§ 1161b.Tenant Or Subtenant In Possession of Rental Housing Unit At Time Property Sold In Foreclosure

Title 3. Of Summary Proceedings · Chapter 4. Summary Proceedings for Obtaining Possession of Real Property in Certain Cases · Last amended 2020 · Last verified July 29, 2026

In one sentenceSection 1161b requires ninety days' written notice before removing a month-to-month tenant after a foreclosure sale, and generally lets tenants under a fixed-term lease signed before the sale stay until the lease ends unless the buyer will live there, the tenant is related to the former owner, the lease wasn't an arm's-length deal, or the rent is far below market.

Full Text of § 1161b

Text sizeJump to: (a) (b) (c) (d) (e)

(a) Notwithstanding Section 1161a, a tenant or subtenant in possession of a rental housing unit under a month-to-month lease or periodic tenancy at the time the property is sold in foreclosure shall be given 90 days' written notice to quit pursuant to Section 1162 before the tenant or subtenant may be removed from the property as prescribed in this chapter.

(b) In addition to the rights set forth in subdivision (a), tenants or subtenants holding possession of a rental housing unit under a fixed-term residential lease entered into before transfer of title at the foreclosure sale shall have the right to possession until the end of the lease term, and all rights and obligations under the lease shall survive foreclosure, except that the tenancy may be terminated upon 90 days' written notice to quit pursuant to subdivision (a) if any of the following conditions apply:

(1) The purchaser or successor in interest will occupy the housing unit as a primary residence.

(2) The lessee is the mortgagor or the child, spouse, or parent of the mortgagor.

(3) The lease was not the result of an arms' length transaction.

(4) The lease requires the receipt of rent that is substantially less than fair market rent for the property, except when rent is reduced or subsidized due to a federal, state, or local subsidy or law.

(c) The purchaser or successor in interest shall bear the burden of proof in establishing that a fixed-term residential lease is not entitled to protection under subdivision (b).

(d) This section shall not apply if any party to the note remains in the property as a tenant, subtenant, or occupant.

(e) Nothing in this section is intended to affect any local just cause eviction ordinance. This section does not, and shall not be construed to, affect the authority of a public entity that otherwise exists to regulate or monitor the basis for eviction.

End

Plain-English Summary

Foreclosure sales displace tenants who often had nothing to do with the owner's default, and this section is built to protect them. A month-to-month or other periodic tenant gets ninety days' written notice under § 1162 before being removed — notably longer than the three-day or thirty-day notice § 1161a would otherwise require.

Tenants under a fixed-term lease signed before the foreclosure sale get even more: the right to stay through the end of the lease term, with the lease's terms and obligations surviving the sale. That protection has four exceptions in subdivision (b) — the purchaser plans to live there as a primary residence, the tenant is the mortgagor or the mortgagor's child, spouse, or parent, the lease wasn't negotiated at arm's length, or the rent is well below market value (apart from properly subsidized rent). If any of those apply, the new owner can still end the tenancy, but only with the same ninety-day notice.

Subdivision (c) puts the burden on the purchaser to prove one of those four exceptions applies; subdivision (d) takes the whole section out of play if anyone who signed the original note is still living in the property as a tenant, subtenant, or occupant. Subdivision (e) makes clear this section doesn't preempt any stronger local just-cause eviction ordinance.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much notice must a month-to-month tenant get after a foreclosure sale?

Ninety days' written notice under § 1162, before the tenant can be removed under this chapter.

Can a new owner end my fixed-term lease early just because the property was foreclosed?

Generally no — the lease survives foreclosure and the tenant can stay until it ends, unless one of the four exceptions in § 1161b(b) applies, such as the buyer moving in as a primary residence or the lease being a sham arrangement with the former owner.

Who has to prove one of those exceptions applies?

The purchaser or successor in interest, under § 1161b(c).

Does this section override my city's own eviction-protection ordinance?

No. Subdivision (e) says nothing in this section affects a local just-cause eviction ordinance or a public entity's existing authority to regulate evictions.

What if the person who took out the original mortgage is still living in the home?

This section does not apply at all if any party to the note remains in the property as a tenant, subtenant, or occupant.

Amendment History

Amended by Stats 2019 ch 134 (SB 18),s 3, eff. 1/1/2020. Amended by Stats 2012 ch 562 (AB 2610),s 3, eff. 1/1/2013. Added by Stats 2008 ch 69 (SB 1137),s 6, eff. 7/8/2008.

Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from the California Legislative Information. Enacted by the California Legislature. Last verified July 29, 2026. · Official source

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