Civil Code §2924m. Purchasers at Trustee’s Sale

California Civil Code > Civil Code §2924m. Purchasers at Trustee’s Sale

*New statutes and amendments effective January 1, 2023 are shown in bold, underline italics. [ ] indicates an amendment of deleted text only.

(Operative until January 1, 2023)

(a) For purposes of this section:

(1) “Prospective owner-occupant” means a natural person who presents to the trustee an affidavit or declaration, pursuant to Section 2015.5 of the Code of Civil Procedure, that:

(A) They will occupy the property as their primary residence within 60 days of the trustee’s deed being recorded.

(B) They will maintain their occupancy for at least one year.

(i) The mortgagor or trustor.

(ii) The child, spouse, or parent of the mortgagor or trustor.

(iii) The grantor of a living trust that was named in the title to the property when the notice of default was recorded.

(iv) An employee, officer, or member of the mortgagor or trustor.

(v) A person with an ownership interest in the mortgagor, unless the mortgagor is a publicly traded company.

(D) They are not acting as the agent of any other person or entity in purchasing the real property.

(2) “Eligible tenant buyer” means a natural person who at the time of the trustee’s sale:

(A) Is occupying the real property as their primary residence.

(B) Is occupying the real property under a rental or lease agreement entered into as the result of an arm’s length transaction with the mortgagor or trustor, or with the mortgagor or trustor’s predecessor in interest, on a date prior to the recording of the notice of default against the property, and who attaches evidence demonstrating the existence of the tenancy to the affidavit or declaration required pursuant to subparagraph (B) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (c).

(D) Is not acting as the agent of any other person or entity in purchasing the real property. Submission of a bid pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (c) does not violate this subparagraph.

(E) Has not filed a petition under Chapter 7, 11, 12, or 13 of Title 11 of the United States Code at any time during the period from the date of the trustee’s sale of the property to the 45th day after the trustee’s sale, or the next business day following the 45th day if the 45th day is a weekend or holiday.

(3) “Eligible bidder” means any of the following:

(A) An eligible tenant buyer.

(B) A prospective owner-occupant.

(C) A nonprofit association, nonprofit corporation, or cooperative corporation in which an eligible tenant buyer [ ] is a voting member or director.

(D) An eligible nonprofit corporation with all of the following attributes:

(i) It has a determination letter from the Internal Revenue Service affirming its tax-exempt status pursuant to Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and is not a private foundation as that term is defined in Section 509 of the Internal Revenue Code.

(ii) It has its principal place of business in California.

(iii) The primary residences of all board members are located in California.

(iv) One of its primary activities is the development and preservation of affordable rental or homeownership housing in California.

(v) It is registered and in good standing with the Attorney General’s Registry of Charitable Trusts, pursuant to the Supervision of Trustees and Fundraisers for Charitable Purposes Act (Article 7 (commencing with Section 12580) of Chapter 6 of Part 2 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code)

[ ] (E) A limited liability company [ ] wholly owned by one or more eligible nonprofit corporations as described in subparagraph (C) or (D).

(F) A community land trust, as defined in clause (ii) of subparagraph (C) of paragraph (11) of subdivision (a) of Section 402.1 of the Revenue and Taxation Code.

(G) A limited-equity housing cooperative as defined in Section 817.

(H) The state, the Regents of the University of California, a county, city, district, public authority, or public agency, and any other political subdivision or public corporation in the state.

(4) “Evidence demonstrating the existence of the tenancy” means a copy of the dated and signed rental or lease agreement or, if a copy of the dated and signed rental or lease agreement is not available, then one of the following:

(A) Evidence of rent payments made for the property by the person asserting that they are an eligible tenant buyer for the six months prior to the recording of the notice of default.

(B) Copies of utility bills for the property payable by the person asserting that they are an eligible tenant buyer for the six months prior to the recording of the notice of default.

(b) Nothing in this section shall prevent an eligible tenant buyer who meets the conditions set forth in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) from being deemed a prospective owner-occupant.

