Rob Hollis
Researcher & editor, off-mains drainage
Writes independent guides on septic tanks, cesspits and sewage treatment plants for homes off the mains. Cross-checks the general binding rules and the Environment Agency, SEPA, NRW and NIEA against real prices, British Standards and what owners actually report on the forums.
What a cesspit actually is (and why it costs six times more than a septic tank)→Cesspit vs septic tank vs treatment plant: same price to install, ten times the difference to own→Selling a house with a septic tank: your legal duty is to tell, not to replace→What septic tank emptying really costs in the UK (2026): the only official price is in Northern Ireland→How a septic tank works — and why the tank is the least important part→Septic tank problems: the tank is almost never the thing that broke→What a septic tank installation costs in the UK: quotes range from £1,600 to £18,000 and nobody official publishes a thing→What size septic tank do I need? Bedrooms give you the people, the regulation gives you the litres→Septic tank replacement: in some catchments the council pays the whole bill→The general binding rules, without the scare story: the 2020 deadline was withdrawn before it arrived→What not to put down a septic tank — and why British tanks don't need your bacteria→Shared septic tanks: jointly liable for something you don't control→Domestic sewage treatment plants: everyone beats the limit, so stop shopping on BOD→Drainage field, not soakaway: the half of your septic system that actually treats the sewage→Septic tank smells: where the smell is tells you what is broken→