Real Property eNews

1031 exchanges are a real estate tax break that allows commercial property sellers to exchange a business, trade, or investment property for another, like kind, property while deferring capital gains tax on the sale. Without this tax break, sellers must pay capital gains tax at the time of sale. California law does not require the 1031 exchange be in the same state, however, California does have a “claw back” provision that could ultimately lead to owing the deferred taxes. Understanding what 1031 exchanges are, how they work, and how California law differs from other states is crucial to ensuring you access every benefit of the tax break without incurring avoidable costs.  Read more

A co-tenancy provision is a tenant-friendly clause found in commercial real estate leases for multi-tenant centers. It may allow a tenant to delay its initial opening, to terminate its lease or to pay reduced rent if either specific named tenants or a minimum percentage of tenants are not open and operating in the center. Here, we explore the rationales for including co-tenancy provisions in leases and discuss recent caselaw addressing co-tenancy provisions.[1] Read more

1215 Fell SF Owner LLC v. Fell Street Automotive Clinic (2025) __ Cal.App.5th __, 2025 WL 1099171: The Court of Appeal reversed the trial court’s orders denying defendants’ motions to vacate eviction judgments and enforcement orders in two related unlawful detainer actions. Read more

Owning property can come in different forms of ownership which grants you different rights. If you acquire an interest in property by sale or inheritance you may end up holding a percentage property interest while another person holds the other part of that interest. When co-owning property with someone, both of your names are on the deed which gives you certain abilities and rights. Read more

Following the devastating wildfires across Southern California in January 2025, it is a good time to revisit standard terms found in commercial leases and consider what upgrades, if any, can be made to protect Tenants in fire-prone areas.   Here are several important considerations for Tenants with existing commercial leases or who may be signing leases in fire-prone areas. Read more

Amundson et al. v. Catello (2025) _ Cal.App.5th _, 2025 WL 868169: The Court of Appeal reversed the trial court’s interlocutory order identifying the owners of real property as cross-defendant Ruth Catello (Catello) and the estate of decedent Leslie J. Knoles (decedent) and ordering a partition by sale. Decedent had four surviving siblings. Catello and decedent originally acquired title to the real property as joint tenants. About one month before her death, decedent recorded a quitclaim deed that, if valid, severed the joint tenancy and created a tenancy in common Read more

Joint ownership of property carries a significant number of rights with it. However, a joint owner cannot sell the property without permission from other co-owners. If one co-owner wants to sell or encumber the entire property and the other co-owner disagrees this can cause conflict. Outside of marriage, property is usually owned as a tenancy in common, a joint tenancy, or as a partnership. (Civ. Code § 686.) This type of ownership status usually stays the same over the course of one’s ownership. Read more

Batta v. Hunt: Both an unremarkable case about easements and inconsistent rulings as well as a new precedent about the statutory real estate transfer disclosure statement.  Read more

March 2025 By: Monty A. McIntyre, Esq. Monty A. McIntyre, Esq.Helping Attorneys Get Excellent Results Publisher: California Case Summaries™: Know More. Win More.Mediator at ADR Services, Inc.: Business, employment, insurance, probate, real property and torts cases.To schedule, contact one of Monty’s case managers Haward Cho, haward@adrservices.com, (213) 683-1600, or Rachael Boughan, rboughan@adrservices.com, (619) 233-1323. Trial training and preparation. Trial Alchemy™: Learn from Civil Jury Trial Experts. Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube. California Case Summaries™: California Case Summaries™: California attorneys can win more cases by… Read more

The Real Property Law Section (RPLS) offers attorneys a diverse array of volunteer opportunities across our nine Real Estate Practice Area Committees (PACs). Read more