IanB

BJSLIV, thank you for the link. The document is very useful (as was the other link you provided). I think such a solution has been proposed/agreed because of the lack of space - the house hasn't got enough space round it for a traditional filter bed. Which is also what you suggested, Nick, (but I think we can get away without pumping, as the ground slopes nicely). The SPANC document worries me slightly though. It says "Ce dispositif ne peut etre utilise pour les habitations de 5 pieces principales au plus (3 chambres)". I translate that as meaning "only for houses with five main rooms at most (three beds)". That could be a serious limitation in the future, as the house will grow beyond that sometime. Would making the fosse and the LFVD bigger buy me more rooms? If it's as simple as that, I can apply to SAUR for revised permission, and just install a bigger fosse and filter bed when we get the work done. Or, horrible thought, am I at the limit of this design? Thanks for your patience with the continuing questions - I do appreciate your help.

BJSLIV, many thanks for the info and the link. It's very informative. I think I understand better now how my fosse will work, but I'm still a bit confused about the last stage of the process - probably, I'm misunderstanding what the paperwork says. If I can ask your advice once more? 1. The drawing is not very clear, but appears to show the (an?) output from the LFVD going out of my garden into the caniveau and thence the avaloir. 2. The form describes three stages of "processing"        A. Pretraitement - the fosse and filtre        B. Traitement - the LFVD        C. Rejet - into Reseau EP communal (with authorisation from la mairie) I assumed that No.1 and No.2.C were the same. Am I wrong? (NB, the americans have a saying: "Never assume, it makes an ass out of you and me"....)

Well, the Notaire has responded by faxing me a report from SAUR. It seems that the seller has already applied for (and been granted) permission for a new fosse.  However, there are a couple of points I'd be grateful if someone could explain. (The workings of septic tanks are new to me - it's not how I planned to spend my retirement....). A. It says I must have a Fosse toutes eaux "avec Filtre Decolloideur integre". I can't find any mention in past threads of such a filtre - is it unusual or does everybody have one? B. The output from the fosse goes to a vertical zeolite filter bed (LFVD zeolite), with a dimension of 5 somethings - linear or square metres. I assume square? C. The output goes into the "Reseau EP Communal", with the permission of Le Mairie, of course. However, according to the drawing supplied, it goes via a "caniveau" (gutter?) in the street beside my garden wall to a nearby "avaloir" (gully?). Does that sound right? Sounds perilously like an open sewer. Shouldn't I have to dig up and join into the public drainage system? Any help will be gratefully received.

Nick, on your advice, I've gone back to the Notaire and asked for full information on the (alleged) fosse, including a report by SPANC. I also phoned the Maire's secretary, and (I think) he confirmed that the house didn't have "l'assainisement tout à l'égout". I supppose it was too much to expect.... Thank you both for your help.

I'm confused. I hope someone with great experience can tell me what to do. I'm in the process of buying an old house in the middle of a village. The  ground (house and garden) isn't big (approx. 30M x 20M), with roads on three sides and an assortment of houses on the fourth. I assumed that, because of the location and the size of the garden, we were on mains drainage. However, I've just received the Compromis de Vente for signature, and it says: "..il n'existe pas de reseau public d'assainissement" "  une installation d'assainissement privee exist depuis une date inconnue..." etc etc How do I find out exactly what the position is? (To be honest, we'll buy the house whatever the answer is, but I need to know for planning/budgeting purposes before we arrive to take ownership.) I thought of calling Le Mairie, (he's based in the village) but that could be quite a challenging call given my spoken French. Any ideas, help, words of guidance will be gratefully received.

Based on previous postings, I think the answer to my question is "No", but I'd appreciate some confirmation. We have bought/are buying a house in Indre. Two thirds of the ground floor is currently a house (with a big grenier above), the remaining one third is a garage and stable (also with lofts above). The living accomodation has three empty rooms, a primitive kitchen and a WC apartment. There are water and electricity supplies to the building (don't know if they're still connected, mind) but no internal plumbing or wiring worth speaking of. I want to renovate the living quarters so we can move in - turn the current kitchen into a utility room with shower, create a new kitchen in one of the rooms, renew the WC and add a WHB, and rewire. Later phases will involve converting the grenier, then the garage and stables. If I was doing this first phase in Scotland, I know I'd need a building warrant, covering eg drainage, ventilation, probably the wiring etc. But, I don't think I need any permission in France, as I'm keeping within my own building and not making any significant changes. Have I understood the situation correctly? Thanks