California real estate law
Foreclosure in California: steps, deadlines and borrower protections
The steps a lender must follow, the deadlines that run, and what protects a borrower or a tenant. Each rule links to the statute it comes from.
Key points
The process and its deadlines Borrower protections Tenants in a foreclosed home
Foreclosure is set almost entirely by state law, so these rules are the same in every city. This page covers the process and the main protections. Auction and tax-sale rules are on the library shelf linked below.
The process and its deadlines
| Who the Homeowner Bill of Rights protects | First-lien mortgages on owner-occupied homes with no more than four units |
|---|---|
| Contact before a notice of default | No notice of default until 30 days after the servicer contacts the borrower to assess options (or 30 days after diligent attempts) Applies: HBOR-covered loans (owner-occupied, 1–4 units, first lien). |
| Time between notice of default and sale | At least three months after the notice of default is recorded before notice of sale; the sale itself no earlier than three months and 20 days after the notice of default |
| Notice of trustee's sale | Posted, published and recorded at least 20 days before the sale |
| Right to reinstate the loan | The borrower may cure the default (pay past-due amounts plus permitted costs) until five business days before the scheduled sale Applies: The right revives if the sale is postponed by more than five business days. |
| When and where sales are held | At public auction in the county where the property is, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. on a business day |
| Paying a trustee's sale bid | Bidders must show they can pay in cash, a cashier's check or another cash equivalent the notice of sale allows |
Borrower protections
| No foreclosure while a loan modification is pending | If a complete first-lien modification application is submitted at least five business days before a sale, the servicer may not record a notice of default or sale, or hold the sale, while it is pending Applies: HBOR-covered loans. |
|---|---|
| Single point of contact | A borrower who asks for a foreclosure alternative gets a single point of contact at the servicer Applies: HBOR-covered loans; exempts small servicers. |
| Appeal of a modification denial | At least 30 days from the written denial to appeal |
| Stopping a sale for HBOR violations | Before the trustee's deed is recorded, a borrower may sue to enjoin a material HBOR violation |
| Homestead exemption | The greater of the county's prior-year median single-family sale price (capped at $600,000) or $300,000, adjusted annually for inflation since January 1, 2022 Applies: Protects equity in a judgment debtor's dwelling from creditors in a forced sale. The inflation-adjusted current figures are not printed in the statute. |
| No deficiency on a purchase-money home loan | No deficiency is owed on a loan used to buy a home of up to four units that the buyer lives in, or on seller financing Also covers refinances of such a loan, except for new money taken out. |
| No deficiency after a trustee's sale | After a nonjudicial trustee's sale, the lender cannot collect any shortfall from the borrower Applies: Guarantors and other collateral may still be liable. |
| One-action rule | There is only one form of court action to recover a debt secured by real property: an action under the mortgage-foreclosure chapter (Code Civ. Proc. §§ 725a–730.5), in which the court may order the property sold |
| Redemption after a judicial foreclosure | Three months after the sale if the proceeds paid the debt in full Applies: One year if the proceeds fell short of the debt. |
Tenants in a foreclosed home
| Tenant and owner-occupant priority after a sale (SB 1079) | On 1–4 unit property, a trustee's sale is not final for 15 days; eligible tenant buyers and eligible bidders who give notice of intent may bid within 45 days Applies: Ends when an owner-occupant is the winning bidder. § 2924m is repealed January 1, 2031. |
|---|---|
| Tenants in a foreclosed property | A month-to-month tenant must get at least 90 days' written notice to quit; a tenant with a fixed-term lease signed before the sale may stay to the end of the lease Applies: The fixed-term lease can still be ended on 90 days' notice if the buyer will live there, the tenant is the borrower or a close relative, the lease was not arm's length, or rent is substantially below market. Does not override a local just-cause ordinance. |
Who this affects
HomeownersTenantsInvestors
General information, not legal advice.
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