The state has issued a “guidance” document to clarify the septic permit requirements that will apply for the first time to converting a residence with a septic system from seasonal use to year-round use, starting July 1, 2007. The final requirements will be contained in new septic rules expected to be released this summer or fall.

According to the two-page document, which could be tweaked before the final rules come out, a single-family residence will be considered to be year-round if it has been occupied for at least 180 days as a primary residence.

That means someone who wants to “grandfather” a seasonal property and avoid a permit needs to occupy it as a primary residence for 180 days before July 1, 2007, or have a tenant live in it as a primary residence for that long. It is not clear yet whether this has to be during the 180 days immediately preceding July 1, 2007, or whether the 180 days over the full year preceding that date will qualify.

If a house has in the past been occupied for 180 days or more, but in more recent years has been more infrequently occupied, it remains a year-round house “unless there has been specific action taken to limit its use to seasonal” or to convert the house to some other use, according to the guidance.

Condominiums used seasonally but built since 1970 are not affected by the new conversion rule, since they already were required to get permits.

But seasonal or vacation single-family homes built before June 14, 2002 were exempted from septic permitting. After July 1, 2007, these properties will need a state septic permit if they are converted to year-round use, meaning they are occupied as a primary residence for 180 or more days per year. Vacation rentals apparently do not count, so a property could be rented to vacationers for more than 180 days per year and not need a conversion septic permit.

According to Roger Thompson of the state Wastewater Management Division, obtaining a permit will involve some substantial engineering costs, though usually not a new septic system. In some cases, however, conversion may not be allowed.

He noted some people may want to obtain a conversion septic permit before July 1, 2007, which the guidance document says is possible. If a homeowner applies for a permit now and finds that a conversion is not going to be allowed, he or she would still have time to occupy or rent out the home for 180 days before July 1, 2007 and thus be “grandfathered,” he pointed out.
Thompson said that another advantage of getting a conversion permit soon is that the rules could change down the road. “If you are planning to convert in 2010, it’s better to get the permit now,” he said, since permits cannot be revoked. Someone who waits may find the Legislature has changed the rules for converting down the line, he said.
After July 1, 2007, Thompson said attorneys doing title searches for a seasonal home that might be occupied 180 or more days per year as the residence of the buyer will have to see whether a conversion permit has been obtained. However, even after July 1, 2007, a seasonal home could still be sold without a permit to a buyer who will use it only on a seasonal basis or for vacation rentals.

– Used with permission from Vermont Property Owners Report, a subscription newsletter published in Montpelier. Contact them at (802) 229-2433 or on the web at www.vermontproperty.com.