In California, six categories of creditor can put a lien on your house: your mortgage lender, contractors or suppliers who worked on the property, federal, state, and local tax authorities, judgment creditors who have sued and won, your homeowners association, and anyone owed child or spousal support. Some of these liens require a court order. Others attach automatically by operation of law. Either way, a recorded lien clouds your title, and you generally cannot sell or refinance until the underlying debt is resolved.
Your Mortgage Lender
The most common lien on any California home is the one you agreed to when you borrowed money to buy or refinance. In California, this almost always takes the form of a deed of trust rather than a traditional mortgage, because a deed of trust includes a power-of-sale clause that lets the lender foreclose without going to court. A traditional mortgage requires a judicial foreclosure proceeding instead. The effect is the same: miss enough payments and the lender can force a sale.
Because you created this lien voluntarily, it sits in a different category from the involuntary liens below. It also sets the baseline for priority. Your purchase-money deed of trust is typically the first lien recorded against the property, and it gets paid first from the proceeds of any sale. A later home equity line of credit sits in junior position behind it.
Contractors and Material Suppliers
Anyone who improves your property and doesn’t get paid can record a mechanic’s lien. That includes general contractors, subcontractors, laborers, and material suppliers.1Contractors State License Board. What Is a Mechanics Lien The rules sit in California Civil Code sections 8000 through 9566, and they’re built around strict deadlines that work in your favor as the homeowner.
Most claimants must serve you with a preliminary notice within 20 days of starting work or delivering materials. A late notice costs the claimant lien rights for any work done more than 20 days before it was sent.2Contractors State License Board. What if a Mechanics Lien Is Filed on Your Property A contractor who has a direct contract with you doesn’t have to send the preliminary notice, though they still must notify the construction lender if one exists.3California Legislative Information. California Civil Code 8200
Once the project finishes, a direct contractor has 90 days to record the lien.4California Legislative Information. California Civil Code 8412 If you record a notice of completion, that window shrinks to 60 days for direct contractors and 30 days for subcontractors and suppliers. After recording, the claimant then has 90 days to file a foreclosure lawsuit. Miss that deadline and the lien expires automatically.5California Legislative Information. California Civil Code 8460
During a project, collect lien waivers from everyone involved as you make payments. California recognizes four standard waiver forms, and using anything else is risky. A conditional waiver takes effect only after your check clears; an unconditional waiver takes effect on delivery.6Contractors State License Board. Conditional and Unconditional Waiver and Release Forms Collect conditional waivers before releasing payment and unconditional waivers after you confirm the funds cleared. Skipping this step is one of the most common ways homeowners end up with a valid lien from a subcontractor they never hired directly.
Tax Authorities
Government agencies at every level can lien your home for unpaid taxes, and most don’t need a judge’s permission.
Federal Income Taxes
When you owe federal income tax and don’t pay after the IRS demands payment, a lien automatically attaches to everything you own, including your home, bank accounts, and other assets. The IRS then files a public Notice of Federal Tax Lien with the county recorder to alert other creditors.7Internal Revenue Service. Understanding a Federal Tax Lien The lien stays until the debt is paid, the statute of limitations runs, or the IRS accepts an offer in compromise.
State Income Taxes
The California Franchise Tax Board has parallel authority. If you ignore collection notices, the FTB records a Notice of State Tax Lien with the county recorder, and that notice attaches to all California real and personal property you own.8Franchise Tax Board. Liens
Property Taxes
Every California property tax assessment is automatically a lien against the land it applies to.9California Legislative Information. California Revenue and Taxation Code RTC 2187 No recording step is needed. These liens carry super-priority, meaning they’re paid before virtually every other claim, including your mortgage. If the taxes remain unpaid for five or more years after the property becomes tax-defaulted, the county tax collector can sell your home at public auction to satisfy the debt.10California Legislative Information. California Revenue and Taxation Code RTC 3691 That timeline drops to three years for commercial property or when a government entity or nuisance-abatement lienholder requests an accelerated sale.
Judgment Creditors
Credit card companies, medical providers, and other unsecured creditors cannot record a lien simply because you owe them money. They must first sue you, win a judgment, obtain an abstract of judgment from the court clerk, and record that abstract with the county recorder. Only then does an unsecured personal debt become a lien against real property you own in that county.11California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 697.310
The lien lasts ten years from the date the judgment was originally entered.11California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 697.310 If the creditor renews the underlying judgment before it expires, the lien can extend further. The lien sticks to the property even if you transfer ownership, so a buyer will see it on the title report and expect it to be paid at closing. One geographic quirk: the creditor must record the abstract in every county where you own property. An abstract recorded in Los Angeles County doesn’t touch a rental you own in San Diego County.
Homeowners Associations
If you live in a common interest development and fall behind on assessments, your HOA can lien your unit. The Davis-Stirling Act forces the association to clear several procedural hurdles first.
