About MB's Toilet Policies

If you buy or sell a home in Manhattan Beach, technically the toilets are supposed to be low-flow, or they're subject to retrofitting.

The city's idea was to use the pressure point of a sale to force upgrades to more modern, low-flow toilets that use 1.28 gallons per flush. For 3 years, buyers and sellers have had to fill out forms committing to make the change. Upgrading the toilets is supposed to be a condition of closing escrow on the sale.

What we've learned, though, is that the city doesn't enforce this rule. Buyers typically sign a form promising to make the change within 6 months. But if they don't, no big deal. No "toilet police" come knocking. 

I mention this now for two reasons. First, today (Tuesday) is World Toilet Day. (Yes, there is such a thing; it is meant to raise awareness of the 1/3rd of the global population that does not have clean and safe access to toilets, and the ramifications of that problem.)

Second, the city's policy will probably have to change soon. The non-enforcement policy has been generally good for buyers, but there's a state law behind this. Next year, starting Jan. 1, 2014, the state rules get stricter. We cannot allow "grandfathered" 1.6gpf toilets anymore. Everything has to be upgraded to 1.28gpf.

Most likely the city will begin to enforce this rule more heavily when homeowners pull permits for remodeling. But they may also look again at the idea of forcing the issue during a sale. The current policy has not worked.

-----------------

For more see my longer post on MB Confidential: "Talkin' Toilets."