Townhouse built over Sewer Main, should we still buy it?

Good evening everyone,

After years of searching, we have finally found a townhouse we’re hoping to purchase. It’s in a great location and the price is something we’re just able to afford. It ticks nearly every single box in our checklist and we’re really happy to have found it. However there is just a single problem: the house is built over a sewer main.

Currently there’s a 225 Vitrified Clay (VC) Pipe running underneath the garage, sitting 1.1m below the ground. And I was told by Sydney Water that the pipe is NOT Concrete Encased. There are also two Maintenance Holes at both ends of the lot boundary.

The sewer information is provided below:

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Although more importantly from a sanitary drainage diagram given, it says “Plumbing or Drainage found completed without inspection and does not meet Sydney Water’s requirements.” It seems the pipe have not been inspected after construction work had been done. This presents an issue as when problem occur with the sewer pipe (like bursts or leaks), Sydney Water told me they’re not liable for any compensations.

What we’re wondering is:
1. Would it be possible to have the sewer main inspected so that it’s covered by Sydney Water’s compensations? I’m not even sure if it’s possible to do it at this stage as the pipe is already under the building slab.
2. If it is possible for us to arrange an inspection, and the results show that the pipe does not meet Sydney Water’s requirements. Does it mean we have to take full responsibility if accidents occur and there are damages to our property?
3. What would be the worst case scenario in case an accident happen? What sort of damages will it cause? Will the house be in any risk to be knocked down or partially dismantled?
4. If a leak or burst happens with the pipe, will it affect the structural integrity underneath the building in any way?
5. How much compensations are Sydney Water legally required to provide in case damages are done to the house?

This is the first time we’re buying a property so I’m really not sure what to think of all these. Would you still recommend to purchase this townhouse given the above issues with the sewer pipe (not concrete encased, not inspected etc.)? We’ve been searching for years and this really seem to be a great place for us to live in. But we’re not sure how much detriment or inconvenience this sewer main will cause for us in the future. Although the townhouse is built in the 1950s, we do hope to stay here for a very long time (several decades).

We’ve been reading through Sydney Water’s Technical Guidelines regarding this for the past couple of days:
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However it’s really hard for us to wrap our head around as neither of us are Engineers, or have a similar technical background. Would sincerely be thankful if someone who have knowledge in this area can help us out.

Once again thank you so much for reading through this, really cannot express how much we appreciate your help on this matter. It really means a lot to us and we’re really grateful for your comments!

Cheers and best wishes!

 

This may be referring to the private plumbing not the syd water main. The main - 225 is sydney water the private sewer is yours and sign off completed by dept fair trading

First.
Main- refers to the 225 that's sydney water
Service- is the line off the main to your house

1. Yes arrange a CCTV. You should ask sydney water if they have already done this or if you can
2.3. On you to fix
If sydney water needed access to the main they dig up your garage slab. That is a worst case
4 yes
5. They don't just give hand outs.they repair the area if they need to access for work. Which usually should just involve grass but with yours they won't replace the slab as you haven't met their rules.

The biggest issue is vc tends to crack with tree roots or movement. You should get a cctv inspection and look to install a structural pipe liner. Sydney water will know if the line or surrounding ones have had problems as they usually log call outs they make to unblock lines

 

Get CCTV done, as it's not your sewer, it is possibly a cost to body Corp for the repairs but check with your solicitor or seek out one who knows.

 

The fact it's got a structure over it means possible the sewer has already been concrete encased.

They make you encase the sewer when you build over it so it's a very low probability of ever damaging the asset (sewer) and even if it does, the concrete becomes the pipe.

There's always a risk of building over sewers that one day they will need access for maintenance, but the chances of this happening especially after concrete encasing is highly unlikely, but still possible.

Sewers imo are not as big of a deal breaker than easements, mainly because sydney water let you build over them with property construction techniques.

If you had two identical properties, identical price, one has a sewer and one doesn't, of course you would choose the one without, but if you had two identical properties, one has a sewer and one doesnt, but everyone is scared of the sewer and therefore less interest in that property, allowing you to negotiate a better price, I would not hesitate to buy it if the price is right.

 

Property was built in the 50s?
So it has been like this for almost 70 years - at this stage one would wonder if nothing has happened so far, how likely is it that this will change?
Yes ideally I'd be better if the sewer wasn't there but if the property ticks all the boxes and there has not been any issues with it, I don't see the big deal. Perhaps you can get it inspected if you really want piece of mind.
There are thousands of properties built over sewers and if these presented issues it would be well known.
A bit strange it's not concrete encased though, I thought that was a requirement to built over.