Posted: December 3, 2009 By: Dave Ralston
Have you, or has someone you know, been thinking about purchasing a home built in 1990 or later? There is almost always extra expenditure attached to the home. This charge might even go unnoticed until the invoice comes in the mail after you’ve bought the home. The surprise charge falls under the category “Sewage Capacity Charge.” A sewage treatment capacity charge is different from sewer service because it’s a charge imposed by the county for the expansion of sewer treatment infrastructure. It is not a charge for utility services provided to the customer. It’s King County passing on the cost of expanding/improving sewage treatment infrastructure on to the customer.
Typically, when a home builder finishes a house development, they pass this sewage capacity charge on to the consumer with the purchase of the house. King County bills the charge quarterly over a 15 year period. (Think of it like a mortgage – you owe the whole thing but the bank spreads it out monthly over 15 years.)
How do you learn about this? The seller should disclose this to the buyer in the “seller’s disclosure” statement given to the buyer at the beginning of the process. However, it is often discovered later or after the sale of the home because it doesn’t show up in a title report in most cases. It’s not just limited to homes in King County either; Snohomish County for instance has already exceeded their sewage capacity limit and sends a portion of their waste to King County for treatment. Isn’t it strange to live in Edmonds and get a bill from King County?
Categories
Hello! I bought my home brand new in 2005 in the Renton area. Then I started getting these bills from King County for what seemed to be a sewage capacity charge. Why didn’t it get paid by the home builder?
Greetings Jeff,
The reason you have to pay this capacity bill is because the charge was a gray area in the purchase and sale agreement at that time. The Statewide forms have been updated since to address this gray area so that it can be paid by the seller or buyer at closing simply. Keep in mind that home builders are well aware of this and will typically remove that from their burdens in the builders addendum that they require the buyer to sign. If buying brand new construction you should plan on getting stuck with the bill and plan for it when formulating an offer price.
Thanks!
~Dave Ralston