Upon the failure of the property owner or the person in possession of the property to pay the district for all sums expended by the district in abating a nuisance or preventing its recurrence, or upon the failure to pay all civil penalties, the costs or penalties, or both, shall become a lien upon the property on which the nuisance was abated or its recurrence prevented when notice of the lien is filed and recorded. However, if the property has been conveyed prior to the recordation of the lien, the lien shall not attach to the real property, but shall remain the debt of the person who owned the land at the time the costs were incurred, and the debt may be recovered by the district board against the debtor, as provided in Section 2866.