Richmond · Foreclosure & auctions

Foreclosure and auctions in Richmond

Richmond requires the legal owner of any vacant dwelling or building, residential or commercial, to register it and name an approved local individual or firm to inspect it. Foreclosure steps and auctions follow state law.

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Key points

Registration: Register within 10 days after 30 consecutive vacant days, or by the 31st day after getting legal title or possession.
Fee: The fee is set in the master fee schedule, paid at filing and each year on the anniversary of submittal.
Local inspector: The owner names an approved local individual or firm for periodic inspections; contact information is posted and updated within 48 hours of changes.
Inspections: Post an owner or agent notice within 10 days, inspect inside and out within 10 days, and inspect at least once every 7 days.
Daily fine: Failing to maintain vacant residential property acquired through foreclosure costs $1,000 per day after the notice-of-violation remedy period ends.
State timeline: State law: at least 3 months pass from the recorded notice of default to notice of sale, posted at least 20 days before sale.

Each rule below is marked Richmond code or CA state law and links to the section it comes from (checked October 2026). General information, not legal advice.

Registering vacant and foreclosed homes

Richmond code What Richmond's code adds
Local contact	Yes. Name an approved local individual or firm responsible for periodic inspections and assuring compliance. Applies: Applies to the legal owner of any vacant dwelling or building, residential or commercial (not only foreclosures). § 6.38.115 · code text a written plan detailing the means, methods, and times for periodic inspections and the local individual or firm who shall be responsible for assuring compliance with the provisions of this chapter. Post contact information immediately and update it within 48 hours of any material change. Applies: Applies to the local individual or firm responsible for inspecting and maintaining the vacant building. § 6.38.115 · code text (c) The legal owner shall immediately and prominently post on the vacant building, in a form acceptable to the City, contact information identifying the local individual or firm who shall be responsible for periodically inspecting the premises, maintaining the exterior free of blight and in compliance with all relevant sections of the Richmond Municipal Code, the State Housing Code, the Uniform Code for Abatement of Dangerous Buildings, and the California Building, Fire, Mechanical, Plumbing, Electrical and Residential Codes, securing the building against unauthorized entry, and responding immediately to contacts from emergency responders and the public. This information shall be updated within 48 hours of any material change in contact information.
Upkeep duties	If boarding openings, use exterior-grade plywood at least three-quarter inch thick, painted. End utilities, cap the sewer, remove trash. Applies: Applies when boarding doors, windows or openings instead of conventional construction. § 6.38.100 · code text Windows and similar openings shall be boarded with exterior grade plywood of a minimum thickness of ¾ inch or its equivalent. Post an owner or agent notice within 10 days. Inspect the interior and exterior within 10 days and correct violations. Inspect at least once every 7 days. Remove trash, rubbish, debris, and dead or overgrown vegetation. Maintain landscaping and exterior paint and finishes. Prevent unauthorized use. Keep the property free of graffiti. Applies: Applies to vacant commercial or residential buildings or structures. § 6.38.110 · code text (a) Owners, trustees, or beneficiaries who hold a deed of trust on any vacant commercial or residential building or structure, and premises thereon, shall maintain and monitor the subject property as follows: (1) Within ten (10) days of obtaining the vacant property, or the property becoming vacant, the owner shall post of a Notice in a conspicuous place on the front of the building stating the name, address and telephone number of the owner and, if applicable, the owner's agent in control of the building. The notice shall have black lettering not less than two (2) inches high and readable from at least thirty (30) feet away. (2) Within ten (10) days of obtaining the vacant property, or the property becoming vacant, the owner or the owner's agent shall conduct an inspection of the interior and exterior of the building and the premises for any violation of this chapter or applicable state law and immediately correct all violations. (3) Thereafter, an inspection of the property must be conducted no less than once every seven (7) days to ensure the property is properly maintained. Proper maintenance includes, but is not limited to, regular removal of trash, rubbish and debris, maintenance of landscaping and plants in good healthy condition, maintenance of the exterior of the building, including paint and finishes in good condition, removal of dead, dying or overgrown vegetation and preventing the use or the property by unauthorized persons. (4) The property shall be maintained free of graffiti, tagging or similar marking. Any removal of graffiti shall be with an exterior grade paint that matches to color of the exterior of the structure.
Penalty	$1,000 per day. Applies: Applies when the owner fails to maintain vacant residential property bought or acquired through foreclosure, after the notice-of-violation remedy period ends. § 2.63.020 · code text the Code Enforcement Division shall impose a civil fine of one thousand dollars ($1,000) per day for each day that the owner fails to maintain the property Monthly monitoring fees and enforcement response fees set by City Council resolution. Applies: Applies when the vacant building and premises are a public nuisance. § 6.38.110 · code text (5) Any vacant building and premise thereon that constitutes a public nuisance as defined in Section 9.22.090 or this chapter or by any other local or state law shall be subject to monthly monitoring fees and enforcement response fees, to cover the City's regulatory costs to monitor and respond to the vacant property. The separate monthly monitoring fee and enforcement response fees shall be set by resolution of the City Council. (A) The monitoring fee shall be applicable even in the absence of any action, administrative or otherwise. (B) The monitoring fee shall be imposed in each thirty (30) day period following the imposition of the initial monitoring fee. (C) The monitoring fees shall be imposed as long as the vacant building and premises remain a public nuisance as defined in this Code and will not be prorated. (D) Any monitoring fee may be appealed and collected in the same manner as administrative citations and special assessment liens.
Deadline to register	Register within 10 days after the building has been vacant for 30 consecutive days. Applies: Applies to the legal owner of any vacant dwelling or building, residential or commercial (not only foreclosures). § 6.38.115 · code text shall file a statement of registration with the City's Code Enforcement Unit within 10 days after the building has been vacant for 30 consecutive days Register no later than the 31st day after getting legal title to, or possession of, the building. Applies: Applies to a legal owner who gets a vacant building through foreclosure, inheritance, purchase, deed of trust transfer or any other means. § 6.38.115 · code text or no later than the 31st day after obtaining legal title to or right of possession or dominion over such vacant building through foreclosure, inheritance, purchase, transfer of deed of trust, or any other means of acquiring ownership of the premises on which such vacant building exists.
Registration fee	As set in the master fee schedule. Pay at filing and each year on the anniversary of submittal. Applies: Applies to the legal owner of any vacant dwelling or building (not only foreclosures), unless a later fee-schedule ordinance says otherwise. § 6.38.115 · code text Fees for filing and processing a statement of registration shall be as established in the master fee schedule. Fees shall be fully paid at the time of submitting the statement of registration to the City and annually thereafter on the anniversary date of submittal
Registration	Yes. The legal owner must file a statement of registration for premises with a vacant dwelling or building. Applies: Applies to the legal owner of any vacant dwelling or building, residential or commercial (not only foreclosures). § 6.38.115 · code text The legal owner of any premises containing a vacant dwelling or building, as specifically defined in Section 6.38.030 of this chapter, shall file a statement of registration with the City's Code Enforcement Unit

