You want to sell. Your co-owner wants to rebuild. A wildfire, earthquake, flood, or mudslide has damaged or destroyed the property, and every month it sits, the mortgage, taxes, and cleanup bills keep coming while your money stays tied up in a property you no longer want to own.
Here is the short answer: in California, you generally cannot be forced to stay invested in a rebuild you do not want. Any co-owner can ask a court to end the co-ownership through a partition action, and that right does not depend on whether the house is still standing, red-tagged, or gone. The land, your share of it, and any insurance claim still have value after a disaster. A partition action is how you turn that value into money and move on, even when your co-owner says no.
Your co-owner’s wish to rebuild is understandable. It may be the family home, or the place they plan to live. But wanting to rebuild does not give them the power to make that choice for you. This guide answers the questions owners in your position ask most.
Can My Co-Owner Stop Me From Selling by Insisting on Rebuilding?
Generally, no. Code of Civil Procedure section 872.210 (CCP 872.210) allows a person who owns real property together with others to file a partition action. Code of Civil Procedure section 872.710 (CCP 872.710) then provides that partition of co-owned property “shall be as of right unless barred by a valid waiver.” See CCP 872.210 on who may file for partition and CCP 872.710 on the right to partition.
That means you do not have to prove the property is destroyed, damaged beyond repair, or impossible to rebuild. You do not have to show that your co-owner’s rebuilding plan is a bad idea, and you do not need your co-owner’s permission. Your co-owner may sincerely want to rebuild, but that is not a reason the court will refuse a partition. That is why California courts describe the right to partition as absolute.
The exceptions are narrow. The most common is a written agreement in which the owners gave up the right to partition, which is uncommon and must be proven (see Waiver of the Right to Partition in California). Spouses divide community property in family court instead (CCP 872.210, subdivision (b)), property owned by a partnership follows different rules (CCP 872.730), and a property split between a life estate and a later owner is partitioned only if it is in the best interest of all the parties (CCP 872.710, subdivision (c)). For the typical siblings, friends, or relatives who own a damaged home together, none of these applies.
One point to keep in mind: selling ends your ownership, but it does not erase a loan you signed. When the property is sold, the proceeds pay the expenses of sale, the costs of partition, and the liens on the property, including the mortgage, before anything is divided among the owners (CCP 873.820 on applying sale proceeds). If a damaged property is worth less than the loan, raise that early so it is part of the plan.
Do We Have to Rebuild or Repair Before the Property Can Be Sold?
No. Damaged homes and cleared lots are bought and sold after every major California disaster. After the January 2025 Eaton and Palisades fires, for example, many properties in Altadena and Pacific Palisades went on the market as land rather than finished homes. Builders, neighbors, investors, and families who want to build their own homes all buy damaged property. Your co-owner’s argument that the property should be repaired or rebuilt first so it sells for more is not a reason the court has to wait.
In a partition action, the court usually orders the property sold and appoints a referee to handle the sale (CCP 873.510 on sale by referee). The court decides whether a public auction or a private sale will be more beneficial to the owners (CCP 873.520 on choosing the type of sale). We explain the steps in How Does a Partition Referee Sell Property in California?
A disaster does change what buyers will ask about, and these questions affect how long a sale takes and what it brings:
- Safety and cleanup. Has the building been inspected or red-tagged as unsafe? Has debris, mud, or water damage been cleaned up?
- Access. Are evacuation orders, road closures, or utility outages still limiting who can visit the property?
- What it will take to rebuild. Zoning, building codes, and permit rules affect what a buyer can do. After an earthquake or landslide, buyers may want soil or engineering reports. In a mapped flood zone, a home the local floodplain official finds “substantially damaged” (generally, repairs costing at least half of the home’s pre-flood market value) may have to be elevated, moved, or rebuilt to current flood rules, as the Federal Emergency Management Agency explains.
- Current value. The property is worth what it is worth today, in its current condition, not what the house was worth before the disaster. Appraisers look at the land, any usable structures, and recent sales of similar damaged properties nearby.
No one can promise a quick sale or a particular price for damaged property. What a partition does is break the deadlock, so the property can be marketed and sold instead of sitting while you and your co-owner argue. For more on how a court-ordered sale works, see How to Force the Sale of Jointly Owned Property in California.
Do I Have to Pay for a Rebuild I Did Not Agree To?
You cannot be forced to write checks for a rebuild you oppose. But if your co-owner rebuilds or makes major repairs anyway, expect them to ask for credit in the final accounting. Under Code of Civil Procedure section 872.140 (CCP 872.140 on compensatory adjustment), the court may adjust what each owner receives according to the principles of equity. As one court described the accounting:
Credits include expenditures in excess of the co-tenant’s fractional share for necessary repairs, improvements that enhance the value of the property, taxes, payments of principal and interest on mortgages, and other liens, insurance for the common benefit, and protection and preservation of title.
