(a) Notwithstanding any other law, the principal place of residence of a judgment debtor is not subject to sale under execution of a judgment lien based on a consumer debt unless the debt was secured by the debtor's principal place of residence at the time it was incurred. As used in this subdivision, "consumer debt" means debt incurred by an individual primarily for personal, family, or household purposes.
§ 699.730.Judgment Lien Based On Consumer Debt
Title 9. Enforcement of Judgments · Division 2 · Chapter 3. Execution · Article 3. Property Subject to Execution · Enacted 2020 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 699.730 protects a judgment debtor's principal residence from being sold to satisfy a judgment lien based on consumer debt unless the residence secured that debt when it was incurred, while excluding wages, taxes, support obligations, government fines, tort judgments, and certain large debts owed to financial institutions from this protection.
Full Text of § 699.730
(b) Subdivision (a) does not apply to any of the following types of unpaid debts:
(1) Wages or employment benefits.
(2) Taxes.
(3) Child support.
(4) Spousal support.
(5) Fines and fees owed to governmental units.
(6) Tort judgments.
(7)
(A) Debts, other than student loan debt, owed to a financial institution at the time of execution on the judgment lien, if both of the following requirements are met:
(i) The amount of the original judgment on which the lien is based, when entered, was greater than seventy-five thousand dollars ($75,000), as adjusted pursuant to Section 703.150.
(ii) The amount owed on the outstanding judgment at the time of execution on the judgment lien is greater than seventy-five thousand dollars ($75,000), as adjusted pursuant to Section 703.150.
(B) As used in this paragraph, the following terms have the following meanings:
(i) "Financial institution" means a financial institution, as defined in Section 680.200.
(ii) "Student loan debt" means debt based on any loan made to finance postsecondary education expenses, including tuition, fees, books, supplies, room and board, transportation, and personal expenses. Student loan debt includes debt based on a loan made to refinance a student loan, but does not include debt secured by the debtor's principal place of residence at the time it was incurred.
Plain-English Summary
Subdivision (a) draws a direct line around a debtor's home: notwithstanding any other law, that principal place of residence cannot be sold under execution of a judgment lien based on consumer debt unless the residence itself secured the debt at the time the debt was incurred. Consumer debt here means debt an individual took on primarily for personal, family, or household purposes — the ordinary credit-card or medical-bill kind of obligation, not a business debt.
Subdivision (b) then carves several categories of debt back out of this protection, so the residence remains exposed to sale for these regardless of the consumer-debt rule: unpaid wages or employment benefits, taxes, child support, spousal support, fines and fees owed to government units, and tort judgments.
The final carve-out targets larger debts owed to financial institutions. If a debt other than student loan debt is owed to a financial institution at the time of execution, and both the original judgment amount when entered and the amount still owed at the time of execution exceed $75,000 (adjusted under § 703.150), the home-sale protection of subdivision (a) does not apply to that debt either. Student loan debt is defined broadly to include a range of postsecondary education expenses, but a loan secured by the residence itself when incurred falls outside that student-loan carve-out and gets the general treatment for secured debt instead.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does this section generally protect?
A judgment debtor's principal place of residence from sale under execution of a judgment lien based on consumer debt, unless the residence secured that debt when it was incurred.
What debts are excluded from this residence protection?
Wages or employment benefits, taxes, child support, spousal support, fines and fees owed to governmental units, and tort judgments, none of which get the protection of subdivision (a).
Are large debts owed to banks or other financial institutions also excluded?
Yes, if the debt (other than student loan debt) is owed to a financial institution, and both the original judgment amount and the amount still owed at execution exceed $75,000 as adjusted under § 703.150.
Does student loan debt fall under the financial-institution exception?
Generally no — it is defined separately and excluded from that carve-out, unless the loan was secured by the debtor's residence when incurred, in which case it is treated as a secured debt instead.
Amendment History
Added by Stats 2020 ch 218 (AB 2463),s 1, eff. 1/1/2021.
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: consumer debt homestead protection californiajudgment lien on home california