No person or legal entity may maintain an action in any court in this state to enforce the terms of a real property sales contract as defined in Section 2985 of the Civil Code or a conditional sale contract on a mobilehome subject to local property taxation and subject to Division 13 (commencing with Section 18000) of Part 2 of the Health and Safety Code, providing for a change in ownership of real property or of a mobilehome subject to local property taxation until the agreement is duly recorded by the county recorder or the change-in-ownership statement required by Section 480 of the Revenue and Taxation Code is filed as provided in that section. This section shall apply to the enforcement of those agreements which are alleged to have transferred ownership of real property or of a mobilehome subject to property taxation which are entered into after January 1, 1986.
§ 1062.10.Recording of Agreement Required to Maintain Action
Title 14. Of Miscellaneous Provisions · Chapter 9. Actions to Enforce Real Property and Mobilehome Sales Agreements · Last amended 1986 · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 1062.10 bars any court action to enforce a real property sales contract or a mobilehome conditional sale contract that transfers ownership until the agreement has been recorded with the county recorder or the required change-in-ownership statement has been filed, for agreements entered into after January 1, 1986.
Full Text of § 1062.10
Plain-English Summary
This section conditions access to the courts on getting a property transfer on the public record first. No person or legal entity may maintain an action in any California court to enforce the terms of a real property sales contract, as defined in the Civil Code, or a conditional sale contract on a mobilehome subject to local property taxation, when that contract provides for a change in ownership of real property or a taxable mobilehome.
The condition is simple to state: the agreement has to be duly recorded by the county recorder, or the change-in-ownership statement required by the Revenue and Taxation Code has to be filed, before a party can sue to enforce it. Recording or filing is a precondition to suit, not merely a good practice.
The section applies only going forward from its effective date, reaching agreements alleged to have transferred ownership of real property or a taxable mobilehome that were entered into after January 1, 1986. Its evident purpose is tied to property tax administration: real property and mobilehome transfers trigger reassessment, and this section uses the courthouse door as leverage to get those transfers properly recorded and reported.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a party sue to enforce an unrecorded real property sales contract in California?
Not under § 1062.10, unless the agreement has been duly recorded by the county recorder or the required change-in-ownership statement has been filed.
Does this section apply to mobilehome sales?
Yes, to conditional sale contracts on mobilehomes subject to local property taxation that provide for a change in ownership.
Does § 1062.10 apply to every real property sales contract regardless of when it was signed?
No. It applies only to agreements entered into after January 1, 1986.
Why does the law require recording or filing before allowing enforcement?
The requirement ties enforcement to compliance with property tax reporting, since recording or filing the change-in-ownership statement is what triggers proper reassessment of the transferred property.
Amendment History
Amended by Stats. 1986, Ch. 62, Sec. 1. Effective April 23, 1986.
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
the Deering's California Codes Annotated / vLex. Enacted by the California Legislature.
Last verified July 28, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: recording requirement real property sales contract californiamobilehome sale contract enforcement california