CIV § 3483

New owner neglecting to abate nuisance liable – CIV § 3483

Under CIV § 3483, a new property owner who neglects to abate a continuing nuisance created by a former owner is liable as if they created it.

Official text CIV § 3483 — California

Every successive owner of property who neglects to abate a continuing nuisance upon, or in the use of, such property, created by a former owner, is liable therefor in the same manner as the one who first created it.

Text as published in the 2026 snapshot of the code.

Source: Vaquill Open US Law, compiled from official state publishers (huggingface.co), reproduced under license CC BY 4.0.

Read this provision at the official source →

What it actually says

Section 3483 answers the reply "that was here before I bought the place". Every successive owner of property who neglects to abate a continuing nuisance upon, or in the use of, that property, created by a former owner, is liable for it in the same manner as the one who first created it. Buying the land does not buy immunity for what is on it.

Two conditions are built into the sentence. The nuisance must be continuing rather than complete: something that goes on producing the interference — a drain that keeps discharging, a wall that keeps collapsing, a use that keeps making the noise — rather than a single past event whose damage remains. And there must be neglect to abate, which imports the idea that the owner is answerable for failing to deal with it rather than for having acquired it. The liability is not for creation; it is for continuation.

The consequence is that the successor stands in the same position as the creator, "in the same manner as the one who first created it", which is what makes the section worth citing rather than simply suing the previous owner who may be untraceable or insolvent. It also cuts the other way for a buyer: an inspection that turns up a drainage arrangement, an encroaching structure or an ongoing use affecting a neighbour is not a problem that disappeared with the sale. Whether a given condition is a continuing nuisance, and what abatement would require, are factual questions worth taking to a lawyer.

When it applies

You bought a house whose drainage has been flooding the neighbour for years
The neighbour's property changed hands and the new owner refuses to deal with an old problem
A landlord who acquired a building says the rubbish, damp or vermin predate them
A structure built by a previous owner that keeps shedding water or debris next door
A long-running use of the property that neighbours have complained about for years
The party who created the problem has sold up and cannot be found

What this section does not say

It does not cover a completed act. The section addresses a continuing nuisance; a single past incident whose damage remains is a claim against whoever did it, not a continuing obligation of the new owner.
It does not make the new owner liable for past damages as creator. The liability attaches to neglecting to abate, so what happened before the successor could have acted is a different question.
It does not release the original creator. Making the successor liable "in the same manner" adds a defendant rather than substituting one.
It is not a rule about disclosure on a sale. What a seller must tell a buyer about the property is governed by other law; this section is about the buyer's position towards the person affected.
It does not define nuisance. Whether the condition qualifies at all is decided under § 3479, and § 3482 may take it outside the definition.

Worked examples

Invented situations, written to show how the wording bites. They are not real cases, not judgments and not precedent, and nothing here predicts what would happen in yours.

Illustrative example

Water has run off a neighbouring property into a garden for years. The property changes hands and the new owners say the arrangement predates them and is not their problem.

How the wording applies

Section 3483 makes every successive owner who neglects to abate a continuing nuisance liable in the same manner as the one who created it. The fact this hinges on is that the condition is continuing rather than a completed past act, and liability attaches to neglecting to abate once they were in a position to act, not to what happened before they arrived.

How the parties settled it

The new owners install a drain and channel the run-off to the road within an agreed period, the neighbour meets the cost of regrading their own side, and no claim is made for past years.

Illustrative example

A block of flats is sold and the new owner says the rubbish and vermin problem in the yard was inherited from the previous landlord.

How the wording applies

Ownership changing does not restart the clock on a continuing condition, and the section adds the new owner as a defendant rather than substituting them for the old one. It turns on what the new owner did once they could act: a plan begun promptly is a very different picture from months of pointing at a predecessor.

How the parties settled it

The new owner clears the yard, installs lockable bin stores and puts a collection contract in place by an agreed date, and the residents drop their complaint on completion.

Related sections

CIV § 3479 Nuisance defined: harm to health or property | CIV § 3479 CIV § 3482 California Civil Code § 3482 - The defence that a statute authorised it CIV § 3333 Full Compensation for All Detriment Caused | CIV § 3333

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We copy this text from the official publisher and re-check it against that source on every page load, but we cannot guarantee it is complete, current or free of error, and we accept no liability for any reliance on it. An amendment can take effect before a consolidation catches up. The publisher's own copy is linked below; where the two differ, it is the official one that counts.

This page reproduces the text of CIV § 3483 in force at the date shown and explains it in general terms. It is not legal advice and takes no account of the circumstances of your case, which can change the answer completely. For a live dispute, for limitation periods, and before taking any step in court, consult a qualified lawyer in California.

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