On this page
- Civil Code section 2924 requires at least three months between recording the notice of default and giving notice of the sale.
- Section 2924f requires the notice of sale to be posted, published and recorded at least 20 days before the sale, so the earliest sale is three months and 20 days after the notice of default.
- Section 2924c lets you reinstate until five business days before the sale, and a postponement of more than five business days revives that right.
- On one to four unit residential property, AB 2424 and section 2924m add postponement, minimum-bid and bidder rules. Section 2924m runs until January 1, 2031.
A California trustee's sale cannot take place sooner than three months and 20 days after the notice of default is recorded. Sections 2924 and 2924f of the Civil Code set that minimum between them, and every other deadline is counted from the same dates.
| Step | Minimum timing | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Contact before the notice of default, owner-occupied first lien on one to four units only | 30 days after contact or after the due diligence steps | Civil Code section 2923.5 |
| Notice of default recorded | Starts the clock | Section 2924 |
| Waiting period | At least three months | Section 2924 |
| Notice of sale posted, published and recorded | At least 20 days before the sale | Section 2924f |
| Notice to residents | Posted and mailed with the notice of sale | Section 2924.8 |
| Last day to reinstate | Five business days before the sale date | Section 2924c |
| Earliest sale date | Three months and 20 days after the notice of default | Section 2924 |
| Sale becomes final, one to four residential units | 15 days after the sale, unless an eligible bidder acts or a prospective owner-occupant won the auction | Section 2924m |
Before the notice of default
Nothing is recorded when a payment is first missed. The first public step is the notice of default, and its timing depends on the loan documents and on the lender. For a first lien on an owner-occupied property of up to four units, where the loan was made for personal, family or household purposes, section 2924.15 adds a step. Under section 2923.5 the servicer must contact the borrower in person or by phone to assess the borrower's finances and explore options, or complete the statute's due diligence steps, and then wait 30 days before recording.
If you can see a default coming, plan the sale now. Nothing has been recorded, no trustee has added fees, and there is no sale date yet.
When the notice of default is recorded
The notice of default goes on record in the county where the property sits, which in Los Angeles County means the Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk. From that day, section 2924c lets you reinstate a monetary default on a loan whose balance was accelerated before its maturity date.
Anyone can ask to be sent copies. Under section 2924b, a person may record an acknowledged request for copies of any notice of default and notice of sale under a deed of trust, and the deed of trust itself can contain that request.
The three-month wait
Section 2924 makes the trustee wait at least three months after the notice of default records before giving notice of the sale, which then follows section 2924f. One allowance moves the paperwork without moving the calendar. The notice of sale may be recorded up to five days before the three months end, provided the sale date still falls at least three months and 20 days after the notice of default.
Take a notice of default recorded on March 2, 2026. Three months runs to June 2. The notice of sale could record as early as May 28, and the earliest lawful sale date is June 22, 2026. The real date is whatever the notice of sale says, and it can be later, so plan for June 22 and count anything after it as extra time.
Enter the recording date printed on your notice of default, and the sale date once a notice of sale gives one. The minimum dates come from the same two sections.
Your foreclosure calendar
Your numbers- Three months after the notice of default
- -
- Earliest the notice of sale can record
- -
- Earliest lawful sale date
- -
- Days until the scheduled sale
- -
That sale date is earlier than the statute allows after this notice of default. Take both notices to a California real estate attorney.
The minimum under Civil Code sections 2924 and 2924f. The real date is whatever the notice of sale says, and a postponement moves it.
The notice of trustee's sale
Section 2924f requires each of these at least 20 days before the sale date:
- Posting in one public place in the city where the property will be sold, or at the county seat if it is not in a city.
- Posting in a conspicuous place on the property, where that is possible.
- Publication once a week for three consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the public notice district where the property sits, with the first publication at least 20 days before the sale.
- Recording with the county recorder.
With it, section 2924.8 requires a separate notice to residents, posted on the property and mailed first class to "Resident of property subject to foreclosure sale." It tells renters that a new owner may offer them a new lease or give them a 90-day notice. Your tenants will read it, so decide beforehand what you will say to them.
Postponements and the last day to reinstate
A postponed sale gets a new date, and the borrower has to be told what it is. When a sale is postponed by at least 10 business days, the lender or its agent must give the borrower written notice of the new date and time within five business days after the postponement.
Each postponement matters for reinstatement. The right ends five business days before the sale date. If the sale is postponed by more than five business days, or a new notice of sale has to be recorded, section 2924c revives the right, and it runs again until five business days before the new date.
On residential property of one to four units, you can also require a postponement yourself. A listing agreement with a licensed broker that the trustee receives from you at least five business days before the sale delays it at least 45 days, and a purchase agreement can delay it once more, under the conditions AB 2424 sets.
The sale and what follows
At the first scheduled sale on a first lien against residential property of up to four units, AB 2424 bars a sale for less than 67 percent of the fair market value the lender gave the trustee at least 10 days before. If the property does not sell, the sale is postponed at least seven days and may then go to the highest bidder.
On the same kind of property, section 2924m, added by SB 1079 in the 2019-2020 session and extended by SB 1146 until January 1, 2031, changes who can end up owning the building:
- A prospective owner-occupant, an individual who presents an affidavit or declaration promising to live in the property as a primary residence, moving in within 60 days after the trustee's deed records and staying at least a year.
- An eligible tenant buyer, a natural person living in the property as a primary residence at the time of the sale, who can buy by matching the last and highest bid.
- Other eligible bidders the statute defines, who can buy by exceeding the last and highest bid.
When a prospective owner-occupant is the last and highest bidder, the sale becomes final once the conditions section 2924h sets for finality are met. Otherwise it becomes final 15 days after the auction, unless an eligible tenant buyer or eligible bidder submits a bid or a nonbinding written notice of intent to bid, which keeps it open longer. A bill in the 2025-2026 session, AB 1957, proposed changes to these bidder definitions, so check its status before relying on the details.
Then the money is divided under section 2924k, costs and fees first, then the foreclosed loan, then junior liens, then you. Code of Civil Procedure section 580d bars a deficiency judgment on a note after a sale under the deed of trust's power of sale. Tenants get at least 90 days' notice from the new owner.
Where a sale fits on this timeline
A market sale can close at any point before the auction, and every week you list earlier is a week of marketing you keep. Before the notice of default, no trustee's fees have been added. During the three months, most of the calendar is still ahead of you. Once the notice of sale records, there is a set date to beat, and on five or more units no statute will move it for a listing.
Shaya can look at where your loan sits on this calendar and tell you what kind of sale fits the days that remain. Whether a notice was given properly, or whether a sale can be stopped, are questions for a California real estate attorney rather than for a listing agent.