Porta Potty Rental for Landscape Contractors

Does a landscape crew have to have a toilet on site?

It depends on whether the crew stays put.

Cal/OSHA's construction sanitation rule asks for one toilet per 20 employees or fraction of 20, and one single-user unit is enough for a crew of fewer than five (8 CCR §1526). The same section then carves out an exception. Subsection (e) says the requirements do not apply to "mobile crews having readily available transportation to nearby toilet facilities." The hand-washing rule has a matching exception (8 CCR §1527).

So a two-person maintenance crew that mows six properties a day, with a truck and a gas station or park restroom a few minutes away, generally does not need a rented unit. We would rather tell you that than rent you one.

The exception gets thin when the job stops being mobile. A crew that parks at one address at 7 a.m. and builds a retaining wall there for three weeks is working a fixed site. The rule does not define "nearby" or "readily available" in minutes or miles, so how the exception applies to your job is a judgement call that belongs to you and, if it comes up, to Cal/OSHA. Our Cal/OSHA portable toilet guide covers the rule in full.

When is a unit the better choice even if the exception might apply?

Three practical reasons push contractors toward a unit:

• Lost time. A 15-minute round trip to a gas station, taken by four people twice a day, is two crew-hours gone. The truck leaves too, sometimes with the tools on it.
• The client's house. Most homeowners do not want boots, mud and a rotating cast of workers walking through to the hall bathroom. Many contracts say so. A unit on the driveway takes the question away.
• No public restroom nearby. New tracts in Winchester and French Valley, slopes behind HOA walls and rural lots in De Luz can be a long drive from any open restroom.

How does heat change the picture?

Inland summers here are hot, and landscape work has no indoor phase. Cal/OSHA's heat illness prevention standard applies to all outdoor work and names landscaping as one of the industries covered by its high-heat procedures at 95°F and above (8 CCR §3395). Among other things, it requires employers to provide enough fresh, cool drinking water for each employee to drink one quart per hour, and shade when the temperature exceeds 80°F.

That section says nothing about toilets. The connection is practical: a crew that is drinking a quart an hour needs a restroom more often, and workers who know the nearest toilet is a drive away tend to drink less. A unit close to the work supports the hydration you are already required to encourage. A hand-wash station also gives the crew a place to rinse off soil, fertilizer and concrete dust before lunch.

In summer, ask us to place the unit in afternoon shade if the site has any.

Where does the unit go on a residential landscape job?

The driveway or front side of the property is almost always the answer. Here is why, and what to check:

1. The service truck has to reach it. Our driver pumps the unit with a hose from the truck every week. A unit carried deep into a backyard cannot be serviced. The unit needs to sit within about 30 feet of where our service truck can park.
2. Side yards are tight. Many tract homes in this area have side yards that are narrow and blocked by gates, AC condensers, gas meters and trash carts. Measure the narrowest point before asking for backyard placement.
3. Keep your own access open. If the side yard is the only route for the skid steer, the paver pallets and the wheelbarrows, the unit should not sit in it.
4. Stay off the street and sidewalk. Placing a unit in the public right-of-way generally needs an encroachment permit from the city or county. See our permit guide.
5. Check the HOA. Some associations have rules about where and how long a unit may be visible from the street. Ask the homeowner to confirm before delivery.
6. Level, firm ground. Not on fresh base, not on the lawn you are about to remove, and away from the street gutter and any area drain.

On HOA common areas and commercial properties, pick a spot the truck can reach from a paved drive and that the property manager has approved.

What should a landscape contractor order?

Most residential landscape jobs fall in the first row: one standard unit, with hand washing handled inside it. Once five or more people are on site, including subs such as concrete finishers, masons or electricians, the hand-wash station must stand outside the toilet. For larger commercial installs, use our unit count guide.

Every 28-day rental includes a weekly visit to pump, clean and restock. In a hot month with a full crew, a second weekly visit is available.

What else can you put on the same order?

Dumpsters. Sod, old concrete, broken pavers, irrigation pipe and green waste add up quickly on a backyard remodel or turf conversion. Our sister company Victory Dumpsters delivers roll-off dumpsters in the same area. Soil and concrete are heavy, so tell them what you are loading and they will point you to the right container.

Temporary fence. When a front yard is torn up, a trench is open or materials are staged where the public can reach them, temporary fence panels keep people out. We arrange fence through our partners.

Toilets, dumpsters and fence can go on one quote. See job site services.

Where do landscape contractors use us most?

We deliver from our yard at 26245 Monroe Ave in Murrieta to residential and commercial landscape jobs in Temecula, Murrieta, Menifee, French Valley, Winchester, Canyon Lake and Wildomar. Other cities are listed on our service areas page, and other trades on the construction porta potty rental hub.

Landscape contractor FAQ

My job is only two weeks. Do I pay for the full 28 days? Job site rentals bill in 28-day periods.

Can one unit follow my crew from job to job? Yes, we can pick up and redeliver between addresses. A relocation fee applies, and the amount depends on the location. For jobs that last only a day or two each, the mobile-crew exception may mean you do not need a unit at all.

Does my maintenance crew at an HOA need a unit? If the property has a clubhouse or pool restroom the crew is allowed to use, probably not. If the crew is locked out of those buildings and works the property all day, a unit near the maintenance yard is the usual answer.

Is hand sanitizer enough for a small crew? No. Where the toilet rule applies, so does the washing rule: water, soap and single-use towels. With fewer than five workers, the wash facility may be inside the unit.

Does the unit need to be ADA-accessible? Federal accessibility standards exempt portable toilets used only by construction personnel (U.S. Access Board). If the public will use it, the answer changes. See ADA-accessible units.

How fast can you deliver? Same-day and next-day delivery are offered. We answer the phone from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., seven days a week.

What does it cost in total? From $189 per 28 days with weekly service, plus a delivery and pickup fee. No fuel or environmental surcharges. Details are on our pricing page.

Get a porta potty on your next landscape job

Call (951) 517-3600 or send the form with the job address, start date, expected duration and crew size. Tell us about the driveway and any gate or HOA limits, and we will confirm placement and the full price before delivery.