Who's responsible for emptying a septic tank?

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Lawquestion11

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I've been privately renting a house for the past two and a half years and the septic tank has not been emptied during my tenancy. I noticed yesterday that it's full and is started to overflow slightly. Is it my responsibility to pay to empty it or is it my landlords?
 
Who is responsible for other utilities, electricity, gas, water, refuse charges, etc?
 
Well I would contact the landlord and request it to be emptied,,and take it from there.
 
mathepac said:
Who is responsible for other utilities, electricity, gas, water, refuse charges, etc?
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I pay all the utilities, but is the emptying of a septic tank considered a utility? I have no issue getting it done myself, I was just wondering who is usually responsible for it. I try not to contact my landlord unless it's something important.
 
I'd ring the house owner and let him know, see what happens then. Unless you decide to get it emptied quickly yourself, you'll definitely be letting him know.
 
It shouldn't be overflowing. There may be a blockage in it preventing the waste water drain away. This is usually caused by things being flushed down the toilet that shouldn't be e.g. tampons. You should certainly contact your landlord about this.
 
Steven Barrett said:
It shouldn't be overflowing. There may be a blockage in it preventing the waste water drain away. This is usually caused by things being flushed down the toilet that shouldn't be e.g. tampons. You should certainly contact your landlord about this.
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This was my first thought... if built properly and used properly, a septic tank shouldn't overflow. I remember stories of rotted chicken corpses being put into tanks to get the waste digestion process going again properly... not something I had to ever witness, thankfully! :-s
 
I would expect landlord to cover this and in my experience thats been the case. I have not seen this mentioned specifically on a lease.
 
I've organised for someone to come and empty the tank myself. My partner did take a look for a blockage with sewer rods and found some nasty stuff that definitely shouldn't have been flushed, obviously from previous tenants. It's hard to tell if it's actually blocked because it's so full. We decided that we'd get it emptied ourselves and check the situation then. If it's obviously a blockage problem at that stage we'll call the landlord, I really don't like to call unless it's something we can't handle ourselves.
 
I can't find anything firm on this but instinctively this should be the landlord's problem.

I would make the request first orally and then in writing to him to fix it for you.

If the landlord doesn't act the law is pretty clear that any expense of your own can be reclaimed. See Section 12 of the RTA.

without prejudice to any other liability attaching in this case, reimburse the tenant in respect of all reasonable and vouched for expenses that may be incurred by the tenant in carrying out repairs to the structure or interior of the dwelling for which the landlord is responsible under paragraph (b) where the following conditions are satisfied—

(i) the landlord has refused or failed to carry out the repairs at the time the tenant requests him or her to do so, and

(ii) the postponement of the repairs to some subsequent date would have been unreasonable having regard to either—

(I) a significant risk the matters calling for repair posed to the health or safety of the tenant or other lawful occupants of the dwelling, or

(II) a significant reduction that those matters caused in the quality of the tenant's or other such occupants' living environment,
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Lawquestion11 said:
I've organised for someone to come and empty the tank myself. My partner did take a look for a blockage with sewer rods and found some nasty stuff that definitely shouldn't have been flushed, obviously from previous tenants. It's hard to tell if it's actually blocked because it's so full. We decided that we'd get it emptied ourselves and check the situation then. If it's obviously a blockage problem at that stage we'll call the landlord, I really don't like to call unless it's something we can't handle ourselves.
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Fair play to you. A lot of people have no idea when it comes to sewage and blockages. Cigarette butts, tampons, fat build up, condoms, face wipes (big problem) etc, etc. None of those products break down and build themselves into huge balls resulting in blockages. In a tank with pumps, it ruins the pumps and stops any outflow. I'd imagine it costs quite a bit to get a septic tank emptied now? Human effluent disposal from tanks needs a licence I believe.
 
We got ours pumped a few months ago - around 180 euro if I remember correctly.
And you're right to get it done. Getting it pumped is a lot cheaper than trying to fix a clogged percolation area.

Once it's emptied, I have a good look to see it is working correctly now.
 
noproblem said:
Fair play to you. A lot of people have no idea when it comes to sewage and blockages. Cigarette butts, tampons, fat build up, condoms, face wipes (big problem) etc, etc. None of those products break down and build themselves into huge balls resulting in blockages. In a tank with pumps, it ruins the pumps and stops any outflow. I'd imagine it costs quite a bit to get a septic tank emptied now? Human effluent disposal from tanks needs a licence I believe.
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Usually put down by visitors who are on the mains and never think about blocking up the septic tank!
 
Steven Barrett said:
Usually put down by visitors who are on the mains and never think about blocking up the septic tank!
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Correct, then again the mains sewage systems get all clogged up with those products as well but councils are not getting the message out properly. Was told by a local engineer that it costs millions of euro throughout the year for councils to rectify.
 
My landlord is telling me 'it's my fault, the toilet is backing up, 1st time I was told the pipes from the septic tank were too small for waste to go thru, so it backs up, then when he came back from speaking to the landlord, he decided I'm putting "lady products" down the toilet which are backing up the toilet'!!!!!!!!!! (which I don't) :D Mind you trying to get him to do repairs on the house is exhausting. :)
 
Septic tanks need regular servicing. Many will have pumps and if these fail, the tank fills quickly and starts blocking toilets.

At an absolute minimum, service should be every two years if one or two people live there. And more often if it's more people.
 
Country-Coleen said:
My landlord is telling me 'it's my fault, the toilet is backing up, 1st time I was told the pipes from the septic tank were too small for waste to go thru, so it backs up, then when he came back from speaking to the landlord, he decided I'm putting "lady products" down the toilet which are backing up the toilet'!!!!!!!!!! (which I don't) :D Mind you trying to get him to do repairs on the house is exhausting. :)
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When who came back from speaking to the landlord?
 
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