Property

Just compensation in California condemnation is the fair market value of the property taken, plus any severance damages to the remainder, minus any offsetting benefits.

The government must follow a formal eminent domain process: file a complaint, provide notice, deposit probable compensation, hold a trial on value and necessity, and pay just compensation before taking your property.

Yes, the government can take your property through eminent domain in California for a public use, but only if it pays you just compensation and follows strict legal procedures.

Yes, you can challenge a public use determination in California eminent domain cases, but you must file your challenge within 30 days after the resolution of necessity is adopted.

Yes, you can claim adverse possession in California, but only if you openly, continuously, and exclusively occupy someone else’s land for at least 5 years while paying property taxes and meeting other strict legal requirements.

To claim adverse possession in California, you must openly, continuously, exclusively, and hostilely occupy the property for at least 5 years while paying all property taxes.

No, paying property taxes is not required to claim adverse possession in California, but it is one of several factors courts consider when evaluating whether possession was 'hostile' and 'under claim of right.'

Yes, under California law, a neighbor’s fence encroaching on your property can become theirs through adverse possession — but only if they openly, continuously, and exclusively use the land for at least 5 years and pay property taxes on it.

Yes, your HOA can fine you or restrict property use—but only if those powers are authorized in your CC&Rs and comply with California law, including notice and hearing requirements.

As a California homeowner, you have the right to attend, speak during designated times, receive advance notice, and obtain meeting minutes from your HOA board meetings.

The Davis-Stirling Common Interest Development Act is California’s primary law governing HOAs, setting rules for governance, finances, elections, dispute resolution, and enforcement of rules.

Yes, your HOA can foreclose on your property for unpaid assessments in California, but only after meeting strict legal requirements—including a 30-day notice, a board hearing, and compliance with Civil Code §5720.

In California, you generally have at least 90 days from the recording of the Notice of Default to cure the default before a foreclosure sale can occur.

No, your HOA cannot prevent you from installing solar panels in California. State law prohibits HOAs from imposing restrictions that significantly increase cost or decrease efficiency.

California recognizes express, implied (including easements by necessity and prior use), prescriptive, and statutory easements.

Yes, you can obtain a prescriptive easement in California if you use someone else’s land openly, continuously, and without permission for at least 5 years.

You can terminate an easement in California by express release, expiration, merger of ownership, abandonment, or necessity ending — but courts require clear evidence for abandonment.

A solar easement in California is a written agreement that ensures unobstructed access to sunlight for solar energy systems by limiting how neighboring property owners can use their land.

In California, non-judicial foreclosure is a lender-initiated process that bypasses court involvement and proceeds under a deed of trust with a power of sale clause, typically taking at least 111 days from notice of default to trustee’s sale.

Yes, California allows a right of redemption after judicial foreclosure, but not after nonjudicial foreclosure — which accounts for most home foreclosures in the state.

Generally, no — California law prohibits deficiency judgments after nonjudicial foreclosure of purchase-money residential mortgages on owner-occupied 1–4 unit properties.

In California, a lender must send a Notice of Default (NOD) at least 30 days before recording a Notice of Sale, and the NOD must include specific statutory disclosures about borrower rights and loss mitigation options.

The California Homeowner Bill of Rights (HBOR) is a set of laws enacted in 2013 to protect homeowners facing foreclosure by requiring lenders to provide fair, transparent, and timely communication and prohibiting dual tracking.

Yes, California law requires sellers to disclose known material defects in writing using the Transfer Disclosure Statement (TDS) before selling residential property.

You may be entitled to compensation if your property is damaged due to negligent or unlawful construction activities next door. California law holds contractors and property owners liable for damage caused by their work.