Subject to Section 701.630, if an interest in real property subject to an execution lien is transferred or encumbered, the interest transferred or encumbered remains subject to the lien after the transfer or encumbrance.
§ 697.720.Interest Transferred Or Encumbered Subject to Lien
Title 9. Enforcement of Judgments · Division 2 · Chapter 2. Liens · Article 4. Execution Lien · Enacted 1982 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 697.720 provides that when real property already subject to an execution lien is transferred or encumbered, the transferred or encumbered interest stays subject to that lien afterward, subject to the exception for a purchaser at an execution sale under Section 701.630.
Full Text of § 697.720
Plain-English Summary
Once an execution lien attaches to real property under § 697.710, a subsequent transfer or encumbrance of that property doesn't shake the lien loose. The interest that gets transferred or encumbered remains subject to the execution lien in the new owner's or encumbrancer's hands, the same way the Article 3 judgment lien continues to follow personal property under § 697.610.
The one carve-out is for a purchaser at the execution sale itself, addressed separately by § 701.630 — the sale process that's supposed to liquidate the property and pay the judgment isn't undercut by treating the resulting purchaser as still subject to the very lien the sale was meant to satisfy.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does transferring real property remove it from an execution lien?
No. Section 697.720 keeps the transferred interest subject to the lien after the transfer or encumbrance.
Is there any exception to that rule?
Yes, for a purchaser at an execution sale, whose interest is instead governed by § 701.630.
Does this rule apply to encumbrances as well as outright transfers?
Yes, the statute covers both a transfer and an encumbrance of the property.
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: execution lien real property transfer california