Water Conserving, Low-Flow Plumbing Fixtures are Required in Single Family Homes in California Starting in 2017....

Due to legislation passed in California several years ago, starting in just a few weeks on January 1, 2017, ALL single family homes constructed before 1994 in the state must install water conserving plumbing fixtures. Some basic standards are:
- Toilets: use of no more than 1.6 gallons per flush
- Urinals: use of no more than 1 gallon per flush
- Showers: use of no more than 2.5 gallons per minute
- Internal faucets: use of no more than 2.2 gallons per minute

Generally, if you have replaced these items in your home in your pre-1994 home the last few years and purchased the fixtures in at suppliers in California, what you installed should be appropriate water conserving fixtures.

If you are selling your home, will you be required to upgrade all of your plumbing fixtures? Well, the short answer is no, you are not required to as a condition of closing the transaction. You as seller will have to disclose to the buyer if all of your home's plumbing fixtures are in compliance with the water conservation laws or not. I do suspect that if a seller discloses that fixtures in a home are not water conserving fixtures, then the buyer may be inclined to request that the seller bring the home into compliance with the law and replace all of the non-compliant fixtures.

At this point, I am not sure if or how appraisers will be asked by lenders to determine if a property has water conserving fixtures. Candidly, I am not even sure how one might go about measuring the flow of fixtures, short of turning them on and letting them run for a minute into a large bucket and then measuring the output. That said, I am sure appraisers will figure it out if banks demand it, or home inspectors and plumbers will figure out a way to do this if home buyers demand it...

I have a new listing coming onto the market in January that was built in the 1980's and while the seller was performing some other updates, he proactively went ahead and replaced both toilets, interior faucets, and the shower head to comply with the law.  The cost was about $600. So that is not completely cost prohibitive, but as most sellers try to net as much money as possible out of a sale, I am sure it is an expense most sellers would prefer not to absorb.

In 2019, all multi-family and commercial property will also have to comply with these water-conserving plumbing fixture standards.