Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

If the city or county hasn't taken action against you prior to the sale being recorded, the responsibility for the code violations will pass to the new owner insofar as the city or county is concerned, at least in most cases. However, the seller of real property has an affirmative duty to disclose known or readily-discoverable problems to the buyer. So, if you knew or should have known of the code violations and failed to disclose them in writing, the buyer may well take you to court and win. In addition, there are some isolated types of code violations where liability may attach to an owner even after he has become a former owner of the property, e.g., CERCLA.