Code Violations or a Lien on Your House? We Buy As-Is

Yes. An open Order to Comply or code-enforcement case does not stop a sale, but the violation, and any lien tied to it, generally has to be identified and addressed as part of the transaction. A cash, as-is sale often avoids the repair-before-closing requirement a retail buyer's lender would impose.

It should, once it has been confirmed by the Los Angeles City Council and recorded with the county recorder under Los Angeles Administrative Code section 7.35.3. An open code case that has not reached that stage yet may not show up on a standard title search.

It generally has to be paid off, negotiated down, or released before title can transfer clean, the same as any other recorded lien. Under Code of Civil Procedure section 697.310, a judgment lien lasts 10 years from entry of the judgment unless it is satisfied or renewed. An older lien is not automatically expired just because time has passed.

It depends on when each was recorded. Under Civil Code section 5680, an HOA assessment lien is generally prior to any lien recorded after the association's notice of delinquent assessment went on record. A mortgage recorded before that notice, though, generally keeps its earlier position. Each file needs to be checked individually.

In nearly every case, yes. Under Revenue and Taxation Code section 2192.1, a property tax lien has priority over all other liens on the property, regardless of when those other liens were recorded. Escrow generally clears the tax lien first, before paying out anything else.

Yes. California Civil Code section 1102.1 states that the transfer disclosure requirement is not waived by an "as is" sale. If you know about unpermitted work or an open violation, that is generally a fact you have to disclose to a buyer, regardless of how the sale is structured.

Generally nothing on our end. We do not charge a fee, a deposit, or an inspection charge to buy a house with a lien or a code violation attached. In most cases there is also no cost to you if the sale does not end up closing. Every property and every recorded lien is different, though, so treat that as the starting point, never a blanket guarantee.

This overview of California lien and code-enforcement law is general information, not legal advice, and it is not a substitute for guidance from a licensed California attorney about your specific situation.

If the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety has sent an Order to Comply, or code enforcement has flagged the property as substandard, that notice does not by itself stop a sale. It does mean the violation generally has to be addressed before closing, since a title report or a buyer's due diligence can surface it. If the compliance deadline on the notice passes without action, LADBS can add non-compliance fees. It can then ask the Los Angeles City Council to confirm a lien against the property for those costs, a process set out in Los Angeles Administrative Code section 7.35.3. Once a lien like that is confirmed and recorded, it generally has to be resolved before or at closing, the same as any other lien on title. Whether the property is in a city with its own code-enforcement process or anywhere else in the county, the mechanics are the same. An open case is not automatically a recorded lien, and a recorded lien is not automatically a blocked sale.

Unpermitted work, an addition without a final inspection, a converted garage, a room built without a permit, does not stop a sale either, but it changes what you have to tell a buyer. Under California Civil Code section 1102, a seller in a standard residential sale must complete a Real Estate Transfer Disclosure Statement describing known material facts about the property's condition. Section 1102.1 states plainly that this disclosure duty is not waived by selling a property "as is." If you know work was done without a permit, or that a violation notice was issued, that is generally the kind of fact a buyer is entitled to know before closing. Selling as-is changes who is responsible for repairs. It does not change whether you have to disclose what you know.

California Government Code section 38773.1 gives cities the authority to recover unpaid nuisance-abatement and code-enforcement costs through a lien recorded against the property. Once that lien is recorded, state law gives it "the force, effect, and priority of a judgment lien." Los Angeles has its own separate lien-confirmation procedure, set out in Los Angeles Administrative Code section 7.35.3. There, LADBS proposes a lien amount, and the City Council holds a hearing before confirming it and recording it with the Los Angeles County Recorder. Property owners get notice of that hearing before it happens. Once confirmed and recorded, the lien attaches to the property itself, not just to whoever owned it when the violation happened. That is why an old, unresolved code case can surface on title after the property has changed hands — and why we pull a title report early.

A code-enforcement lien is often not the only thing attached to a distressed property, and this comes up more than once with houses that have passed through several owners or sat through a long probate. A judgment lien is created when a creditor who won a lawsuit against you records an abstract of judgment with the county recorder, under Code of Civil Procedure section 697.310. It generally lasts 10 years from entry of the judgment unless it is paid, released, or renewed. An HOA lien works differently: under Civil Code section 5675, an association can record a lien for unpaid assessments once it records a notice of delinquent assessment against the unit. A property tax lien attaches automatically every year under Revenue and Taxation Code section 2187. A mechanics lien is filed by a contractor who was not paid for work on the house. It has to be recorded and then enforced in court within 90 days under Civil Code section 8460, or it expires. If old liens like these are layered on a house you inherited, see how we handle it when you sell your inherited property in Los Angeles County.

When a house with more than one lien sells, escrow does not pay everyone at once out of whatever is left over. Property taxes generally come first: under Revenue and Taxation Code section 2192.1, a property tax lien has priority over all other liens on the property "regardless of the time of their creation." After that, liens are generally paid in the order they were recorded — first-in-time, first-in-right, with statutory exceptions. An HOA assessment lien recorded under Civil Code section 5675 is generally prior to anything recorded after it, under section 5680. A nuisance-abatement or code-enforcement lien recorded under Government Code section 38773.1 carries the same priority as a judgment lien from its recording date forward. If there is not enough equity to pay every lien in full, the junior lienholders generally have to be negotiated with directly, for a reduced payoff or a release, before title can transfer clean.

An as-is sale does not mean the house is unsellable with a violation or a lien on it. It means the buyer takes the property in its current condition and the seller is not agreeing to make repairs first. That differs from a traditional listing, where a retail buyer's lender may require the violation cleared or escrowed before funding. Selling as-is to a cash buyer generally sidesteps that requirement, because there is no financing contingency tied to the repair. It does not remove the disclosure duty under Civil Code section 1102, and it does not make an existing lien disappear from title. That lien still has to be paid, negotiated, or released through escrow before the sale can close, same as it would on any other sale.

There is no fixed timeline for resolving a code violation or a lien before a sale. It depends on how many liens are involved, how responsive each lienholder is, and whether the city's code case is still open or already confirmed as a recorded lien. In many cases, a single lien can be identified, negotiated, and cleared inside a normal escrow window. A more complicated file — several liens, a contested code case, a slow lienholder — can take longer, and we never promise a specific number of days. As Los Angeles County as-is home buyers, we do not charge sellers anything to buy a house with a code violation or a lien on it. There is no upfront fee, no inspection charge, and nothing taken out before closing. If clearing every open item first is not realistic, selling as-is instead of clearing every violation first is also an option.

These FAQs about California lien and code-enforcement law are general information, not legal advice; consult a licensed California attorney about your specific circumstances.