Can you sell part of your backyard without selling your home? Yes, if your lot qualifies for an SB 9 split. The split turns the back (or side) of your lot into its own legal parcel, and that new parcel can be sold while you keep your house.
$0No realtor fees when you sell the new lotA buyer can only buy a legal parcel. Part of your yard isn't one until the lot is officially split and the new parcel map records with the county. Before SB 9 that usually meant a discretionary subdivision with public hearings, if the zoning allowed it at all.
SB 9 changed that in 2022. If your lot is zoned single-family, sits in an urbanized area and clears the size rules (each lot at least 1,200 sq ft, the smaller at least 40% of the original), the city has to review the split against objective standards, without a public hearing.
A few things only you can answer still matter: the split can't require tearing down or altering a home that's been rented in the last three years (or is rent-controlled or deed-restricted), the lot can't have come from an earlier SB 9 split, and you sign a statement that you plan to live in one of the homes for three years.
See whether your lot looks like it can split, and roughly where the line goes.
Look at access to the street, the driveway, slopes, sheds and the pool by hand.
A plan for the new lot, a timeline and a price, with no realtor fees.
A parcel map goes to the city for ministerial approval.
Your lender releases the new lot from your loan.
The new parcel records, and the sale of the new lot closes.
Your mortgage. The loan is secured by the whole lot, so your lender has to release the new lot before it can be sold. Many owners put the sale money toward the loan; if you do, ask your lender about a recast, because many keep the same payment after a paydown unless you ask. Our calculator shows what a paydown could do to your payment.
Property taxes. After the sale, your remaining parcel is assessed on its own, so the bill usually drops. The county assessor sets the number.
Costs. A split means survey, engineering, a parcel map, city fees and utility work. Who pays for what is written into any offer for the new lot before you sign. Each city page lists that city's published fees.
Realtor fees. In a direct sale without a homeowner listing agent, no listing-agent commission is charged to the homeowner. Escrow, title, lender, tax, permitting, and other expenses may still apply. The written agreement specifies which party pays each cost.
Only once that part of the yard is its own legal parcel. In California, SB 9 lets owners of qualifying single-family lots split them in two with ministerial approval, which creates a new parcel you can sell while you keep your house.
Usually, but your lender has to agree. The loan is secured by the whole lot, so the lender has to release the new lot from the mortgage, usually called a partial release or partial reconveyance.
No. In a direct sale without a homeowner listing agent, no listing-agent commission is charged to the homeowner. Escrow, title, lender, tax, permitting, and other expenses may still apply. The written agreement specifies which party pays each cost.
An SB 9 urban lot split generally requires the applicant to certify an intent to occupy one residential unit as a principal residence for three years, subject to statutory exemptions (such as qualified nonprofits and community land trusts). The obligation and its effect on a proposed sale should be reviewed for the specific applicant and transaction.
It depends on your situation. A tax advisor can tell you how the sale of the new lot is treated for you.
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