Who pays for the sewer lateral in Los Angeles, CA
Which part of the pipe is yours
Yours all the way to the main under the road
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
- Who issues it:
- Los Angeles Board of Public Works
- What it covers:
- making, constructing, altering or repairing any house connection sewer or any part of one, but not clearing a stoppage unless that means replacing pipe or excavating in a street, sidewalk or easement
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".
Who to call first about the sewer lateral
Los Angeles: official site(opens in a new tab)The documents this answer is built on
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.
Sources
LA Sanitation and Environment, "Sewer Lateral CCTV Rebate"What the rules say
Most relevant if you are selling or buying
No rule on file here is specific to selling or buying; that does not mean none exists.
Also in force here
- Who issues it:
- Los Angeles Board of Public Works
- What it covers:
- making, constructing, altering or repairing any house connection sewer or any part of one, but not clearing a stoppage unless that means replacing pipe or excavating in a street, sidewalk or easement
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.
Los Angeles Municipal Code section 64.12, House Sewer ConnectionWhy 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.
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 siteLos 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
What this page cannot tell you
- 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
- Los Angeles (municipality)
- Sewer service
- No map of sewer providers is held here. BelowGrid cannot say which sewer provider serves an individual address.
How this compares to neighbouring cities
2 of the 8 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 main; your water line stops being yours at the meter.
Who owns the water service line in Los AngelesNearby cities and further reading
Look up a specific address
This page describes what applies to properties in Los Angeles in general. To see which authorities serve one address, and what records exist for it, search for it.
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