At least 30 days before recording a lien, the HOA must send you a certified-mail notice with an itemized breakdown of what you owe, a description of its collection procedures, and a warning that your property could be sold without court action if you don’t pay.12California Legislative Information. California Civil Code CIV 5660 The notice must also tell you that you have the right to inspect association records, request a board meeting, and pursue dispute resolution. After the 30-day period, the board must vote in an open meeting to approve recording. Only then can the HOA record a notice of delinquent assessment, and it must mail you a copy within 10 calendar days.13California Legislative Information. California Civil Code CIV 5675
Foreclosing on the lien is a separate matter with a higher bar. An HOA cannot foreclose until the delinquent assessments alone, not counting late fees, attorney’s fees, interest, or collection costs, reach at least $1,800 or become more than 12 months past due.14California Legislative Information. California Civil Code 5720 Below that threshold, the HOA can record the lien and sue in small claims court, but cannot force a sale.
Child and Spousal Support
If you owe child support, spousal support, or family support, the person you owe (or the local child support agency acting for them) can record a certified copy of the support judgment with the county recorder. The resulting lien covers not just arrears but all future installments that come due under the order.15California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 697.320
These liens are unusually durable. A standard judgment lien expires after ten years, but a support lien stays in effect as long as the support obligation exists and arrears remain unpaid. When you sell or refinance, the title company will flag the lien and typically require the outstanding balance to be paid from escrow. The lien also has interstate reach: under the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act, support debts travel across state lines, so moving out of California doesn’t clear them.
How Lien Priority Works
When multiple liens attach to the same property, the order they get paid matters. The general rule is first in time, first in right. Several exceptions override it.
Property tax liens sit at the top regardless of when they were assessed. They get paid before mortgages, judgment liens, and everything else. Mechanic’s liens also break the chronological rule. When a contractor or supplier records a lien, its priority relates back to the date work first began on the property, not the date of recording. A mechanic’s lien from a project that started before you took out a home equity loan can outrank that loan, even though the lien was recorded months later.
Your first mortgage typically holds the next spot after property taxes, followed by junior deeds of trust, judgment liens, and other claims in recording order. If the proceeds from a sale aren’t enough to cover every debt, priority decides who walks away paid and who doesn’t.
California’s Homestead Exemption
A judgment lien on your home doesn’t automatically mean a creditor can force a sale. California’s homestead exemption protects a substantial amount of your equity from most judgment creditors. The protected amount is the greater of $300,000 or the median sale price for a single-family home in your county during the prior calendar year, whichever is higher, capped at $600,000. Both the floor and the ceiling adjust annually for inflation based on the California Consumer Price Index.16California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 704.730
In practice, a judgment creditor can only force a sale if the expected sale proceeds would be enough to pay off all senior liens, cover the homestead exemption amount, and still leave something for the creditor. In most high-cost California counties, the math doesn’t work for the creditor. The lien still attaches and still must be dealt with when you voluntarily sell or refinance, but the creditor can’t drag you to a forced sale just because you owe money on a credit card.
The exemption doesn’t protect against every lien. It generally does not apply to mortgage foreclosures, property tax sales, mechanic’s lien foreclosures for work done on the home, or child and spousal support enforcement. Those creditors can force a sale regardless of your equity position.
Removing or Disputing a Lien
Not every lien recorded against your property is valid. If you believe one was filed improperly, you have options.
For mechanic’s liens, check whether the claimant hit every deadline. Did subcontractors serve the preliminary notice within 20 days? Was the lien recorded within 90 days of completion? Did the claimant file a foreclosure lawsuit within 90 days of recording? A miss at any checkpoint makes the lien unenforceable. You can send a certified-mail demand asking the claimant to release the lien, and point out that if you have to hire an attorney, a court can order the claimant to pay your legal fees.2Contractors State License Board. What if a Mechanics Lien Is Filed on Your Property If the claimant ignores you, you can petition the court for an order releasing the property.
For judgment liens, the usual resolution is paying the debt and getting a formal acknowledgment of satisfaction of judgment, which gets recorded to clear the title. If the underlying judgment was entered by default and you were never properly served with the lawsuit, you may be able to vacate the judgment entirely.
For federal tax liens, the IRS will release the lien within 30 days of full payment. If you can’t pay in full, taxpayers on qualifying direct-debit installment agreements may be able to request a withdrawal of the public notice using Form 12277.17Internal Revenue Service. Application for Withdrawal of Filed Notice of Federal Tax Lien A withdrawal removes the public filing but doesn’t erase the underlying debt. The FTB similarly releases state tax liens once the balance is paid or the account is otherwise resolved.8Franchise Tax Board. Liens
For HOA liens, the fastest path is paying the delinquent assessments and requesting a lien release. If you dispute the amount, you have the right to request alternative dispute resolution before the HOA can start foreclosure proceedings.12California Legislative Information. California Civil Code CIV 5660 Whatever the lien type, don’t ignore it. Liens don’t disappear on their own, and the longer one sits on your title, the more interest and fees accumulate.