Title 9. Enforcement of Judgments · Division 2 · Chapter 1. General Provisions · Article 1. Property Subject to Enforcement of Money Judgment · Enacted 1982 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 695.035 spells out when a lessee's interest in real property may be applied to satisfy a money judgment -- generally when the lease lets the lessee sublet or assign freely, subject to any conditions a purchaser at execution sale must honor, or with the landlord's written consent -- and voids any lease clause ending the lease on an involuntary transfer.
(a)A lessee's interest in real property may be applied to the satisfaction of a money judgment in any of the following circumstances:
(1)If the lessee has the right voluntarily to sublet the property or assign the interest in the lease.
(2)If the lessee has the right voluntarily to sublet the property or assign the interest in the lease subject to standards or conditions and the purchaser at the execution sale or other assignee agrees to comply with the standards or conditions that would have had to be complied with had the lessee voluntarily sublet the property or assigned the interest in the lease.
(3)If the lessee has the right voluntarily to sublet the property or assign the interest in the lease with the consent of the lessor, in which case the obligation of the lessor to consent to the assignment is subject to the same standard that would apply had the lessee voluntarily sublet the property or assigned the interest in the lease.
(4)In any other case, if the lessor consents in writing.
(b)A provision in a lease for the termination or modification of the lease upon an involuntary transfer or assignment of the lessee's interest is ineffective to the extent that such provision would prevent the application of the lessee's interest to the satisfaction of the money judgment under subdivision (a).
Plain-English Summary
A tenant's leasehold can be valuable property, but leases often restrict a tenant's ability to sublet or assign the space. Section 695.035 sorts out when that leasehold interest is available to satisfy a money judgment against the tenant.
Subdivision (a) covers several situations. If the lease already gives the lessee an unrestricted right to sublet or assign, the interest is reachable outright. If that right exists but comes with standards or conditions, the interest is still reachable as long as whoever buys it at the execution sale -- or otherwise takes the assignment -- agrees to comply with those same conditions. If the lessee's right to sublet or assign depends on the landlord's consent, that consent is judged by the same standard the landlord would have to apply had the lessee voluntarily sublet or assigned. And in any other case, the interest is reachable if the landlord consents in writing.
Subdivision (b) backstops all of this: a lease clause that would terminate or modify the lease upon an involuntary transfer or assignment of the lessee's interest doesn't get to defeat what subdivision (a) allows. A landlord can't draft around this section by writing a lease that ends the moment a court tries to reach the tenant's leasehold.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a creditor reach a debtor's leasehold interest in real property?
It depends on the lease terms. Section 695.035(a) makes the interest reachable in several specific circumstances, generally tied to whether and how the lessee could voluntarily sublet or assign.
What if the lease requires the landlord's consent to assign?
The interest is reachable with the landlord's written consent, and where a conditional right to assign exists, the landlord's consent is judged by the standard that would apply to a voluntary assignment.
Can a landlord write a lease that ends automatically if a court tries to reach the tenant's interest?
No. Section 695.035(b) makes such a termination-on-involuntary-transfer clause ineffective to the extent it would block enforcement allowed by subdivision (a).
Amendment History
Added by Stats. 1982, Ch. 1364, Sec. 2. Operative July 1, 1983, by Sec. 3 of Ch. 1364.
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:lessee interest subject to judgment californiacan creditor take tenant's lease california