Berkeley Sewer Lateral Rules: The City's Own Certificate

Berkeley is the one city in this part of the East Bay that doesn't use EBMUD's Compliance Certificate. The City of Berkeley issues its own Sewer Lateral Certificate of Compliance (often shortened to SLC) under Berkeley Municipal Code Chapter 17.24. If you're selling or remodeling in Berkeley, that City certificate is the one you need.

Quick facts. Issued by: City of Berkeley Public Works. Remodel trigger: building permits valued over $60,000. Sale extension: 6 months, with a $4,500 deposit or a signed contractor agreement. Test witnessed by: a City inspector. Contact: PSLProgram@berkeleyca.gov or (510) 981-6423.

When Berkeley requires a certificate

The City's compliance guide lists four situations:

• Selling or transferring the property. You need the certificate by close of escrow, unless the City grants a 6-month extension before closing.
• A building permit valued over $60,000. That's a lower bar than the $100,000 trigger in Oakland and the other EBMUD cities. The certificate comes before the building permit is issued, not at final sign-off.
• A public nuisance finding. For example, when the City's smoke testing shows your lateral needs repair or replacement.
• Choosing to repair or replace the lateral on your own.

The rules cover every kind of building, including condos and other developments where several units share one lateral. In a shared-lateral building, one passing test gets a certificate issued to every property the lateral serves, which can help the neighbors when they sell later.

Which part of the pipe is yours

Berkeley's guide splits the lateral in two. The lower lateral runs from the sewer main in the street to a cleanout at or near the curb, and the City maintains it. The upper lateral, from the cleanout to your building, is the private sewer lateral, and that's the owner's job.

There's one big exception. If your building drains to a sewer main in the back yard, the whole lateral, including the connection to the main, counts as private. If your building sits right on the lot line with no setback, the City asks you to contact Public Works Engineering first.

You may not need a test at all

Berkeley will issue a certificate without a new test if you can show either of these:

• Evidence that the sewer lateral is less than 20 years old
• A plumbing or PSL permit for a complete replacement of the lateral within the last 20 years

Dig through your house records before you hire anyone. A signed-off permit from a past replacement could save you the whole process.

How the process works

1. Hire a licensed contractor. Only licensed contractors can pull Berkeley's PSL permit.
2. Apply through the City's online portal. The portal handles permits, inspection scheduling, and the certificate application. The City reminds applicants to attach the supplemental PDF application.
3. Inspect and fix. If the lateral needs repair or replacement, it has to be done to City standards. Work in the street or sidewalk also needs an Engineering Permit for Private Sewer Lateral.
4. Pass the verification test. A California-licensed plumbing or sanitation sewer contractor runs it, following the City's testing guidelines, and a City inspector witnesses it. Camera (CCTV) equipment has to be on site in case the inspector wants to see the pipe.
5. Get the certificate. The City keeps it on file in the online portal under your record number.

If your paperwork doesn't qualify or the lateral fails the test, the City issues a Notice of Deficiency. You then have 90 calendar days to fix the problem or pass a test. If there's still no certificate 120 calendar days after you applied, the City treats the property as out of compliance and moves to code enforcement.

Selling: the 6-month extension

The City recommends getting the certificate before you list. If the work can't be finished before closing, you can ask for a 6-month extension in one of two ways:

• Submit the Sewer Lateral Extension Deposit Form with a $4,500 deposit and the Agreement for Time Extension at the Finance Customer Service Center, 1947 Center Street.
• Sign a contract with a licensed plumbing contractor to do the testing and any repair within 6 months of closing, and submit it with the Agreement for Time Extension.

Public Works reviews each request and decides whether the work is urgent or whether 6 months is reasonable. If the work isn't done within 6 months of closing, a deposit is forfeited. The City then does the work itself, and anything over the deposit is billed to the current owner or becomes a lien on the property. Once you have the certificate, you get the deposit back by filing a Claim for Refund of Money Paid with a copy of the certificate.

This is a different system from EBMUD's Time Extension Certificate. There's no $142 EBMUD fee, and the deposit goes to the City, not EBMUD.

Transfers that are exempt in Berkeley: a transfer from co-owners into a revocable or inter vivos trust, and transfers between spouses or registered domestic partners to create a joint tenancy or tenancy in common, or as part of a divorce, dissolution, or legal separation settlement. Berkeley's list is shorter than EBMUD's, so don't assume an EBMUD exemption applies here.

Remodeling: certificate before the permit

For a permit valued over $60,000, you bring a copy of the certificate from the online portal when you apply at the Permit Service Center. If the lateral can't be tested or fixed until construction, or replacing it is part of the project, you can ask for a deferral in your response to the plan check comment. If it's approved, the building permit is issued, but the permit won't be finaled and you won't get a Certificate of Occupancy until the sewer certificate is done. The guide says you also file an extension application and record a Notice of Limitation.

Who can do the work

This is one place Berkeley is looser than its neighbors. For single-family homes and duplexes, work on private property can be done by a C-36 plumbing or C-42 sanitation contractor, a Class B general building contractor, or the homeowner, as long as the owner follows the state's owner-builder rules. Work in the public right-of-way needs a licensed plumbing or sanitation sewer contractor or a general engineering contractor. The verification test itself has to be run by a licensed plumbing or sanitation sewer contractor.

How long the certificate lasts

• Full replacement: 20 years, counted from the City's acceptance of the test on the new lateral (or from the replacement date, if it was replaced before November 3, 2014)
• Point repairs: 7 years from the date of the passing test
• Passed as-is: 7 years from the date of the test

Certificates stay with the property. A buyer can rely on one issued to the previous owner until the expiration date printed on it.

What it costs

Berkeley's compliance guide says repairing or replacing a typical non-complying lateral, including permits, inspections, and construction, may run $3,000 to $4,500, and more for long laterals or hard sites. We haven't found a current published amount for the City's PSL permit or certificate fees, so treat those as unconfirmed and ask the City or your contractor.

Berkeley offers interest-free loans to eligible low-income owners, but only when the City has found the lateral to be a public nuisance. They aren't available for sales or major renovations.

Related guides

• How to get an EBMUD Compliance Certificate, step by step
• Selling a home: who pays, the Time Extension Certificate, and exempt transfers
• What the certificate and the work cost
• Oakland, Berkeley and Alameda side by side

Other nearby cities

• Alameda
• Piedmont
• Emeryville
• Albany
• El Cerrito and Kensington
• Oakland