Who pays for the sewer lateral in Torrance, CA

Who is responsible for which part

The owner keeps the lateral from twelve inches outside the building to the main, and the City says the joint is theirs too: owners are responsible for their lateral "including the connection to the public sewer main". Torrance then does something no other city here does - it splits the permit at the property line, so a repair that crosses it needs two.

The property owner

The lateral and the fitting at the main. The City states that "property owners are responsible for maintaining and repairing their sewer lateral, including the connection to the public sewer main", and lists what that covers as "the entire pipe on private property" and "the connection point to the City sewer". The code supplies the extent: a house connection sewer is "that part of the horizontal piping beginning twelve (12) inches from the exterior wall of the building and extending to its connection with the public sewer".

What else is worth knowing

Nothing splits the pipe, but Torrance splits the PERMIT at your property line and very few authorities do. A repair on private property is a Plumbing Permit; a repair in the public right-of-way is a Construction & Excavation Permit; and if the work "occurs on both private property and in the public right-of-way" you need both. Get that settled before a contractor prices the job. Two more things that cost money. Your plumber must hold a City of Torrance business licence - the City makes that step one of what to do about a sewer problem. And your lateral is two different pipes end to end: the code requires at least six inches internal diameter from the street sewer to the property line and at least four inches from there to the house, for laterals serving twenty people or less, so a single diameter quoted for the whole run has misread the job. Note also that the code exempts simple work from permitting - no permit is needed "for the purpose of removing stoppages or repairing leaks", except where it becomes necessary to replace part or all of the sewer with other or different materials.

Checked 2026-09-14

What is required

• Any timePermit

  Torrance divides the permission for one repair at your property line. A "Plumbing Permit ("Alter Building Sewer")" is "required for repairs on private property (building to property line)"; a "Construction & Excavation Permit" is "required for work in the public right-of-way (property line to sewer main)"; and both are "required if work occurs on both private property and in the public right-of-way". The City also requires the plumber to be licensed in Torrance: "contact a licensed plumber (City of Torrance business license required)". The code's own permit under section 72.2.3 reaches anyone who alters "any public or house connection sewer in the City", with one exemption at section 72.2.2 - no permit is needed "for the purpose of removing stoppages or repairing leaks ... except when it is necessary to replace any part or all of such sewer with other or different materials".

  What to do: Before you accept a quotation, ring the Torrance Community Development Department on (310) 618-5910 and confirm which of the two permits your work needs - the City invites exactly that question, and the answer depends on where the defect sits relative to your property line. Ask your plumber to confirm they hold a City of Torrance business licence as well as a state licence. And ask what material the replacement will be: if it differs from the existing pipe, the code's stoppage-and-leak exemption does not apply. Whatever is agreed, nothing may be backfilled until it has been inspected - "no sewer connection shall be covered or concealed in any way until it has been inspected and approved by the Street Superintendent".

  Why this matters▸▾

  In Torrance the lateral runs to the main, so an ordinary repair near the kerb very often crosses the property line - and that is two applications for one trench, not one. A homeowner who takes out the plumbing permit because that is what a plumber usually asks for has permission for half the job. The licence condition is the other trap: a state contractor's licence is not enough, the plumber must also hold a City of Torrance business licence, and that surfaces when the permit is refused rather than when quotations are compared. Read the code's exemption carefully too. It excuses clearing a stoppage or repairing a leak, which sounds generous until you reach the exception for replacing pipe "with other or different materials" - which is what almost every modern repair to an old lateral is.

  In force since 2026-09-14 · Checked 2026-09-14

  City of Torrance, Sewer Lateral Policy

  Also quoted:

  • Torrance Municipal Code division 7 chapter 2, Sewers

Who governs and serves this area

Jurisdiction

Torrance (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.