Renting a home that was foreclosed in California: your rights

Your rights as a renter in California, in order

1. Notice to residents before the sale

   When the notice of sale is posted

   When the trustee posts the notice of sale, it must also post and mail a notice to the resident saying the home may be sold in 20 days or more, that a renter may get a new lease or a 90-day notice, and that rent is still owed. This applies when the loan's billing address is not the property address.

   Cal. Civ. Code § 2924.8

2. 90 days' notice for month to month tenants

   At least 90 days after written notice

   A tenant with a month to month lease or periodic tenancy at the time of the sale must get 90 days' written notice to quit before being removed. The federal Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act sets the same floor. See [tenant notice after foreclosure](/notices/tenant-notice-after-foreclosure/).

   Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 1161b(a); Pub. L. 111-22 § 702

3. A fixed-term lease survives

   Until the lease ends

   A fixed-term lease signed before title transferred at the sale stays in effect, with all its rights and duties. The new owner can end it with 90 days' notice only if it will live there, or the tenant is the borrower or the borrower's child, spouse or parent, or the lease was not arm's length or has rent far below market without a subsidy. The new owner must prove the lease is not protected.

   Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 1161b(b), (c)

4. Just cause rules may protect you

   After 12 months in the home

   California's statewide just cause law generally bars ending a tenancy without a listed reason after tenants have lived there lawfully for 12 months, and some local just cause ordinances give more. Some single-family homes owned by individuals are exempt with a written notice, but that exemption does not cover homes owned by a corporation or certain other entities. The foreclosure law says it does not override local just cause ordinances.

   Cal. Civ. Code § 1946.2; Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 1161b(e)

5. You may be able to buy the home

   15 days to give notice, 45 days to bid

   On a home with 1 to 4 units, a tenant living there can send the trustee a notice of intent to bid within 15 days after the trustee's sale and bid within 45 days. Ask the trustee for its rules and get legal help quickly.

   Cal. Civ. Code § 2924m

6. Your security deposit

   21 days after you move out

   When a landlord's interest ends, it must either return your deposit or transfer it to the new owner and tell you in writing. If it does not, the new owner is jointly liable with the old landlord to repay it, and cannot make you post a new deposit until it makes things right. The refund or itemized statement is due within 21 days after you move out.

   Cal. Civ. Code § 1950.5(h), (i), (k)

Common questions in California