Buyer's Agents: 9 Septic Items Your Purchase Agreement Should Cover

The best septic transactions are the boring ones. The seller arrives with a certified, accessible system, and the buyer's side confirms it. When that doesn't happen, the buyer's agent is the one who has to make sure the septic gets a real look before contingencies come off. Here is the checklist we suggest buyer's agents work through. It is general information from a contractor's point of view. Contract wording belongs to your brokerage's forms and your broker or attorney.

1. A full inspection by a qualified septic contractor

Make sure the investigation period leaves time for a real septic inspection, not just a camera run or a pumping. Ask whether the report rates the system pass or fail and explains each finding.

2. Access to every component

An inspector can only certify what can be opened. The tank, the distribution box and each seepage pit or leach line need to be accessible. The agreement and the seller's cooperation should allow the inspector to reach them.

3. Who pays to expose buried parts

On many older homes, the lids are buried and need to be located and dug out. That is usually billed on time and material. Settle up front who pays for it, and who pays for installing risers if the access turns out to be inadequate.

4. Pumping as part of the inspection

The tank has to be pumped to see its condition. Decide who pays for the pumping and ask for the pumping ticket.

5. The owner's sign-off for any digging or repairs

Any work that digs, cuts or repairs happens on the seller's property, so the seller has to approve it. Plan for that in the timeline: the contractor will need the owner's signed agreement before destructive work starts.

6. How repairs will be handled

If the system fails, the parties decide between seller repairs before closing, a credit, or a price change. Agree on how and by when that decision gets made. If the seller repairs it, ask for the re-issued certification once the system passes.

7. Records

Ask for pumping history, past inspection reports, permits and any drawing of the system. Records show how the system has been cared for.

8. Local agency steps

In Malibu, the buyer files a transfer of the septic operating permit within 30 days of the change in ownership, and a system that fails the point-of-sale inspection starts a series of City deadlines. Confirm which agency covers the address early.

9. The buyer's plans for the property

If the buyer plans an ADU, an addition or more bedrooms, the septic answer changes. In unincorporated LA County, an ADU counts as added bedrooms on the system, and older systems need an evaluation. The certification report can also show how far the nearest public sewer is, which matters if expansion could trigger a sewer connection.

Making the whole chain seamless

The smoothest transactions happen when the selling side pre-certifies the system and makes every component accessible, and the buying side verifies that work instead of starting from scratch. If you are a buyer's agent, it is fair to ask the listing agent early: has the septic been inspected and certified, and is every component accessible?

How we help

We work with buyers, sellers and agents on inspections, locating, access risers, certifications and repairs across LA County. Send the address and your escrow dates, and we will tell you what we need to get it done on time.