Wallace v. Daley (1990) 220 Cal.App.3d 1028, 1035–1036
For an owner who wants to sell, the useful line is between two kinds of spending:
- Spending that protects the property. The mortgage, property taxes, insurance premiums, and work needed to secure the site, stop further damage, or meet cleanup orders protect everyone’s investment. If you pay more than your share of these while the dispute goes on, they are usually your strongest claims for reimbursement. See I Paid the Mortgage. Can I Get It Back in a Partition?
- Rebuilding you did not agree to. A co-owner who starts rebuilding while you are asking to sell takes a real risk. Credits for improvements are generally measured by how much they increased the property’s value, not by what they cost. See Recovering Repairs and Improvements in a Partition Action.
Neither side should expect reimbursement for every dollar. Credits can be reduced by insurance money one owner already received, by an owner’s exclusive use of the property, or by an agreement between the owners. We cover the rules in Partition Offsets and Accounting in California. Keep a record of everything you pay, and ask the county assessor whether disaster relief from property taxes is available for your property.
What If the Damage Is Not Covered by Insurance?
This is more common than many owners expect, and it matters for your decision to sell. A standard homeowner’s policy usually covers fire, but the California Department of Insurance warns that it does not cover earthquake damage, other than fire caused by an earthquake. Earthquake coverage is a separate policy, often through the California Earthquake Authority, and it usually carries a large deductible based on a percentage of the coverage. Flood damage is also typically excluded and requires a separate flood policy.
If the damage was not insured, or the deductible swallows most of the claim, there may be little or no insurance money to rebuild with. A co-owner who insists on rebuilding is then asking you to put in new money of your own. You are not required to. The property, in its current condition, can still be sold through a partition, and any value that remains is divided after the loan and costs are paid.
Can My Co-Owner Use the Insurance Money to Rebuild Without Me?
When there is insurance money, it depends on the policy, not the deed. Your ownership share decides how the property and its sale proceeds are divided. The insurance policy decides who is entitled to the insurance payments in the first place. These questions usually decide it:
- Whose name is on the policy? An insurance policy protects the people it names, not the property itself. The California Supreme Court has held that one co-owner has no duty to insure the other, and that a co-owner who did not buy the policy generally cannot claim the proceeds paid to the co-owner who did (Russell v. Williams (1962) 58 Cal.2d 487, 490–491). The answer can be different when premiums were paid with shared money, when the policy names every owner, or when the owners agreed to share. With inherited homes, the policy may still be in a parent’s name, or in the name of a trust or estate.
- Is the lender on the check? Most policies on mortgaged homes name the lender, and payments for the house are often made out to the lender as well. Depending on the loan documents, the lender may hold the money and release it as rebuilding progresses, or apply it to the loan.
- What is the payment for? Policies usually pay in separate categories: the house, other structures, personal belongings, and living expenses while the household is displaced. Payments for belongings and temporary housing usually belong to the people who owned those belongings or were displaced, not to every owner on the deed.
If you are a named insured, your co-owner generally cannot treat the payments for the house as theirs alone. If you are not, your share of the property is still yours to sell even if your co-owner controls the claim. Either way, disputes between co-owners over money tied to the property can be raised in the partition accounting, starting from the policy and the facts.
Will Selling the Damaged Property Hurt the Insurance Claim?
Selling does not automatically end the insurance claim, but do not assume it has no effect either. Many policies pay the depreciated value of the house first and the rest of the replacement cost later, as the owner rebuilds or replaces the home. That is often why a co-owner argues the property has to be rebuilt on the same lot. California law is more flexible than that.
After a total loss, California Insurance Code section 2051.5 does not allow a policy to deny or limit replacement cost benefits just because the insured rebuilds or buys an already-built home at a different location, up to what it would have cost to rebuild at the original location. For a loss in a declared state of emergency, the insured generally has at least 36 months from the first payment to collect the full replacement cost, with extensions for good cause. The California Department of Insurance summarizes these rules in its annual notice of California laws on residential property insurance after a declared emergency. Flood policies issued through the federal flood insurance program follow federal rules, so check those terms separately.
How those rules apply when co-owners go separate ways, and what happens if no one rebuilds or buys a replacement home, depends on the policy. Before a sale closes, someone needs to confirm which payments remain, which deadlines apply, whether the claim stays with the owners or passes to the buyer, and what the lender requires. These are questions to coordinate with insurance counsel or a disaster claims attorney.
