Water Bill

poor farmer

A few months back I bought a cottage and a small piece of land .When I went to fix up the house both the water and esb had been disconnected.( the property was left empty for a few years before it was sold)
Got the power re-connected handy enough but the water is proving a challenge.
The properties water is supplied by a group water scheme and they have the water disconnected at the meter.
The previous owner left a bill for €1400 unpaid and the water supply company are refusing to reconnect until this bill is paid.
My solicitor (who dealt with the conveyancing) says that this unpaid bill did not show up in the normal searches because the water was supplied by a group scheme .

Any replies/advice appreciated

VincePP

Your best option is to negotiate with the group water scheme. They've a bill and are attaching it to the property. You could lodge an amount with your solicitor and try and get the group water managers to after the seller to settle the bill.

Solicitor should have checked this out - same way as they would check if management fees were paid in an apartment.

A checklist would have been sent to the vendor to give answers about services etc - if the vendor stated that it was on th mains, then I would guess you could go after them.

Unfortunately with group water, it's usually just a small group of people, so a loss can't be spread amongst a whole town.

Maybe offer half?

P. Breathnach

I think that you should ask your solicitor to tell you what enquiries were made of the vendor's solicitor, and what replies were received.

Depending on what you learn, you might have options to pursue somebody.

coylemj

poor farmer wrote: »

My solicitor (who dealt with the conveyancing) says that this unpaid bill did not show up in the normal searches because the water was supplied by a group scheme .

That's a pretty weak excuse - by 'normal searches' he probably means charges on the property (e..g. a mortgage or other secured loan) and/or local property tax and the like but that would not show up ongoing charges associated with the property like ESB, waste collection charges and charges for a group water scheme.

Surely the purchaser's solicitor should have withheld part of the purchase price until the vendor produced closing statements from all of the usual suppliers to show that all charges had been paid for up to the date of the sale?

So the vendor simply walked away from a €1,400 utility bill? I'd be having a formal discussion with the solicitor to see how this can be sorted out. Not ending up with loose ends like is why you engage a solicitor in the first place.