Real estate laws in California
In California, state property and real estate laws include “homestead” protection to help small landowners, rules to protect landlords and tenants, and adverse possession from benefiting people who significantly move into and improves the otherwise ignored property, which is not there.
NOTE: California property and real estate laws also offer incentives for environmental-friendly and energy-efficient buildings.
- “Homestead” protects elderly and disabled people against creditors. For instance, an individual who is 65 or disabled can claim homestead protection worth $175,000. The maximum property value allowed for homestead varies from case to case.
- For landlord and tenant agreements, the property and real estate laws say that if the tenant still has possession and the landlord also accepts rent, it will assume that both parties have renewed the lease with the same conditions and for the same duration.
- The laws also limit security deposit amount, i.e., a landlord can only take 2 months of rent as a security deposit for the unfurnished property and 3 months’ rent for a furnished property.
- For a valid Adverse Possession claim, there should be 4 elements:
-
- Trespassing should be an honest mistake,
-
- The trespasser should be there on the land, treating it as their own,
-
- The trespassing act should not be a secret, and
-
- The possession on the land should be exclusive to the trespasser only and continuous.
California Real Estate laws can be complicated to understand, especially if it is about adverse possession. Hence it is always advised to hire an experienced real estate attorney in California to understand the laws and to know your rights.
Related Articles
Why you need a real estate attorney?
Only a real estate attorney can verify all the legal aspects correctly and say that the property is free from any legal violations. Few vital points to view
