What's happening
This bill requires county clerks or city registrars to notify current residential property owners by mail whenever a sale or transfer of ownership is recorded.
Why it matters
Helps combat property fraud and title theft. By requiring official notification to current owners whenever a property sale or transfer is recorded, the bill makes it harder for fraudulent transfers to go unnoticed, giving legitimate owners a chance to intervene if their property is being transferred without their knowledge.
Provides early warning and legal recourse. The mandatory notice includes information advising owners what to do if they believe a transfer is invalid or fraudulent, including seeking legal counsel or contacting law enforcement—potentially reducing the risk of owners losing their homes due to scams or clerical errors.
Shifts notification costs to the party recording the transfer. The responsibility for funding and providing the mail notification (including a pre-stamped envelope) falls on the party initiating the property transfer, ensuring that the process doesn’t create an unfunded mandate for local governments or taxpayers.
Standardizes and clarifies notification process statewide. The bill establishes a uniform, easy-to-understand notification template and process for all counties and applicable cities, helping to ensure all property owners across New York receive clear and timely information when ownership of their property is being changed.
Albany, before your first meeting.
Every bill that moved yesterday, summarized in a sentence and ranked by impact. The Albany Scorecard follows on Sundays.
Free. Unsubscribe in one click. Want alerts on specific bills? Create an account.
Who cares
Headline styles
Notify Homeowners of Property Sales
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
10 Co-sponsors
History
- Ordered to third reading cal.134
- Advanced to third reading cal.70
- Reported
- Referred to judiciary
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Notify Homeowners of Property Sales
In Senate Committee · Judiciary · Sponsor Martin J. Golden
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
1785
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 13, 2017
Introduced by M. of A. PERRY -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. BENEDET- TO, COLTON, GALEF, HIKIND, ROSENTHAL, TITUS -- read once and referred to the Committee on Judiciary
AN ACT to amend the real property law, in relation to notice of sale or transfer of ownership of residential property
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Section 291 of the real property law, as amended by chapter 447 of the laws of 1984, is amended to read as follows:
§ 291. Recording of conveyances. A conveyance of real property, within the state, on being duly acknowledged by the person executing the same, or proved as required by this chapter, and such acknowledgment or proof duly certified when required by this chapter, may be recorded in the office of the clerk of the county where such real property is situated, and such county clerk or city registrar where applicable shall, upon the request of any party, on tender of the lawful fees therefor, record the same in [his] said office. Every such conveyance not so recorded is void as against any person who subsequently purchases or acquires by exchange or contracts to purchase or acquire by exchange, the same real property or any portion thereof, or acquires by assignment the rent to accrue therefrom as provided in section two hundred ninetyfour-a of [the real property law] this article, in good faith and for a valuable consideration, from the same vendor or assignor, his distributees or devisees, and whose conveyance, contract or assignment is first duly recorded, and is void as against the lien upon the same real property or any portion thereof arising from payments made upon the execution of or pursuant to the terms of a contract with the same vendor, his distributees or devisees, if such contract is made in good faith and is first duly recorded. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any increase in the principal balance of a mortgage lien by virtue of the addition thereto of unpaid interest in accordance with the terms of the
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD04243-01-7
A. 1785 2
mortgage shall retain the priority of the original mortgage lien as so increased provided that any such mortgage instrument sets forth its terms of repayment. The clerk of the county or city registrar where such conveyance of residential real property is recorded and maintained shall mail a written notice of such conveyance to the owner of record. The notice shall have the heading printed in 20 point bold type and read as follows: "NOTICE OF SALE OR TRANSFER OF OWNERSHIP OF YOUR RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY. To:______________________________
Name of owner of record
Our records show that you are listed as the current owner of record for residential property:
Block # __________ Lot # ________
Located At: ___________________________
street address
in the county of __________________ New York On ____________, documents were filed at this
date office to change ownership and transfer title of your property.
To: ______________________________
name of new owner
If you have any questions regarding the validity of the documents, and wish to dispute the recording of the transfer, you should obtain legal counsel. If you believe you are a victim of a crime related to this recording, contact your local law enforcement agency or, if in the City of New York, the office of the sheriff." The party seeking to record such conveyance shall bear the cost of such written notice. The party seeking to record the conveyance shall submit, contemporaneously with the filing of the document of conveyance, a pre-stamped envelope bearing sufficient postage to mail a large envelope by first class mail. Failure to mail such notice or the failure of any party to receive the same, shall not affect the validity of the conveyance of the property.
§ 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have become a law.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.