Foreclosure steps and deadlines

CA state law California law sets this statewide. 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 (Civ. Code § 2924(a)(2), (a)(4)). Notice of trustee's sale: Posted, published and recorded at least 20 days before the sale (Civ. Code § 2924f(b)). California foreclosure rules — the full state rule →

Homeowner protections

CA state law California law sets this statewide. 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 (Civ. Code § 2923.6(c)). California foreclosure rules — the full state rule →

The trustee's sale (auction)

CA state law California law sets this statewide. 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 (Civ. Code § 2924g(a)(1)). 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 (Civ. Code § 2924m(c)). California foreclosure rules — the full state rule →

Tenants in a foreclosed home

CA state law California law sets this statewide. 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 (Code Civ. Proc. § 1161b(a), (b)). California foreclosure rules — the full state rule →

Debt after the sale

CA state law California law sets this statewide. No deficiency after a trustee's sale: After a nonjudicial trustee's sale, the lender cannot collect any shortfall from the borrower (Code Civ. Proc. § 580d(a)). California foreclosure rules — the full state rule →

Who this affects

Homeowners behind on a loanBuyers of bank-owned homesLenders and servicers

Frequently asked questions

Must a lender or owner register a vacant or foreclosed home in Richmond?

Register within 10 days after 30 consecutive vacant days, or by the 31st day after getting legal title or possession. The fee is set in the master fee schedule, paid at filing and each year on the anniversary of submittal. The owner names an approved local individual or firm for periodic inspections; contact information is posted and updated within 48 hours of changes. Post an owner or agent notice within 10 days, inspect inside and out within 10 days, and inspect at least once every 7 days. Failing to maintain vacant residential property acquired through foreclosure costs $1,000 per day after the notice-of-violation remedy period ends.

General information, not legal advice.

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