private sewer lateral

A lot of my clients have questions about their responsibilities for the Private Sewer Lateral (PSL) so I wanted to give you some important information about PSL compliance in the Inner East Bay. A sewer lateral is a pipe that conveys sewage from a building’s plumbing to the City sewer system. As the majority of this piping is generally on private property, the homeowner is responsible for maintaining this portion. Old, cracked PSLs allow rainwater and groundwater to infiltrate the sewer system. Excess water in the system can overwhelm wastewater treatment facilities, causing untreated or partially treated sewage to be released into San Francisco Bay. Fixing damaged PSLs helps protect the Bay.

Private Sewer Lateral

BUYING IN THE INNER EAST BAY

When you buy a property in the Inner East Bay Area you need to obtain a compliance certificate from EBMUD that verifies your sewer lateral is in working order. My team has determined that the property you are purchasing does not have a current PSL compliance certificate. This may mean there is no work to do to bring the PSL into compliance other than receiving an inspection. That said, it is likely that erosion or seismic activity has damaged the sewer lateral since the last inspection and that a new compliance certificate will need to be obtained.

Since it is often impractical to schedule the necessary repairs and inspections prior to closing escrow, it is common for buyers to request a 180 day Time Extension Certificate to complete the repairs and inspections required for a current PSL compliance certificate. The extension certificate costs $110 and also requires a $4,500 deposit which is held by EBMUD until the compliance certificate is issued at which time the deposit is refunded. The deposit will be withheld from escrow during the closing process.

To file for a 180-day time extension certificate:

  • Select your property, request a Time Extension Certificate and pay the fee.
  • Complete and sign the Time Extension Certificate. The Time Extension Certificate must be completed and signed by the applicant prior to title transfer.
    • Note that when completing the Time Extension Certificate application, you can check the box that says ‘Use Property Owner Address for Authorized Contact’. You will also be asked to provide the Property Owner’s Contact Information. This IS NOT the address of the property you are purchasing, but rather your current mailing address which is tied to your credit card. You will not be able to complete the extension application and pay the fee if this address is not the credit card billing address.
    • In the final step of the application, you will be asked to provide the address where the $4,500 deposit should be sent. This will generally be your newly purchased property address but can be any address that is convenient for you.
  • The signed certificate should then be emailed to your escrow officer at your title company with instructions to have the $4,500 deposit paid from escrow.

After escrow has closed and you are settled into your new home, you can get a current PSL compliance certificate by taking the following steps:

The plumbing vendor will assist with any permits for the required work, and should submit the final documents to the EBMUD for approval. Once you have completed any repairs and inspections you will automatically receive a deposit refund from EBMUD.

The summary is: Apply for the Time Extension Certificate and the deposit will be taken out of escrow. You’ll receive the reimbursement once the Compliance Certificate is issued.

BUYING IN BERKELEY

When you buy a property in Berkeley you need to obtain a Sewer Lateral Certificate (SLC) that verifies your sewer lateral is in working order. My team has determined that the property you are purchasing does not have a current PSL compliance certificate. This may mean there is no work to do to bring the PSL into compliance other than receiving an inspection. That said, it is likely that erosion or seismic activity has damaged the sewer lateral since the last inspection and that a new compliance certificate will need to be obtained.

Since it is often impractical to schedule the necessary inspections and repairs prior to closing escrow, it is common for buyers to request a 180-day extension to complete the work required for a current SLC. There are two options to obtaining an extension:

  1. Submit a Sewer Lateral Extension Deposit Form and provide a deposit of $4,500 along with the Agreement for Time Extension to Obtain a Sewer Lateral Certificate to the Finance Customer Service Center; OR
  2. Prepare a signed contract with a licensed plumbing contractor to have verification testing and/or repair or replacement within 6 months of the close of escrow, and submit with a completed Agreement for Time Extension to Obtain a Sewer Lateral Certificate.

You can submit the appropriate documents to your escrow officer prior to the close of escrow and they will include the time extension agreement in the closing documents for both buyer and seller to sign. The title company will then submit the necessary paperwork to the City of Berkeley. In the event you don’t have a signed contract with a licensed plumber, the $4,500 deposit will be withheld from escrow. In many cases the seller will already have a bid for the PSL repair work as part of the disclosure package and you can contact that vendor to sign. You can choose to use this vendor, but I always advise my clients to get at least one additional bid. I recommend checking with the following vendors:

After escrow has closed and you are settled into your new home, schedule the inspection/repair work with the contracted vendor. Confirm that your selected vendor will obtain the appropriate permits and schedule a final inspection with the city. Once the work is inspected, the city will issue an updated SLC. Just make sure that the work is completed well before the 6-month extension period. Once you have your new SLC, you will need to submit a Claim for Refund of Money form to the city. You should receive your reimbursement check within a few weeks of submitting the refund request.

If you want to get more details on the process take a look at the City of Berkeley Private Sewer Lateral Program page.