Sewer vault for another house on our rental's land

[Vanessa Johns]

I have a newly built manufactured home on 0.6 acres in a rural area. The subdivision, however, has "city" sewer through a sanitation district. When I purchased the land I was told of an easement on the front edge of my lot for a sewer vault, which I incorrectly believed to be for the sanitation district to access it. This vault actually feeds from two lots adjacent to me and has nothing to do with the sewer lines from my house. Due to one of these two homes being listed for sale recently, I learned from the sewer inspector they hired that the vault was near full and could start leaking sewage, which would go directly into my lot and downhill towards the house. Upon contacting the sanitation district to file a complaint I was told they have no ownership of the vault and that it's the responsibility of the homes who feed into it.

While I know they are going to clean it out for the upcoming sale, I am anticipating an ongoing issue and a possible future health hazard for tenants if so. Has anyone experienced anything similar or have any good ideas for how to prevent an issue for tenants and protect myself liability-wise going forward? We did reach out to the state and were told to contact the county environmental health department, who just seemed confused and fairly worthless.

Thanks in advance!

[Nathan Gesner]

This is why it's important to have a quality agent working with you on the purchase of property. The sewer vault should have been disclosed in the title search and your agent should have recommended you speak with a professional to determine if there was a risk involved.

Based on what you've shared, I suspect you're exaggerating the potential problem. We have a lot of homes with septic systems and they're not a problem, if maintained properly. In your case, you don't have any control of the septic because it belongs to the neighbor. What are the odds of it over-flowing and draining all the way to your property? Pretty low, I would guess, but you may still have a septic company inspect it and verify.

If it is a legitimate concern, you should be able to install a barrier or something similar to a french drain to catch any leakage before it reached your home.