Who pays for the sewer lateral in La Habra, CA

Who is responsible for which part

La Habra puts the whole lateral on the owner and names the fittings at the main so there is no argument about them. Section 13.10.030(A)(1) provides that "The property owner or agent is responsible for the maintenance, repair and upkeep of the connecting sewer and house sewer from the property owner's structure up to and including the point of connection (e.g. wyes, tees, saddles, manhole structures, etc.) to the main sewer line". Subsection (A)(2) keeps the main for the City: "The city is responsible for the maintenance, repair and upkeep of the main sewer."

The property owner

Both named lengths and the junction with the main. Section 13.04.010 defines the connecting sewer as "that portion of the sewer system which extends from the main sewer to the curb", and the house sewer as the piping "from a point two feet from the foundation wall of the building to its connection with the connecting sewer". Section 13.10.030 adds cleaning to the owner's list: "The property owner or agent is responsible for all routine and emergency cleaning of the connecting sewer and house sewer lines."

What else is worth knowing

Nothing conditions the split, and the list of fittings is worth reading twice: it names wyes, tees and saddles - the ordinary junction pieces - and also "manhole structures", so where a lateral enters the main at a manhole the connection there is still the owner's. The City's duty stops at the main itself. Emergency cleaning is expressly the owner's too, so a blockage under the street is a call to a plumber rather than to the City.

Checked 2026-09-22

What is required

• When you askPermit

  La Habra writes the repair permit into the same section that assigns the pipe. Section 13.10.030(A)(3) provides that "Should repairs to or replacement of the house sewer or connecting sewer be needed which will require excavation in the public right-of-way, the property owner or agent must first obtain an encroachment permit from the city of La Habra before the work can begin", and sets the conditions the permit must carry.

  What to do: Before hiring anyone, check the contractor's state licence yourself and confirm it is a C-36 plumbing or Class A licence, because the code puts that check on you. Apply for the encroachment permit before work starts, and book the City's inspection so the trench stays open until it has happened. Ask the contractor to include the infiltration test in the quotation.

  Why this matters▸▾

  The conditions decide who can do the work and when the trench can be closed. The work must be done by a contractor "who holds a C-36 Plumbing Contractor's License or Class A Contractor's License from the state of California", and "the property owner/agent is solely responsible for retaining said contractor and verifying his or her qualifications" - so checking the licence is the owner's job, not the City's. Every repair must be "tested for infiltration", and "prior to backfilling, an inspector from the city must inspect the installation". A contractor who fills the trench before the inspection has broken a permit condition.

  In force since 2004-01-01 · Checked 2026-09-22

  La Habra Municipal Code section 13.10.030, subsection A(3)

Who governs and serves this area

Jurisdiction

La Habra (municipality)

Sewer service

Not mapped. No sewer service territory covering this area has been added, so BelowGrid cannot say who serves an individual address here.