On this page
- AB 2424 was signed on September 20, 2024 and took effect on January 1, 2025.
- It covers residential real property with no more than four dwelling units. A building of five or more units is outside it.
- If the trustee receives your listing agreement at least five business days before the sale, the sale cannot go forward until an additional 45 days have passed. The listing has to be with a California licensed broker, for the property to be placed on a publicly available marketing platform.
- A purchase agreement delivered the same way can postpone the sale once more, to at least 45 days after the trustee receives it.
- On a first lien, the trustee also cannot sell at the first scheduled sale for less than 67 percent of the property's fair market value.
AB 2424 gives the owner of residential property with one to four units a way to push a trustee's sale back while the property is marketed. The listing agreement has to reach the trustee at least five business days before the sale date, and the sale then moves back at least 45 days. A signed purchase agreement can move it once more.
The conditions are strict and each one has to be met. The deadline runs on the day the trustee receives the agreement.
What did AB 2424 change?
AB 2424 was approved by the Governor and filed with the Secretary of State on September 20, 2024. It has applied since January 1, 2025. It amended the foreclosure sale provisions of the Civil Code, mainly section 2924f and section 2924g, and it gave a seller these rules to work with:
- A 45-day postponement when the trustee receives a qualifying listing agreement.
- A further postponement, once, when the trustee receives a purchase agreement.
- A minimum price at the first scheduled sale on a first lien, 67 percent of fair market value.
Each of them is limited to residential real property of no more than four dwelling units.
Which conditions does the listing have to meet?
| Condition | What the statute requires | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| The property | Residential real property containing no more than four dwelling units, subject to a power of sale in a deed of trust or mortgage | A duplex, triplex or fourplex qualifies whether or not you live there. A fifth unit takes the building out. |
| Who sends it | The mortgagor or trustor | You, the borrower. Your agent can put the package together, but send it in your own name. |
| What is sent | A listing agreement with a California licensed real estate broker, for the property to be placed on a publicly available marketing platform | A signed listing with a licensed brokerage, set up for public marketing. |
| When | Received by the trustee at least five business days before the scheduled date of sale | The trustee has to have it in hand by that day, so allow for delivery time. |
| The result | No sale until the expiration of an additional 45 days following the scheduled date | At least 45 days to find a buyer and sign a contract. |
You can confirm that a broker holds a California license on the DRE license lookup. Send the agreement to the trustee named on the notice of sale, by a delivery method that proves the date it arrived.
The fifth business day before the sale falls a full calendar week earlier, or more when a holiday lands in between. If the listing can be signed in the week the notice of sale arrives, sign it that week. A day lost to a holiday or a slow courier cannot be made up.
How does a purchase agreement buy a second postponement?
After the first postponement, a signed purchase agreement can earn one more. The trustee has to receive a copy of it from the borrower at least five business days before the scheduled sale date, and must then postpone the sale to a date at least 45 days after the day the copy arrived. The statute does not let that paragraph be used to postpone the sale more than once.
So the working calendar is about 45 days, less those five business days, to get an accepted offer to the trustee, and then at least 45 days from the trustee's receipt of the contract to close. Pick a buyer who can close inside that window. An offer that hangs on a slow loan approval or a long inspection period uses up the only second postponement and can still miss the date.
As your listing agent, Shaya can take the listing, have the rent roll and leases ready before a buyer asks for them, and push for an accepted offer early enough that the purchase agreement reaches the trustee with days to spare.
What is the 67 percent floor?
It is a minimum price at the first scheduled sale. For residential real property of up to four units under a first lien deed of trust or mortgage, the lender, beneficiary or its agent has to give the trustee a fair market value for the property at least 10 days before the initially scheduled sale. At that first sale, the trustee cannot sell for less than 67 percent of that value. If nobody bids that much, the trustee has to postpone the sale at least seven days, and after that it can go to the highest bidder.
The floor protects part of your equity on one date. It is a minimum bid rather than a market price, it lapses after the first scheduled sale, and it does not apply to a junior lien.
Who AB 2424 does not help
- Owners of five or more units. The postponements and the 67 percent floor are limited to residential property of no more than four dwelling units. A larger building gets no statutory delay from a listing, and its owner is left with the loan documents and the servicer.
- Owners who miss the deadline. A listing that reaches the trustee four business days before the sale does not trigger the postponement.
- Quiet sales. The listing has to be set up for a publicly available marketing platform. An off-market listing shown to a handful of buyers does not meet the terms.
- Owners already on their second postponement. The purchase agreement step works once.
- Owners with no equity. AB 2424 buys time to sell. It does not require the lender to accept less than it is owed, so a sale for less than the debt still needs the lender's consent, and that means a short sale.
- Anyone unsure the property fits. If the building mixes commercial space with apartments, or the unit count is disputed, get an answer before relying on the postponement.
Whether a trustee handled a postponement correctly is a legal question, and Shaya is a real estate agent. If the trustee refuses to postpone after receiving your listing agreement, or you are unsure whether the property qualifies, call a California real estate attorney the same day, while the sale date is still ahead of you.