or ? Approx 1 km to a public Scottish water tank across field and 1 road

 

The cost of getting the water co to install a new pipe might be high but you might be able to save a lot by either digging trenches yourself or paying a local farmer to dig them. Yes would could possibly dig trenches with a digger but its a long distance and would need to be when no crops in the field.

 

You might have a case for misrepresentation if you can argue the sales particulars were incorrect. You might consider getting quotes from the water company and threatening court action unless the seller comes to an agreement. Then see if you can get a local farmer to dig the route for less. This has now been going on for almost 10 years, although it started about a year after purchase our solicitor says that the age will be an issue.

 

A bore hole isn't suitable unfortunately.

 

The original seller was almost certainly aware of the situation and the private pipe but said it was public in the home report.

 

 

[Nickfromwales]

You could fit 4x 1000L cold mains accumulators in an outbuilding, and keep a reserve of 2000-2500L on site; these don't fill completely, so you won't get 1000L of water in each vessel. You can have an alarm that notifies you when the incoming pressure drops or disappears, so you know you're on 'rations'. You can gauge consumption and then maybe increase the number of accumulators, if needed.

 

These take pressure from the static cold mains and recharge with pressure 'borrowed' from the network water. I'd try with no pump at first, and then see how you go, and add a suction pump if so necessary.

 

You could also do 1 or 2 of these for potable, and then one more fed from 3-4000L of water held in some IBC's, pumped out to do everything non potable.

 

https://www.anglianpumping.com/product/pressure-vessels/gws-superflow-1000-litre-accumulator-10bar-sfb-int-1000lv/?srsltid=AfmBOopdoGg_pCbe3oho_tGp6lDGy16008FjpZh2jUY2r2OrvD7_7mvlm3A

[DC5]

Thanks Nick I appreciate the ingenuity of that and will have a look.

I think ideally we want to get hooked up to the mains but it’s the sheer cost involved!

[mr rusty]

I suspect if it's been going on for 10 years you are out of time to go after the original seller for misrepresentation - I believe the limit is 6 years from the original transaction.

[ProDave]

This sounds very much like one I encountered some years ago.

 

Property was high up a hill.

 

Mains water was provided to a buried tank, as high up the hill as the mains pressure would get it.

 

From the tank it was pumped up to the house. They were responsible for the pump, the pipe and the switchgear.

 

On one occasion when we looked in the tank, another party had simply added another pump to draw from it.

 

Is it that sort of arrangement?  if so it was I guess technically mains water with a break tank.

 

More details would be needed to find a solution.

[Temp]

On 06/08/2025 at 11:28, DC5 said:

Yes would could possibly dig trenches with a digger but its a long distance and would need to be when no crops in the field.

 

If the land owner will let you I would investigate this further. I think 1km of 50mm pipe would be about £4000.

[Nickfromwales]

Some farmers will have a pipe trenching attachment for their daily driver. Can shoot through this job in a day with that tbh. 

[saveasteading]

2 minutes ago, Nickfromwales said:

pipe trenching attachment

Better still is a special plough that slits the ground and the pipe rolls out behind it and the ground closes again.

 

Used one once for a water pipe of about 100m , and it took hours not days.

[Nickfromwales]

3 minutes ago, saveasteading said:

Better still is a special plough that slits the ground and the pipe rolls out behind it and the ground closes again.

 

Used one once for a water pipe of about 100m , and it took hours not days.

That’s what I meant. 
 

Not saw one before but then thought what a brilliant tool. 
 

Only good for ground that’s largely organics though. Otherwise it’s a world of pain and digging with the narrowest bucket you can find. 

[saveasteading]

2 minutes ago, Nickfromwales said:

That’s what I meant. 

OK. I can't remember where we hired it,  but our groundworker used it for the first time and successfully.

OR there is the grave digging type excavator, which is like a chainsaw for ground.

[Roger440]

On 06/08/2025 at 11:28, DC5 said:

Hello all, apologies for the slow reply (school holidays...!) thank you all very much for the responses. To answer some questions - 

 

Do they draw constantly, or does the supply come back at night/other time? - They don't draw constantly, but it goes off for hours at a time it feeds a very large tank and irrigation system. We did have a bit of an agreement with the owner to just draw at night but they don't keep to this and its not a long term solution. We have been without any water for 3 days at one point. 

 

 

How far is it from your house to the nearest water main ? Across fields or roads or ? Approx 1 km to a public Scottish water tank across field and 1 road

 

The cost of getting the water co to install a new pipe might be high but you might be able to save a lot by either digging trenches yourself or paying a local farmer to dig them. Yes would could possibly dig trenches with a digger but its a long distance and would need to be when no crops in the field.

 

You might have a case for misrepresentation if you can argue the sales particulars were incorrect. You might consider getting quotes from the water company and threatening court action unless the seller comes to an agreement. Then see if you can get a local farmer to dig the route for less. This has now been going on for almost 10 years, although it started about a year after purchase our solicitor says that the age will be an issue.

 

A bore hole isn't suitable unfortunately.

 

The original seller was almost certainly aware of the situation and the private pipe but said it was public in the home report.

 

 

 

Why cant you have a borehole?

 

Likely to be the easiest and cheapest solution.