The City of Novato no longer sends an inspector to a home before it sells. According to a San Anselmo staff report covered by the Marin Independent Journal this year, Novato ended its residential resale program in 2022 because of the burden it placed on sellers and on the city. Requirements didn't disappear with it. They moved to other agencies. Today a Novato sale can trigger a North Marin Water District certificate, a Novato Fire Protection District inspection, and the county transfer tax. The first two apply only to certain parcels, so two homes on the same street can face different checklists. The permit history the city report used to put in front of a buyer now has to be pulled by the buyer.
The Report Novato Stopped Issuing
The old program had real weight. In 2016 the California State Auditor described Novato's ordinance as requiring a City inspection and a resale report before a residential property was sold or transferred. Those reports covered health-and-safety and municipal-code violations, said whether the violations needed permits, and could flag unpermitted work. Sellers had to give the report to potential buyers before the sale. The City's target was 10 business days from inspection to finished report.
Elsewhere in Marin the question is still open. San Anselmo repealed its presale inspection ordinance in March 2026. The program had run since 1969, and the Marin IJ described it as the most expensive and comprehensive in the county. The same coverage lists five Marin municipalities with similar programs: Ross, Tiburon, Fairfax, San Rafael and Belvedere. Those programs can take up to four weeks and cost $250 to $1,260. Corte Madera, Larkspur, Mill Valley and Sausalito offer file-only reviews instead.
San Anselmo's code enforcement officer, Bill Johnson, defended his town's program during the debate. He said "the buyer will know what the town is going to require," instead of learning about unpermitted work from a seller's disclosure statement. Novato gave up that function four years before San Anselmo did. A buyer moving from San Rafael, or a seller who sold in Novato before 2022, may still expect a city report to show up. It won't.
Where the Permit History Lives Now
No document is produced automatically at sale anymore. A buyer who wants the permit record can find it through the Building Division. Its site links to an online Records Search and a permit status page. Since October 1, 2025, permit applications have gone through the City's new portal, Novato Permits.
In the San Anselmo debate, the town attorney said records requests can take longer than a report. They also might not include documents with private information unless the seller agrees to share them. That puts the work on the buyer: unpermitted work comes to light during the buyer's own due diligence, through the records search, the seller's disclosures and the buyer's inspections.
The seller has a matching job. A seller who pulls the City's file before going on the market sees what a careful buyer will see. That leaves time to collect paperwork or decide how to disclose. Otherwise the questions come up in the middle of a negotiation.
Three Questions About the Parcel Set the Seller's List
Without a city report, the checklist depends on facts about the specific property. Three questions sort nearly every Novato sale:
- Was the home built before January 1, 1992, and does it get water from North Marin Water District? If so, NMWD's retrofit-on-resale certificate applies.
- Is the parcel in a High or Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone? If so, the state AB 38 defensible-space inspection applies. If it isn't, Novato Fire says no inspection is required.
- Is there sewer work planned before the sale? Novato Sanitary District ties its permits and inspections to sewer work itself. The materials reviewed show no lateral inspection triggered by a sale alone.
The county documentary transfer tax applies to every sale, whatever the answers above.
The Water Certificate Is the Item Most Likely to Land in Escrow
NMWD Water Conservation Regulation No. 15 is a district rule, not a citywide one. It covers structures built before 1992 in the District's Novato Service Area that receive District water. The owner has to certify that the plumbing fixtures meet these limits:
| Fixture | Maximum rating |
|---|---|
| Toilets | 1.6 gallons per flush |
| Urinals, if present | 1 gallon per flush |
| Showerheads | 2.0 gallons per minute |
| Bathroom faucets | 1.5 gallons per minute |
Two details tend to catch people out. Faucet aerators count if they bring flow down to 1.5 gallons per minute. A removable flow restrictor in a showerhead doesn't count, and the whole showerhead has to be replaced with one rated at 2 gallons per minute or less. Kitchen and utility sinks are exempt.
The owner certifies the house and sends the completed certificate to [email protected]. The form needs both signatures. The seller certifies the fixtures, and the buyer signs an acknowledgment. The seller has two ways to comply. Noncompliant fixtures can be retrofitted by close of escrow. Or the seller can pay the District $315 per bathroom by close of escrow, and the buyer gets a copy of the regulation. Under the deposit option, the buyer installs compliant fixtures and gets District verification within one year of closing for the deposit to be refunded.
NMWD's current form is labeled "Revised 2026," and its program page is dated August 25, 2026. Anyone holding an older printout from a previous sale should download the current version.
For a seller planning a pre-listing refresh, the deposit option is mostly a fallback. Bathrooms that will be updated anyway can be brought within the limits as part of that work. Then the certificate is a form to sign, not something to negotiate in escrow.
The Fire Inspection Follows the Map
Novato Fire Protection District handles the second requirement. Since July 2021, state Assembly Bill 38 has required a seller of property in a High or Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone to give the buyer documentation showing the property complies with defensible space requirements. Novato Fire says it doesn't have its own resale fire ordinance, so the state rule is the whole requirement. Hazard status depends on the parcel, and an owner can look it up by address or assessor parcel number with Marin County's fire hazard lookup.
Timing has some give. If the documentation isn't ready by close of escrow, seller and buyer can agree that the buyer will get it within one year after closing. Scheduling has less. Novato Fire's page doesn't list a base inspection price. It does charge $176 for a no-show, or for canceling or rescheduling with less than 48 hours' notice. Requests go through Novato Fire's online scheduling links for the AB 38 resale inspection and any re-inspection. A seller who books early in the listing period avoids a scramble near the end.
The inspection covers defensible space. The sale-triggered materials reviewed don't describe a separate home-hardening retrofit required at sale.
The Transfer Tax Line Is Shorter Than in San Rafael
Marin County's documentary transfer tax is $0.55 per $500 or portion thereof. It's based on full value less assumed liens and applies in all areas. The County Recorder's schedule adds a city tax for one city only, San Rafael, at $2.00 per $1,000 or portion thereof. It shows no Novato surcharge.
On a $1,500,000 sale with no assumed liens, the county tax comes to $1,650. The same price in San Rafael would add $3,000 in city tax on top of that. A household comparing homes in both cities can count that difference in the closing cost math.
Questions Sellers and Buyers Raise
Does Novato still require any city inspection before a sale? According to the Marin IJ's 2026 reporting, Novato phased out its resale program in 2022. The Building Division's current site describes plan review, permits and field inspections, with no point-of-sale report.
My house was built after 1992. Do I need the NMWD certificate? The certificate includes a box for houses built after January 1, 1992 that are in compliance. Confirm the District's process with NMWD at (415) 761-8944.
Does selling trigger a sewer lateral inspection in Novato? In the Novato Sanitary District materials reviewed, permits and inspections are tied to sewer work, not to the sale. The owner is responsible for maintaining the private side sewer. If you plan sewer repairs before listing, check current requirements with the District directly.
This post is general information, not legal or tax advice. Confirm each requirement with the agency that administers it before relying on it.
With no city report, the most useful thing a Novato seller can do is find out early which of these rules apply to their parcel, ideally before the house goes on the market. Amadeo Arnal helps sellers pull the permit file, schedule the NMWD and Novato Fire paperwork, and fit any fixture or defensible space work into a pre-listing plan. Request your complimentary Marin market consultation and we'll go through your parcel's checklist together.
