Home Sold With City Sewage, But Actually Has Old Failing Septic System

Location: North Carolina

I purchased a home in NC in July of 2025. The disclosure statement said that the home was on city sewage and that there weren’t any know issues with sewage.

About 4 months into owning the home, I noticed issues with flushing our toilets and bad smells in the backyard. I called a plumber and they said it sounded like we either have a septic system we don’t know about or a blocked vent line. I then called a septic company and the local health department where I confirmed that there was an existing septic permitted from 1985 when the home was built. The septic company came out and found and pumped the tank, which is in disrepair as its original to the home.

We confronted the sellers and they said they didn’t know it had a septic system even though they lived here for 13 years. They also mentioned that they had a plumber come out to investigate a “weird French drain line” in the middle of the backyard before selling the home. They allegedly couldn’t figure out what the line was for and the plumber just told them it was a French drain line with stagnant water in it - we now know this is part of the leach field. The sellers also allegedly paid the city for public sewage the entire time they lived here.

I reached out to a litigator and we’ve sent a letter requesting that they pay to connect us to city sewage, which is available at the street. However, they refuse to even cover half of the costs and I’m not sure what to do at this point. Any advice is appreciated.