Home › California › San Mateo

Toilet Repair in San Mateo, CA

In San Mateo, 48% of households rent their home and 83% of the housing predates 1990. For most readers here, the toilet is the landlord’s repair.

Short version

Renting is the majority position in San Mateo, at 48% of occupied homes. A fixture in a tenancy is generally the landlord's responsibility to repair, which makes the lease the first document to look at and not the last. With 83% of the housing built before 1990, a fixture predating the 1.6 gallon standard may still be in place; the figure describes the building rather than the bathroom.

Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, tables B25003 and B25034.

Tank and Bowl is a referral service, not a contractor. We connect homeowners with independent contractors. Contractors are required to hold whatever credential their state or municipality demands. Every state page sets out who licenses plumbers there and where to check, so you can confirm before work begins. We carry out no work, we sell no fixtures, we do not set prices, and we never charge homeowners anything — the contractors in our network pay us when we route them a call.

Who this page is for in San Mateo

Renting is the norm in San Mateo, at 48% of households. We are a referral service for homeowners, so for most people here the honest advice is report it in writing and describe the symptom rather than call anyone.

Occupied homes in San Mateo	Share	Homes
Owner-occupied	52%	27,986
Rented	48%	25,999

Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25003 (tenure), 2023 release. Universe: 53,985 occupied housing units.

What the age of San Mateo’s housing suggests

With 83% of homes built before 1990, San Mateo sits firmly on the old side of the flush-volume line. EPA describes pre-standard toilets as using 3.5 to more than 5.0 gallons per flush, and older ones as much as 6.

The house is what this dates. If you want to know about the fixture itself, the date is usually molded inside the tank lid.

Housing in San Mateo	Share
Built before 1940	7%
Built 1940 to 1989	75%
Built 1990 onwards	17%

Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25034 (year structure built), 2023 release. Universe: 57,269 housing units, including vacant ones — a different universe from the tenure table above. Flush volumes: US EPA WaterSense, tank-type toilet supporting statement

What is actually wrong with it

Four complaints cover nearly all of it, and they are different faults rather than degrees of one. Running is the flapper or the fill valve. Nothing at all is usually the chain or a blockage. Water on the floor is four possibilities, one of which is not a leak. A weak flush is the water level, the chain, or the specification.

On an older fixture that is being lifted anyway, ask what the difference is between putting this one back and setting a new one down. Frequently the work is the same and only the part differs, which is the one moment when replacement is worth thinking about.

Other California towns we route in

Rancho Cucamonga 63% owner-occupied · 56% built before 1990
San Gabriel 51% owner-occupied · 87% built before 1990
Sausalito 56% owner-occupied · 93% built before 1990
Bakersfield 58% owner-occupied · 58% built before 1990
Altadena 81% owner-occupied · 93% built before 1990

Everywhere we route in California

Checking a plumber in California

Checking a credential in California

California licenses are issued by the Contractors State License Board, which publishes a public search you can use before work begins. California licenses the C-36 plumbing contractor; there is no state journeyman license.

If the dye test pointed at the flapper, that is a part, not a fixture.Worth saying on the call, because it changes what somebody arrives with. We connect you to a contractor covering your area and you are never charged. Toilets are one subject; we serve San Mateo on all the others too.

Call (888) 525-3450