Buying in the East Bay? Sewer Lateral, BESO and Sidewalk Rules to Know Before You Offer

Point-of-sale rules are city requirements that kick in when a home is sold. They can change what you agree to in your offer, because each one has a cost, a deadline, and a question about who handles it. Most buyers hear about them after they are already in contract, and that is the wrong time.

Tanja Odzak is a Top East Bay Realtor with eXp Realty, helping buyers and sellers in Oakland and across the East Bay. This guide covers the rules I explain to buyers most often: the sewer lateral, Berkeley's energy rule called BESO, Oakland's sidewalk certificate, and the three reports Piedmont asks for. It also covers what each one means for your offer.

Rules change, so I check each city's current requirements for every home before you write. Use this page to know what to ask, not as the final word on any address.

The sewer lateral is the pipe that runs from the house to the main line under the street. Oakland, Berkeley and Piedmont all require sewer lateral compliance when a home sells. The programs are not the same, so it matters which city the home is in.

Oakland and Piedmont are part of the East Bay regional private sewer lateral program run by EBMUD. Before escrow closes, the home needs either a compliance certificate or a time extension certificate. The time extension certificate allows the work to be finished after closing, usually within about six months. If the line does not pass the inspection, it may need repair or replacement.

Berkeley has its own sewer lateral ordinance. A Sewer Lateral Certificate of Compliance from the City of Berkeley is needed before escrow closes, and a certificate from EBMUD does not satisfy it. In some cases the City allows up to six months after closing, backed by a deposit or a signed contract with a licensed plumber, and the buyer then completes the work.

Who handles it is a negotiation. The ordinance typically names the seller, but who brings the line into compliance is always negotiable. Many sellers ask the buyer to take it on. It is not a given that the seller fixes it before closing, and it is not a given that a buyer will take it on after. It depends on the home, the level of competition, and the price. Once the responsibility is set in the purchase agreement, either a compliance certificate or a time extension certificate is required.

You can read the basics in my post on Oakland sewer lateral compliance.

BESO is Berkeley's Building Emissions Saving Ordinance. It applies only in Berkeley, not in the other East Bay cities. Since January 1, 2026, it applies when a single-family home or a duplex is sold. Condominiums and accessory dwelling units are not covered.

Here is how it works. Before a home is listed, the seller gets a Home Energy Score, which goes into the listing and the disclosure documents. Then, before the sale closes, the seller chooses one of three paths:

1. The seller completes the required upgrades. Nothing is left for you to do.
2. The home qualifies for an exemption. For example, every unit may already have a heat pump for water heating or for heating and cooling.
3. The seller passes the work to you. A deposit is held by the City and split between you and the seller, and you have a set time after closing to finish the upgrades.

If the work is passed to you, the deposit is $5,000, with $2,500 from each of you. You have two years to complete the upgrades, with a one-year extension available. When the City approves the work, the deposit comes back. The upgrades themselves are a separate cost, and that is the number to learn before you write an offer.

Responsibility for BESO is always negotiable. I read the Home Energy Score first on every Berkeley home. You can see how it applies to a specific home with my BESO calculator, and I go deeper in What Do Berkeley Buyers Need to Know About BESO?.

In Oakland, the sale of a home triggers a sidewalk certificate of compliance from the City, though some exemptions exist. It is a point of negotiation. Either the seller or the buyer can bring the sidewalk into compliance, and a buyer may or may not agree to take it on.

I encourage sellers to get a sidewalk bid early, so everyone knows whether the sidewalk already complies. If the seller does not bring it into compliance, they can ask the buyer to take it on, with no guarantee that a buyer will. Once responsibility is set in the contract, a certificate or an extension is needed. If a sale has to close before the work is finished, the City offers a provisional certificate that gives 90 days to complete it.

For the details, see my post on the Oakland sidewalk ordinance.

Since March 2021, Piedmont has had its own point-of-sale ordinance. Before closing, the seller provides the buyer and the City with three things:

• A property records search from the City.
• A sidewalk inspection.
• A Home Energy Score or Home Energy Audit completed within the last five years. A home built in the last ten years is exempt from the energy requirement.

For a buyer, the property records search is the one I read most closely. It shows the permit history, and comparing the City's permits to the house is one of the best ways to spot work that may have been done without a permit.

Piedmont also sits in the EBMUD sewer lateral program described above, so a sale needs a compliance certificate or a time extension certificate before escrow closes. You can read more on my page about buying a home in Piedmont.

No. Both cities are in Contra Costa County and are served by the Central Contra Costa Sanitary District, which does not have a point-of-sale sewer lateral inspection ordinance. There's no ordinance requiring a sewer lateral certificate in Lafayette, however a sewer lateral inspection is recommended. There's no ordinance requiring a sewer lateral certificate in Pleasant Hill, however a sewer lateral inspection is recommended. The owner is responsible for the whole line, including the part under the street, so an inspection before you buy is worth it.

Pleasant Hill does have one City form at sale: a time-of-sale weatherization disclosure for buildings with one to four units. It is a checklist of energy-saving items like attic insulation and weatherstripping. It is a disclosure only, and nothing has to be upgraded.

They become items in your negotiation. For every rule that applies to a home, three questions decide how it affects you:

• Who handles it? The seller, you, or a split.
• How much will it cost? Get a real bid or an inspection before you agree to anything.
• How long do you have? A certificate before closing, or an extension that gives you months after.

When a rule is on the table, it is a place to ask for something. A seller who wants to avoid the work may offer a credit, a price adjustment, or a different closing date. A seller who has already finished the work may have a stronger offer than one who has not. None of that is guaranteed, and it never works the same way twice.

As a Top East Bay Realtor with eXp Realty, helping buyers and sellers in Berkeley and across the East Bay, I put these items into the plan before the offer goes in, not after. That way a rule is a line in your offer and not a surprise in escrow.

Finding out after you are in contract. The cost and the deadline do not go away. They just land on you at the worst time.

Assuming the seller has it handled. Even when an ordinance names the seller, the responsibility is negotiable. Read what the contract says.

Treating one city's rules as every city's rules. Berkeley's sewer certificate is not an EBMUD certificate. Oakland's sidewalk rule is not Piedmont's. Pleasant Hill and Lafayette have none of the above.

Skipping the inspection on the sewer line. A camera inspection of the lateral tells you what you are buying. On an older home it is one of the checks I recommend most.

Using old information. Berkeley's BESO changed on January 1, 2026. Check the current rules for the address and the date.

Here's a common situation. A buyer falls for an older home in Berkeley. The listing shows a Home Energy Score, and the seller is passing the BESO work to the buyer. The sewer lateral certificate is not done yet.

Because the buyer asks before writing the offer, the offer can answer each question. They get a plumber's inspection of the lateral during the contingency period and ask for a contractor's estimate for the energy upgrades. Then they decide whether the price still works and who handles each item. The seller agrees to some of it and not all of it. None of that is guaranteed. The point is that the buyer knew the numbers before agreeing.

One of my clients, a 1031 exchange buyer, said I "uncovered important details about the home that I had not identified." That is what I want for every buyer, and city rules are one of the places details hide.

Start with the address. Tell me which home you like, and I will check which city rules apply, who is handling each one, and what it could mean for your offer. Tanja Odzak is a Top East Bay Realtor with eXp Realty, helping buyers and sellers in Oakland, Berkeley, Piedmont and across the East Bay. You can see how I work on my page about how I help you buy, or text me the address.

This article describes my general process and is not legal, tax, or financial advice. City rules change, so check each city's current requirements, and ask an attorney for legal questions.