New Real Estate Legislation for 2017
How should home buyers and sellers
comply with new water conserving requirements
With a new year, comes new legislation. Today, I would like to share with you the new water conserving plumbing fixture requirements. Here is what you need to keep in mind.
If you own a single family home built on or before January 1, 1994, you will be required to replace non-compliant plumbing fixtures with water conserving plumbing fixtures (aka WCP) starting January 1, 2017.
If you are selling a pre-1994 single family home after January 1, 2017, and have not installed WCP fixture, you may be in violation of the basic requirements of the law as the owner of the home but not as the seller of the home. Surprisingly, this legislation does not require the installation of WCP fixtures as a condition of sale, but as a seller you will have to disclose compliant and non-compliant fixtures.
Note that if you do any improvement requiring a permit after January 1, 2017 on a single-family home, the permit will not be issued unless all non compliant plumbing fixtures have been replaced with new water-conserving fixtures.
The new water conserving plumbing fixture requirements apply to: (1) any toilet manufactured to use more than 1.6 gallons of water per flush; (2) any urinal manufactured to use more than one gallon of water per flush; (3) any interior faucet that emits more than 2.2 gallons of water per minute; (4) any shower head manufactured to have a flow capacity of more than 2.5 gallons of water per minute.
If you have any doubts about this legislation, any contractor or plumber should be able to provide you with the right answers. If you are getting ready to sell, your home inspector will also address what you need to do in the report.
Always keep in mind that being in compliance even with what may be perceived as a minor requirement goes a long way to create trust with potential buyers.
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