Where the purchaser is a party or lienholder entitled to a share of the proceeds of sale, the referee may:
§ 873.770.Purchaser Party Or Lienholder Entitles to Share of Proceeds
Title 10.5. Partition of Real and Personal Property · Chapter 6. Sale of the Property · Article 3. Consummation of Sale · Enacted 1976 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 873.770 lets the referee, when the purchaser is also a party or lienholder entitled to a share of the sale proceeds, accept the purchaser's receipt for that portion of the proceeds instead of cash, and take security or another satisfactory arrangement to cover amounts the purchaser owes for sale expenses, the action's costs, and the referee's own costs.
Full Text of § 873.770
(a) Take the purchaser's receipt for so much of the proceeds of sale as belongs to the purchaser.
(b) Take security, or other arrangement satisfactory to the referee, for payment of amounts which are or may become due from the purchaser on account of the expenses of sale, general costs of the action, and costs of the reference.
Plain-English Summary
It's common for a co-owner, or a lienholder with a stake in the proceeds, to be the one who ends up buying the property at the partition sale. This section streamlines that situation. Where the purchaser is a party or lienholder entitled to a share of the proceeds of sale, the referee may take the purchaser's receipt for so much of the proceeds of sale as belongs to the purchaser.
That receipt mechanism avoids the pointless step of collecting a full cash payment from the purchaser only to immediately hand part of it back as that same person's share of the proceeds.
The referee still isn't left unprotected on the costs side. Subdivision (b) lets the referee take security, or another arrangement satisfactory to the referee, for amounts that are or may become due from the purchaser for the expenses of sale, the general costs of the action, and the costs of the reference — making sure those obligations are covered even when much of the purchase price is offset against the purchaser's own proceeds share.
Frequently Asked Questions
What if the purchaser at a partition sale is one of the co-owners entitled to proceeds?
The referee can credit that purchaser with a receipt for the portion of the proceeds already belonging to them, rather than requiring a full cash payment.
Does the purchaser still have to cover sale expenses and costs?
Yes. The referee can require security or another satisfactory arrangement to make sure amounts owed for the sale's expenses, the action's general costs, and the referee's own costs are covered.
Amendment History
Added by Stats. 1976, Ch. 73.
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: purchaser also party partition sale california