Title V: A Sellers Responsibility?

Title V is an important law for those who live in non-sewered communities, or whose homes have private septic systems. Effective March 31, 1995, the state environmental code governing septic systems, better known as Title V regulations, mandates inspections of septic systems and cesspools before a home is sold or enlarged. Systems that fail inspection must be repaired within 2 years. Applications to install new systems require a soil evaluation test (known as a perc test) performed by a soil evaluator approved by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).

In addition to complying with Massachusetts State Title V requirements, all septic systems and cesspools must comply with local board of health ordinances, which may be more stringent than Title V.

There are situations when Title V does not require inspections, as when a mortgage is refinanced, or the system was inspected within 3 years before the sale and you have records proving that your system was pumped annually since the inspection. To find out more about Title V, visit http://titlefive.net/.