Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California

The answer to your question really depends on the terms of the trust, so you may want to review the trust document with a trusts and estates attorney.

What I can say is that the likely answer is that the trustee can do this, unless the trust specifically left the home to you, either outright or in a trust for your benefit.

Mr. Tillem is correct. Unless the trust specifies that the beneficiary can live in the house, or the beneficiary has some independent right to live in the house, such as a lease, or there is some other restriction in the trust on what the trustee can do, the trustee can do anything that in the exercise of reasonable judgment would be an appropriate thing to do in managing the assets of the trust. If there are multiple beneficiaries it would seem VERY prudent (since the trustee must manage the assets for ALL beneficiaries) to fix up and sell a property rather than let one beneficiary live in it, particularly if the beneficiary is not paying full market rent.