Who pays for the sewer lateral in Los Angeles, CA

Who is responsible for which part

The property owner is responsible for maintaining and repairing the entire private sewer lateral, which the City's code defines as running through the street to the public sewer. The City offers rebates towards inspecting and repairing it.

The property owner

The whole of it. LA Sanitation and Environment states that "most property owners do not know that they are responsible for the maintenance and repair of their entire private sewer lateral, aka house sewer connection", and the Los Angeles Municipal Code defines a "house connection sewer" as "any sewer pipe line, or portion thereof, constructed in a street, alley, walk or other public place or in a sewer easement granted to the City and connecting ... any lot or part of a lot with any public sewer" - so the length under the road is inside the term the City used. Repairing one needs a City permit and must meet the code's pipe and excavation requirements even though the work is the owner's. Note that the allocation comes from the operating authority's own page rather than from the ordinance: chapter VI article 4 regulates house connection sewers in detail and does not state who must keep one in good order.

Checked 2026-09-19

What is required

• When you askPermit

  Los Angeles Municipal Code 64.12(a) states that "no person shall make, construct, alter, or repair any house connection sewer ... or any portion of any such sewer ... without first obtaining a written permit therefor from the Board of Public Works". Subsection (d) states that no permit is required "for the purpose of removing stoppages in any house connection sewer, except when it is necessary to replace any part or all of such sewer connection or to excavate in any street or sidewalk or sewer easement in connection therewith".

  What to do: Before agreeing a quote, ask the contractor whether the work needs an S-Permit from the Bureau of Engineering and whether they hold one of the licence classifications 64.12(e) requires for work in the street. The City's two rebates are claimed after the work, so the permit question comes first.

  Why this matters▸▾

  The two halves decide different jobs. Clearing a blockage is exempt, so a rooter visit needs no permit. Replacing any length of pipe, or digging in the street, the sidewalk or a sewer easement, does - and the lateral in Los Angeles runs under the road to the main, so a repair at the far end is the case that needs one. Subsection (e) adds that a permit involving excavation in a public street issues only to City departments, other government agencies, or contractors licensed in classification A-1, B-1, C-36 or C-42. That length of pipe is the owner's to repair and not the owner's to dig up.

  In force since 1978-02-06 · Checked 2026-09-12

  Los Angeles Municipal Code section 64.12, House Sewer Connection

  Also quoted:

  • City of Los Angeles Bureau of Engineering, Permit Manual

Who governs and serves this area

Jurisdiction

Los Angeles (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.

Assistance programmes

• Los Angeles sewer lateral CCTV inspection rebate

  Up to $300 towards the inspection, paid to the owner afterwards. Run "on a first-come, first-serve basis, until annual allocated funds are exhausted". Applications go through MyLA311 under "Sewer or Sidewalk Rebates".

  Nothing has to be broken. The rebate is for having the lateral televised by a licensed and bonded sewer contractor, and the City says that "if no repairs are needed, then the property owner can have peace of mind". It is open to "rate paying property owners who own residential, multifamily, commercial, and industrial property, and who pay sewer service charge to the City of Los Angeles". The timing is tighter than the repair rebate's: the City requires that the "CCTV work must not have been completed more than 6 months prior to the date of completion of the sewer lateral CCTV rebate application". The application needs the contractor's itemised paid invoice, the video showing the property address at its start, the inspection report, a recent DWP bill, the parcel number, a W-9 and a signed release. The ordinance behind it also refuses premises connected to a sewer maintained by another jurisdiction, such as a Los Angeles County Sanitation District sewer, and owners more than 60 days in arrears on any Bureau of Sanitation charge.

  Apply on the official site

• Los Angeles sewer lateral repair rebate

  Up to $2,500 towards the repair, paid to the owner after the work. The City runs it "on a first-come, first-serve basis, until annual allocated funds are exhausted", so the money can run out within a year even for an eligible owner. Applications go through MyLA311 under "Sewer or Sidewalk Rebates".

  Claim within 60 days of the City signing off the work. The City requires that "repairs and inspections related to sewer laterals must have the final permit signed by the City's inspector no more than 60 days prior to completion of the sewer lateral repair rebate application", so an owner who repairs the pipe and applies months later is refused however good the repair was. It is open to "rate paying property owners who own residential, multifamily, commercial, and industrial property, and who pay sewer service charge to the City of Los Angeles", and the repair must be done by a licensed and bonded contractor. The ordinance adds four refusals the rebate page does not mention: new construction, premises outside the City unless billed its sewer service charge, premises "connected to a sewer maintained by another jurisdiction, such as the Los Angeles County Sanitation District", and owners more than 60 days in arrears on any Bureau of Sanitation charge. The application needs the contractor's itemised paid invoice, the CCTV video and final report, the signed final City permit, a recent DWP bill, the parcel number and a W-9.

  Apply on the official site