Homestead Declaration
What is the Homestead Declaration?
If you own a home, this program may protect your home equity from judgments, liens, and creditors. The property must be your principal place of residence and you can only have one declaration at a time.
To find more information regarding the amounts of equity that may be protected if you are ordered to sell your home to satisfy a judgment, please click on the following link to review California Civil Code of Procedure section 704.730.
- (a) The amount of the homestead exemption is the greater of the following:
- (1) The countywide median sale price for a single-family home in the calendar year prior to the calendar year in which the judgment debtor claims the exemption, not to exceed six hundred thousand dollars ($600,000).
- (2) Three hundred thousand dollars ($300,000).
- (b) The amounts specified in this section shall adjust annually for inflation, beginning on January 1, 2022, based on the change in the annual California Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers for the prior fiscal year, published by the Department of Industrial Relations.
A Homestead Declaration will not prevent foreclosure by a lender, mechanic's liens, seizure and sale for back taxes, or to avoid paying child support or alimony.
No, the Homestead Declaration is a voluntary legal protection afforded to homeowners.
The Homestead Declaration must be recorded with the County Recorder to be valid.
For more information about the Homestead Declaration and information on Low-Income Exemptions, please contact your legal adviser, or refer to the California Code of Civil Procedure, Sections 704.710-704.850 and 704.910-704.995.