(a) The costs shall be a lien on the share of the party specified.
§ 874.120.Lien On Share of Party
Title 10.5. Partition of Real and Personal Property · Chapter 8. Costs of Partition · Article 2. Payment of Costs of Partition · Enacted 1976 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 874.120 makes the apportioned costs a lien on the share of the party charged with them, and gives that lien priority over every other lien on the share except another lien created under this same section.
Full Text of § 874.120
(b) A lien imposed by this section has priority over any other lien on the share except those imposed under this section.
Plain-English Summary
Unpaid partition costs don't just sit as a debt — they attach directly to the responsible party's share of the property as a lien. That gives the person owed those costs a real security interest, not just a personal claim against the party.
Subdivision (b) makes that lien unusually strong: it outranks every other lien on the share, with the single exception of another lien imposed under this same section. In other words, cost liens among themselves share equal footing, but they jump ahead of mortgages, judgment liens, and other encumbrances that might otherwise have priority.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do unpaid partition costs create a lien on the property?
Yes, on the share of the party to whom the costs were apportioned.
Does this lien outrank other liens already on that share?
Yes, except for another lien also imposed under § 874.120.
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: lien for unpaid partition costs californiapriority partition cost lien