(c) A trustee’s sale of property under a power of sale contained in a deed of trust or mortgage on real property containing one to four residential units pursuant to Section 2924g shall not be deemed final until the earliest of the following:

(1) If a prospective owner-occupant is the last and highest bidder at the trustee’s sale, the date upon which the conditions set forth in Section 2924h for the sale to become final are met. The [ ] prospective owner-occupant shall submit to [ ] the trustee the affidavit or declaration described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) at the trustee’s sale or to the trustee by 5 p.m. on the next business day following the trustee’s sale. [ ]

(2) Fifteen days after the trustee’s sale unless at least one eligible tenant buyer or eligible bidder submits to the trustee either a bid pursuant to paragraph (3) or (4) or a nonbinding written notice of intent to place such a bid. The bid or written notice of intent to place a bid shall:

(A) Be sent to the trustee by certified mail, overnight delivery, or other method that allows for confirmation of the delivery date.

(B) Be accompanied by an affidavit or declaration, pursuant to Section 2015.5 of the Code of Civil Procedure, identifying the category set forth in paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) to which the person or entity submitting the bid or nonbinding written notice of intent belongs and stating that the person meets the criteria for that category. If the winning bid is placed by an eligible bidder described in subparagraphs (C) to (G), inclusive, of paragraph (3) of subdivision (a), the affidavit or declaration shall affirm the bidder’s duty to comply with subdivision (a) of Section 2924o for the benefit of tenants occupying the property.

(C) Be received by the trustee no later than 5 p.m. on the 15th day after the trustee’s sale, or the next business day following the 15th day if the 15th day is a weekend or holiday.

(D) Contain a current telephone number and return mailing address for the person submitting the bid or nonbinding written notice of intent.

(3) (A) The date upon which a representative of all of the eligible tenant buyers submits to the trustee a bid in an amount equal to the full amount of the last and highest bid at the trustee’s sale, in the form of cash, a cashier’s check drawn on a state or national bank, a cashier’s check drawn by a state or federal credit union, or a cashier’s check drawn by a state or federal savings and loan association, savings association, or savings bank specified in Section 5102 of the Financial Code and authorized to do business in this state. This bid shall:

(i) Be sent to the trustee by certified mail, overnight delivery, or other method that allows for confirmation of the delivery date and shall

(ii) Be accompanied by an affidavit or declaration, pursuant to Section 2015.5 of the Code of Civil Procedure, stating that the persons represented meet the criteria set forth in paragraph (2) of subdivision (a), and that the persons represented are all of the eligible tenant buyers. [ ]

(iii) Meet either of the following criteria:

(I) Be received by the trustee no later than 5 p.m. on the 15th day after the trustee’s sale, the next business day following the 15th day if the 15th day is a weekend or holiday.

(II) Be received by the trustee no later than 5 p.m. on the 45th day after the trustee’s sale, or the next business day following the 45th day if the 45th day is a weekend or holiday, if at least one of the eligible tenant buyers submitted a nonbinding written notice of intent to place a bid pursuant to paragraph (2).

(iv) Contain a current telephone number and return mailing address for the person submitting the bid.

(v) Be limited to a single bid amount and not contain instructions for successive bid amounts.

(B) If the conditions in this paragraph are satisfied, the eligible tenant buyers shall be deemed the last and highest bidder pursuant to the power of sale.

(4) (A) Forty-five days after the trustee’s sale, except that during the 45-day period, an eligible bidder may submit to the trustee a bid in an amount that exceeds the last and highest bid at the trustee’s sale, in the form of cash, a cashier’s check drawn on a state or national bank, a cashier’s check drawn by a state or federal credit union, or a cashier’s check drawn by a state or federal savings and loan association, savings association, or savings bank specified in Section 5102 of the Financial Code and authorized to do business in this state. The bid shall:

(i) Be sent to the trustee by certified mail, overnight delivery, or other method that allows for confirmation of the delivery date.

