Who pays for the sewer lateral in Albany, CA
Which part of the pipe is yours
Yours from the cleanout to your building — if certain conditions are met
Why, and what to doYours from the meter to your building
Why, and what to do
If something’s wrong
If a repair needs a permit or an inspection
No rule on file here is specific to a repair; that does not mean none exists.
Buying or selling?
A Compliance Certificate is required to close escrow when a property is sold or transferred. A certificate is valid twenty years after a complete replacement and seven years otherwise.
A 180-day extension is available when buying or selling: if a Compliance Certificate cannot be obtained before title transfers, a Time Extension Certificate allows 180 days for the work, and is valid only when returned with a $4,500 deposit at title transfer.
Planning work?
Where a permit is sought for new construction or for remodelling costing more than $100,000, a Compliance Certificate is required before the final permit or approval is obtained.
Who to call first about the sewer lateral
Albany: official site(opens in a new tab)The documents this answer is built on
Who is responsible for which part
The City pays for the part under the road. The owner has the upper lateral - from the property out to the curb cleanout, or the curb line where there is no cleanout - and the City states it "is responsible for the maintenance and repair of lower laterals, sewer mains and manholes", counting those laterals among its own assets.
- Albany
- The lower lateral, stated flatly and backed by the City's asset count. Albany says that "the City is responsible for the maintenance and repair of lower laterals, sewer mains and manholes", and describes its collection system as "approximately 33 miles of sewer mains, associated lower laterals, and 800 manholes". Nothing conditions this on a cleanout existing: where one does not, the City's portion simply starts at the curb line instead.
- The property owner
- The upper lateral. The City defines it as "the portion of the sewer lateral pipe that runs from the property to the curb cleanout (or curb line if a cleanout does not exist)", and states that "maintenance and repair of upper sewer laterals are the responsibility of the property owner". That reaches further from the house than in neighbouring Alameda, which divides at the property line rather than at the curb. The City also runs an Upper Sewer Lateral Compliance Program. Its terms are not set out here, so ask the City what it requires of you before you budget for work.
What decides which applies
Sources
City of Albany, Public WorksWhat the rules say
These requirements are issued by East Bay Regional Private Sewer Lateral Program, not by Albany.
Most relevant if you are repairing or replacing the pipe
No rule on file here is specific to repairing or replacing the pipe; that does not mean none exists.
Also in force here
Where a permit is sought for new construction or for remodelling costing more than $100,000, a Compliance Certificate is required before the final permit or approval is obtained.
What to do: Check whether a current certificate or exemption already covers this property through the East Bay Regional Private Sewer Lateral Program before planning the permit timeline around an inspection.
Consolidated Regional Private Sewer Lateral Ordinance, effective 24 May 2019Why this matters
This is the highest threshold of the covered programmes - Berkeley's own ordinance, which this one does not cover, fires at $60,000, and three Marin districts at $50,000. It is also required later in the process than its neighbours demand: the certificate is needed before final approval rather than before the permit is issued. A certificate is valid twenty years after a complete replacement and seven years otherwise, and an exemption may be available where the lateral was fully replaced within the last ten years.
A Compliance Certificate is required to close escrow when a property is sold or transferred. A certificate is valid twenty years after a complete replacement and seven years otherwise.
What to do: Check whether a current certificate or exemption already covers this property through the East Bay Regional Private Sewer Lateral Program before arranging an inspection.
Consolidated Regional Private Sewer Lateral Ordinance, effective May 24, 2019Why this matters
An exemption may be available if the sewer lateral was fully replaced within the last ten years, or if an unexpired certificate from another agency already covers the property. Whether one already exists is not something an address lookup can answer - ask the programme, which holds the certificate records.
A 180-day extension is available when buying or selling: if a Compliance Certificate cannot be obtained before title transfers, a Time Extension Certificate allows 180 days for the work, and is valid only when returned with a $4,500 deposit at title transfer.
What to do: If the lateral cannot be certified before completion, ask the East Bay Regional Private Sewer Lateral Program about a Time Extension Certificate, and agree in writing which party will receive the $4,500 refund.
East Bay Regional Private Sewer Lateral ProgramWhy this matters
The certificate requirement reads as an absolute bar on closing escrow, and it is not one. The $4,500 is a deposit rather than a fee - the programme states it "will be released to the designated party when compliance is achieved" and is refunded if compliance is met within the 180 days - but it still has to be found at title transfer, and the Time Extension Certificate itself carries its own charge.
What this page cannot tell you
- No assistance or grant programme has been reviewed for this jurisdiction yet.
- No sewer service territory has been mapped for this area, so BelowGrid cannot say who serves an individual address.
Who governs and serves this area
- Jurisdiction
- Albany (municipality)
- Sewer service
- No map of sewer providers is held here. BelowGrid cannot say which sewer provider serves an individual address.
Where else this answer applies
The same authorities settle this in the places below too:
Each of them gets its answer from the same authorities.
How this compares to neighbouring cities
All 8 of the nearest cities draw the line somewhere else. Each authority publishes only its own rule.
Your other pipe: the water service line
The drinking water line coming into your property is a separate pipe, run by a separate authority, and who is responsible for it is decided separately. Your sewer lateral is yours to the cleanout; your water line stops being yours at the meter.
Who owns the water service line in AlbanyNearby cities and further reading
Look up a specific address
This page describes what applies to properties in Albany in general. To see which authorities serve one address, and what records exist for it, search for it.
Search for an address