The City of Soignies certifies “take this issue very seriously and collaborate fully with all parties involved“. She also wanted to introduce the Walloon Region into the file: “They are road managers and the water coming from this road flows into this drainage system..“Haute Senne Logement certifies that not having”news from the SPW despite reminders“. According to them, “the City had proposed to seek subsidies to put a pipeline closer, but this solution is at a standstill given the lack of agreement between the owners“.
Who should pay? Legal uncertainty over ownership
“Qhen the problem was reported, the City said it was a private sewer, so they would not intervene“, explains Marie. However, according to the local resident, the situation “ruins people’s lives and there is a risk of damage to homes if we continue to wait“. An inspection reveals that a common pipe connects several houses to the public sewer. However, authorities do not agree on its ownership: is it private or public?
According to the latest figures from the official website of the Walloon State of the Environment, at the end of 2021, 83.2% of the Walloon population was connected to an urban waste water collection system. Furthermore, around 180,000 Walloon homes, i.e. 9% of housing, are concerned by the installation of individual purification systems.
A complexity that Maître Blanckaert confirms: “All the protagonists discovered this pipe with the appearance of the disaster. The different parties do not have the same reading on the private or public nature of the pipeline and above all, there are financial implications that arise. It will be up to the judge to decide.“
The City of Soignies ensures that these houses “are connected to a private sewerage network, before flowing back into the municipal network“. She adds that “this private network is seriously deteriorated“.
The housing company Haute Senne Logement (HSL), which formerly managed these houses, claims to have no knowledge of this buzzard. “In recent years, we have not worried about how the private sewer is connected to the public sewer, just like the 17 other owners“, says Lindsay Parizel, managing director of Haute Senne Logement.
We are being asked to pay for sewers we didn’t know existed!
Residents also deplore opaque management of their land. According to Marie, HSL told them that the small gardens at the front of the houses, where the sewer is located, are not part of private property. A statement that adds to the confusion: “They want to recover our land, but not repair the broken sewer“, exclaims the Sonégienne.
“There is legal uncertainty regarding the ownership of the plots concerned“, confirms Lindsay Parizel. The managing director details that certain acts “give the property up to the sidewalk, others without the garden“, while the land register seems “give ownership to each resident“.
Work between €10,000 and €20,000 for residents
The company would have estimated the cost of repairs between €10,000 and €20,000 per household, a figure put forward without a concrete estimate. She would have ordered each owner to intervene, even those who do not have a direct problem: “We are being asked to pay for sewers we didn’t know existed!“, protests Marie. An expert on site even declared that a repair would be of no use, because the drainage system may have collapsed. The HSL company, for its part, puts forward a clause forcing certain owners to pay for the pipeline work.
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Clause that some consider “obsolete”, according to Marie, who adds: “However, the notary assured me that it would not apply. The managing director of the company states that “certain acts no longer always include the special conditions over the course of sales“. The company Haute Senne Logement claims to have “proposed to advance the funds (investigations and works) for the owners and to put in place clearance plans with them“.
The City of Soignies declares that it has proposed a solution: local residents can connect, at their own expense, to the existing sewerage network located on the other side of the road. If subsidies are obtained, a second network could be installed on the residential side to reduce their costs.
An ongoing legal battle
Seven owners hired a lawyer and took the matter to court.”We are at the beginning of legal expertise“, says Maître Blanckaert. “During the installation meeting, we concluded that all owners should be able to take part in the discussion. They were invited to join the expertise. This is where we are for now.“
The HSL company adds that in view of the “legal vagueness surrounding the property, no action will be taken before the verdict given by the Judge. Owners should hire a surveyor to clarify the extent of their property.” In the meantime, other residents, not having been able to legally defend themselves, received visits from bailiffs. A stressful situation for everyone, emphasizes Maître Blanckaert: “This type of legal procedure is necessarily long and stressful for our clients. I have not lost hope of an amicable outcome during the procedure.“
These houses are abandoned to their sad fate
For the city, “it is essential that all options are studied in depth in order to provide a sustainable and effective solution“. Their priority is “to restore a normal situation for local residents, in a constructive spirit and legallyé”. Faced with this situation, residents are demanding rapid and equitable solutions. “They pay their taxes like everyone else. But these houses are abandoned to their sad fate“, concludes Marie.
The introductory hearing is scheduled for February 12. While waiting for the hearing scheduled for February 12, residents remain in uncertainty. They hope that justice will decide quickly to put an end to this ordeal.
