Yes — existing cesspools are legal in New York.

You are allowed to own a home with one

You are allowed to sell a home with one

You are allowed to finance a home with one

What you cannot usually do anymore…

is install a new one.

New York has been phasing them out mainly because of groundwater protection.

So if a cesspool fails today, you typically replace it with a septic system — not another cesspool.

But that does NOT mean every house with one needs immediate replacement.