Drain behind landed house

[jasonleewkd 0]

Does anyone have experience purchasing the drain behind a landed house to build out an extra space such as a maid's room, wet kitchen, backyard area? I've seen some landed houses that have the drain behind them still existing and some that have built over and occupied the drain space and as a result, the liveable area of the house has increased. Anyone have any idea of the process in getting the drain space or recommendations of any company who can do it? Thanks!

[IceEyez 4]

Hi Jason,

First you will need to find out whether the drain you are referring to at the back of the house is part of a separate "drainage reserve" or whether the drain is just a "common" drain shared the row of houses. You can do so by purchasing the Drainage Interpretation Plan. If there is no drainage reserve at the rear, than it is most definitely just a simple common drain that actually is part of the property (either yours or the rear neighbor) already.

Next you need to find out whether the drain belongs to your boundary or the rear neighbor. Firstly you can do a visual inspection to see whether any neighbors (preferably newer developments) have already "claimed" back that portion of the drain. If the drain has been claimed by the neighbors on your side, almost certainly the land which the drain is at belongs to you. If the opposite neighbors have extended over the drain, than the drain likely was constructed within the rear neighbour's lands.

If you see the drain on "your side", to have a 100% confirmation, you can engage a registered surveyor to determine exactly up to where your land boundary is until. You can extend your rear yard and house over the drain and to the edge of the boundary (while respecting the mandatory 2m rear set backs for the main building etc). Depending on what type of extension/works, you may need to engage a QP (architect or professional engineer) to do the required submissions etc. If you are simply thinking of just constructing a slab over the drain to extend the yard, then normal contractors should be able to do it.

[jasonleewkd 0]

I have the certified plan. Do you know of anyone who is able to interpret it? Can it be done virtually or does the QP need to visit the site physically to take a look at it?

[IceEyez 4]

I can help you look at the plan if you want. See whether it can be determined through just looking at the plans/google maps first. May not need to physically see it.

Just pm me.

[snoozee 97]

even if the drain is within your boundary, you may not be able to extend over it. you need to get a QP to consult PUB on this. also, for most houses, there is a 2m set back from the rear boundary where your physical house structure can only be built up to legally. of cos if you want to do illegal extension, no one is stopping you unless somebody complains to the authorities which then you will need to tear down the illegal extensions.

[snoozee 97]

On ‎5‎/‎16‎/‎2020 at 4:59 PM, IceEyez said:

If you are simply thinking of just constructing a slab over the drain to extend the yard, then normal contractors should be able to do it.

yes, normal contractor can do it. however if PUB wasn't consulted and approval given, if anything happens to the PUBLIC drain, then the house owner could be held liable. the private property owner is accountable for any public infrastructure which runs through his/her private property. even if the owner doesn't need to maintain the public infrastructure , he/she would still need to allow access for maintenance if and when it's needed.

there are a lot of house which have public back lanes and/or electrical poles running through their property and the owners can't reclaim the land as well. so always consult the relevant authorities before doing any work on them.

[Brandcalfe 2]

We did buy the drain behind a landed house, and we made a super cute and cozy backyard area instead. My husband constructed a lovely fireplace, and our daughters helped us making some DIY decorations. You know, the outcome was better than expected. Still, the experience as a whole (all the family working towards making it a better place) was unforgettable! Our neighbors visit us so often now, and we're really pleased with our little backyard area. Btw, we were looking to renew our house sign and was thinking about ordering it from https://baliandboo.com/collections/house-signs. They look super modern and fancy, but I'm a bit skeptical about ordering stuff like this online. Do you maybe know any places we could go in person and buy them ourselves?