The property is sold subject to any real charge or lease with which it is burdened, superior to any security interest, mortgage, lien, or privilege of the seizing creditor.
Art. 2372.Sale Subject to Superior Real Charge Or Lease
Book IV. Execution of Judgments · Title II. Money Judgments · Chapter 3. The Adjudication and Its Effect · Enacted 1989 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 30, 2026
In one sentenceArticle 2372 provides that property sold under a writ of fieri facias remains subject to any real charge or lease burdening it that outranks the seizing creditor's own security interest, mortgage, lien, or privilege.
Full Text of Art. 2372
Amendment History
Acts 1989, No. 137, §18, eff. 9/1/1989.
Plain-English Summary
Not every burden on seized property disappears at the sheriff's sale. A real charge is an obligation tied to the property itself rather than to the debtor personally, such as a servitude or similar encumbrance that runs with the land regardless of who owns it. A lease can work the same way when it predates or otherwise outranks the seizing creditor's claim.
Article 2372 tells the purchaser that a superior real charge or lease survives the sale. The purchaser takes the property still bound by it, the same way a private buyer would take property subject to a servitude the seller could not remove. Only a real charge or lease that outranks the seizing creditor's security interest, mortgage, lien, or privilege carries this protection; one that is inferior does not survive the sale in the same way.
This article works alongside Article 2335, which requires the sheriff to announce at the sale that the property is being sold subject to superior encumbrances, and Article 2374, which addresses how the purchaser pays the price when a superior mortgage or privilege is involved. Together they give bidders fair warning of what they are, and are not, buying free and clear.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a "real charge" in Louisiana property law?
It is a burden attached to the property itself, such as a servitude, rather than a personal debt of the owner. It runs with the land and can bind whoever owns the property.
Does a lease on the seized property end when the sheriff sells it?
Not if the lease outranks the seizing creditor's security interest, mortgage, lien, or privilege. Article 2372 keeps a superior lease in place after the sale.
Do bidders find out about superior charges and leases before they bid?
They should. Article 2335 requires the sheriff to announce at the sale that the property is being sold subject to any superior security interest, mortgage, lien, or privilege on it.
What happens to a lease or real charge that is inferior to the seizing creditor's claim?
Article 2372 protects only charges and leases superior to the seizing creditor's claim. An inferior one does not carry the same survival protection.
Source & verification. Article text is reproduced verbatim from
the Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure (legis.la.gov). Enacted by the Louisiana Legislature.
Last verified July 30, 2026.
· Official source
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