Civil Code section 885.030

[Scot Shortlidge]

The titled statute provides that if the 30 year period goes by and the grantor does not record a notice stating an intent to preserve the power of termination of the deed, then the power of termination expires and makes the restriction unenforceable. (Civil Code section 885.060, subd. (b).) This is a statute that alters many decades of property law developed by the courts. (Severns v. Union Pacific Railroad Co. (2002) 101 Cal.App.4th 1209, 1220, fn. 7.)

Your input on this statue application, does it grandfather older reversions, etc. is appreciated. A recorded copy of The Intent to Preserve the Power of Termination would be helpful as well.

[steffan]

CC 880.370 may be the operative section to your question on grandfathering. I.e. did the holder of the power of termination file a notice to preserve termination within 5 years of enactment of CC 885.030 and within every 30 years after? And did the holder commence an action to revert title within 5 years of the breach of the restriction (CC 885.050)? If the breach of restriction occurred prior to 1983 (enactment of 885.050), was there any action to get the reversion into the chain of title. If not, who has been paying taxes on the parcel in question?
If the breach of restriction occurred prior to 1983, did the holder commence an action to revert within 5 years of 1/1/83 (CC 885.070)?