Who Can Put a Lien on Your House in California?

Five kinds of claims can attach to a California house: a mechanic’s lien from a contractor or subcontractor you hired, a judgment lien from a creditor who won a lawsuit against you, a government tax lien, an HOA assessment lien, and — on an inherited house — a Medi-Cal estate recovery claim against the probate estate. No one can lien your property “for no reason;” every lien requires a specific legal basis, and each type has its own deadline, priority, and payoff process at closing.

Contractors and Subcontractors: Mechanic’s Liens

Anyone who supplied labor, materials, or equipment for a work of improvement on your house — the general contractor, but also unpaid subcontractors and suppliers you never personally hired — can record a mechanic’s lien if they aren’t paid. Under Civil Code section 8412, a direct contractor must record the lien before the earlier of two deadlines: 90 days after completion of the work, or 60 days after you record a notice of completion or cessation. Miss that window and the lien right generally expires. A mechanic’s lien attaches to the property itself, not just to you personally, which is why title companies flag unresolved contractor disputes even when the seller insists the work was paid in full.

Judgment Creditors: How a Lawsuit Becomes a Lien

If someone sues you and wins — a business dispute, an unpaid debt, an injury claim — they don’t automatically get a lien on your house. They have to record an abstract of judgment with the county recorder in every county where you own real property. Once recorded, it attaches to any real property you hold there, present or future, for as long as the judgment remains enforceable. Under Code of Civil Procedure section 683.020, a California money judgment is enforceable for 10 years from entry, and a judgment creditor can renew it before it expires under the procedure in sections 683.110 through 683.220, effectively extending the lien in 10-year increments if they keep filing on time. An old judgment you assumed had “gone away” may not have, if the creditor renewed it and you never noticed the recording.

The Government: Tax Liens

Unpaid federal income tax can result in an IRS lien attaching to everything you own, including real estate, once the IRS assesses the tax, sends a demand for payment, and you fail to pay. California’s Franchise Tax Board has a parallel state income tax lien process, and county tax collectors can pursue delinquent property taxes directly against the property through the tax-default and eventual tax-sale process rather than a conventional lien filing. Government liens are usually the most urgent to resolve before a sale, since a title company generally won’t close without them paid or otherwise cleared.

Your HOA: Assessment Liens

If the property is in a homeowners association and you fall behind on dues, the association can record a lien once the notice requirements in Civil Code section 5675 are met — but it generally can’t foreclose on that lien by sale unless the delinquency reaches at least $1,800 (not counting late fees, interest, or collection costs) or the account is more than 12 months past due, per Civil Code section 5720. Below that threshold, the lien can still sit on title and complicate a sale even though the HOA can’t force a foreclosure over it.

The State: Medi-Cal Estate Recovery

If you inherited the house from someone who received Medi-Cal benefits after age 55 — nursing facility care, home and community-based services, or related hospital and prescription costs — California’s Department of Health Care Services can file a claim against the probate estate to recover what it paid. For deaths on or after January 1, 2017, this recovery is limited strictly to assets that pass through probate, so a house that avoided probate entirely (trust, joint tenancy, transfer-on-death deed) generally falls outside its reach. It’s a claim against the estate in probate rather than a lien recorded against title the way a judgment or mechanic’s lien is, but an unresolved claim can hold up distribution of sale proceeds just the same, and DHCS offers a hardship waiver in qualifying situations if you request one within 60 days of the claim notice.

Clearing a Lien When You’re Ready to Sell

In escrow, the title company runs a title search, identifies every recorded lien, and pays each one off directly from the sale proceeds at closing, in the priority order state law assigns them — this is routine and doesn’t require the buyer’s involvement beyond a clean closing. What actually derails a sale is a lien large enough that it exceeds your equity, or a disputed lien — one you believe is invalid or already paid — that needs to be resolved or bonded around before title can transfer clean. We’ve covered what it actually takes to sell a house that already has a lien on it in more detail, including what happens when the lien is worth more than your equity.

When a Cash Sale Makes Sense With a Lien in Place

Listing on the open market still works fine when the lien is straightforward to pay off from proceeds and there’s enough equity to cover it. A cash sale earns its place when the lien situation is genuinely messy — multiple liens competing for priority, a disputed mechanic’s lien, or an old judgment lien you only discovered during a title search — because an experienced cash buyer is used to working through title problems that would send a financed buyer’s lender walking.

This is general information, not legal advice — lien law involves strict deadlines and procedural requirements that vary by lien type, and a mistake can cost you the right to dispute an invalid lien. Confirm your specific situation with a California real estate attorney or title company before assuming any lien is valid, expired, or payable in a particular amount. If you want a no-obligation cash offer on a property with liens attached, Cash Home Buyers CA can help you understand what’s actually owed and work through it at closing.