(ii) Be accompanied by an affidavit or declaration, pursuant to Section 2015.5 of the Code of Civil Procedure, identifying the category set forth in paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) to which the eligible bidder belongs and stating that the eligible bidder meets the criteria for that category. [ ]

(iii) Be received by the trustee no later than 5 p.m. on the 45th day after the trustee’s sale, or the next business day following the 45th day if the 45th day is a weekend or holiday, if the eligible bidder submitted a nonbinding written notice of intent to bid pursuant to paragraph (2). Notwithstanding clause (i), on the last day that bids are eligible to be received by the trustee under this clause, the trustee shall not receive any bid that is not sent by certified mail or overnight mail.

(iv) Contain a current telephone number and return mailing address for the person submitting the bid.

(B) As of 5 p.m. on the 45th day after the trustee’s sale, if one or more eligible bidders has submitted a bid that meets the conditions in this paragraph, the eligible bidder that submitted the highest bid shall be deemed the last and highest bidder pursuant to the power of sale. The trustee shall return any losing bid to the eligible bidder that submitted it.

(d) The trustee may reasonably rely on affidavits and declarations regarding bidder eligibility received under this section. The affidavit or declaration of the winning bidder shall be attached as an exhibit to the trustee’s deed and recorded.

(e) If the conditions set forth in paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) for a sale to be deemed final are not met, then:

(1) Not later than 48 hours after the trustee’s sale of property under Section 2924g, the trustee or an authorized agent shall post on the internet website set forth on the notice of sale, as required under paragraph (8) of subdivision (b) of Section 2924f, the following information:

(A) The date on which the trustee’s sale took place.

(B) The amount of the last and highest bid at the trustee’s sale.

(C) An address at which the trustee can receive documents sent by United States mail and by a method of delivery providing for overnight delivery.

(2) The information required to be posted on the internet website under paragraph (1) shall also be made available not later than 48 hours after the trustee’s sale of property under Section 2924g by calling the telephone number set forth on the notice of sale as required under paragraph (8) of subdivision (b) of Section 2924f.

(3) The information required to be provided under paragraphs (1) and (2) shall be made available using the file number assigned to the case that is set forth on the notice of sale as required under paragraph (8) of subdivision (b) of Section 2924f.

(4) The information required to be provided under paragraphs (1) and (2) shall be made available for a period of not less than 45 days after the sale of property under Section 2924g.

(5) A disruption of any of these methods of providing the information required under paragraphs (1) and (2) to allow for reasonable maintenance or due to a service outage shall not be deemed to be a violation of this subdivision.

(6) The information to be provided by the trustee to eligible bidders or to persons considering whether to submit a bid or notice of intent to bid pursuant to this section is limited to the information set forth in paragraph (1).

(f) Title to the property shall remain with the mortgagor or trustor until the property sale is deemed final as provided in this section.

(g) A prospective owner-occupant shall not be in violation of this section if a legal owner’s compliance with the requirements of Section 2924n renders them unable to occupy the property as their primary residence within 60 days of the trustee’s deed being recorded.

(h) This section shall prevail over any conflicting provision of Section 2924h.

(i) For trustee’s sales where the winning bidder is an eligible bidder under this section, the trustee or an authorized agent shall electronically send the following information to the office of the Attorney General within 15 days of the sale being deemed final:

(1) The dates when the trustee’s sale took place and when it was deemed final.

(2) The name of the winning bidder.

(3) The street address and assessor’s parcel number of the subject property.

(4) A copy of the trustee’s deed, as recorded, including the attached affidavit or declaration of the winning bidder.

(5) The category set forth in paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) to which the eligible bidder belongs.

(j) The Attorney General, a county counsel, a city attorney, or a district attorney may bring an action for specific performance or any other remedy at equity or at law to enforce this section.

(k) The Department of Justice shall include a summary of information contained in the reports received pursuant to subdivision (i) in a searchable repository on its official internet website.

(l) The pendency of a determination of finality under subdivision (c) shall not cause termination of any hazard insurance coverage in effect at the time of the trustee’s sale.

(m) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2031, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute that is enacted before January 1, 2031, deletes or extends that date.

(n) The amendments made to this section by the bill adding this subdivision shall become operative on January 1, 2022.

(o) The amendments made to this section by the bill adding this subdivision shall become operative on January 1, 2023. [2022]