Claims against someone blamed for the damage, such as a utility after a wildfire or a contractor or public agency after a flood or landslide, are separate from insurance. Compensation for damage to the property may need to be shared among the owners, but compensation for personal belongings, displacement, emotional distress, or personal injury generally belongs to the person who suffered that loss. Selling the property does not hand those personal claims to your co-owner.
What If My Co-Owner Offers to Buy Me Out Instead?
That can be the fastest way out for you and the best result for both of you: your co-owner keeps the property and rebuilds, and you get paid. Before you accept, make sure the deal covers:
- A fair price for today. The price should reflect what the property and any insurance rights you are giving up are worth now. The value of the house before the disaster is not the automatic number, in either direction.
- Getting off the loan. If you are on the mortgage, the buyout should pay it off or get the lender to release you. See Can Your Co-Owner Buy You Out if You Are on the Mortgage?
- The insurance claim. Who keeps the right to future payments? Are payments already received counted in the price? What about any claim against a third party?
- Money you spent since the disaster. Your share of the mortgage, taxes, and cleanup you covered should be credited.
- A deadline. An offer to buy you out “once the insurance comes through” is not a deal. Set a closing date.
If you file a partition action asking for a sale, a co-owner who holds title as a tenant in common may have a right to buy out your share at a value set by the court. That still gets you paid. We explain how it works in Can My Co-Owner Buy Me Out If I File for Partition? and Buying Out a Co-Owner in California.
Example: I Want to Sell, My Brother Wants to Rebuild
This is a hypothetical example to show how the options work. It is not based on any real case.
Ana and her brother Marco inherited their mother’s house in Los Angeles as equal co-owners. An earthquake cracked the foundation, and the city red-tagged the house as unsafe. Their mother’s homeowner’s policy did not include earthquake coverage. Ana lives in Sacramento and wants to sell the property as it is. Marco grew up in that house and wants to repair it and move in. He asks Ana to split the repair bill.
Ana does not have to agree. Here is how her three paths look:
- A negotiated sale. Marco agrees to list the property as is. The sale proceeds pay off any loan and closing costs, and the siblings split the rest after crediting whoever paid more of the expenses since the earthquake.
- A funded buyout. Marco buys Ana’s half based on what the damaged property is worth now, adjusted for what each has paid. He needs the money to do it, from a loan or his savings, because there is no insurance payment to draw on. Ana gets paid on a set closing date, and Marco keeps the house to repair.
- Partition if Marco will not agree. Ana files a partition action. Marco cannot stop it by insisting on repairs. Depending on how title is held, he may have a chance to buy Ana’s share at a court-determined value. If he does not, the court orders the property sold, the referee markets it, and the court accounts for what each sibling paid before dividing the proceeds.
If the house had instead burned in a wildfire with insurance in place, the same three paths would apply, with one more question to settle: who is entitled to the insurance payments, which depends on whose name the policy is in. Often, once a co-owner understands that a partition is available, the first two options become much easier to reach. For more on inherited homes, see our inherited property partition page.
What to Gather Before You Call a Partition Attorney
You do not need everything to start, but these documents make the first conversation far more useful:
- The deed and any trust, will, or probate papers that gave you your share
- Any agreement between the owners about using, selling, or paying for the property
- Recent mortgage statements and any other loans on the property
- Every insurance policy that may apply (homeowner’s, earthquake, flood), including the declarations pages, and all claim letters and payment records
- Any inspection notices, red tags, or cleanup orders from the city or county
- Records of what each owner paid before and after the disaster: mortgage, taxes, insurance, cleanup
- Repair or rebuilding estimates, appraisals, and any offers to buy the property
- Texts, emails, and letters in which you asked to sell and your co-owner said they wanted to rebuild
- Anything about a claim against a utility, contractor, or other party blamed for the damage
How Talkov Law Can Help You Sell
Losing a home to a fire, earthquake, or flood is hard enough without being tied to a co-owner who wants a different future for the property. You do not have to fund a rebuild you do not want, and you do not have to wait indefinitely for your co-owner to agree to sell.
Talkov Law handles only partition actions. With 12 full-time partition attorneys and experience in over 650 partition actions, we help co-owners throughout California, including through our Los Angeles partition lawyers, reach a buyout or a court-ordered sale. When your situation involves an insurance claim or a claim against someone blamed for the damage, we coordinate with your insurance or disaster claims attorney so the sale and the claim work together.
If you want to sell your damaged property and your co-owner wants to rebuild, call (877) PARTITION (727-8484) or contact us online for a free consultation about getting it sold.
