What's happening
This bill requires county clerks or city registrars to mail written notice to property owners when ownership of residential property is sold or transferred.
Why it matters
Helps prevent property fraud and deed theft. by notifying current property owners whenever their residential property is sold or transferred, making it harder for fraudulent transfers to go unnoticed.
Empowers property owners to detect and dispute unauthorized or mistaken transactions quickly. , since the mailed notice includes clear instructions on how to seek legal counsel or contact law enforcement if they suspect a crime.
Places the cost and responsibility for notification on the party initiating the property transfer. , rather than the property owner, ensuring the process does not impose unexpected burdens on those being notified.
Provides a standardized, prominent notice format. (with large, bold text and key details) to help ensure recipients recognize the importance of the mailing and understand their rights and next steps if something is amiss.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Notify Owners of Property Transfers
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
Senator · Senate District 14
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Signed chap.641
- Delivered to governor
- Returned to senate
- Passed assembly
- Ordered to third reading cal.216
- Substituted for A440A
- Referred to judiciary
- Delivered to assembly
- Passed senateVote 43–19
- Ordered to third reading cal.1557
- Committee discharged and committed to rules
- 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
Assembly Floor Calendar · Sponsor N. Nick Perry
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
5372
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
April 29, 2019
Introduced by Sen. COMRIE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed 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 mortgage shall retain the priority of the original mortgage lien as so
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD05315-03-9
S. 5372 2
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 clerk of the county or city registrar is entitled to charge a reasonable fee to cover the cost of mailing the envelope to the owner of record. 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.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the real property law, in relation to notice of sale or transfer of ownership of residential property
Purpose
To require the county clerk or city register to provide notice to the owner of record when recording a conveyance of residential real proper- ty.
Summary of specific provisions
Section 1 of the bill amends 5 291 of the real property law to require the county clerk or city registrar, where applicable, to provide written notice to the title owner of record of the conveyance to a new owner. The party seeking to record such conveyance shall be ar the cost of such written notice. The clerk of the county or city registrar is entitled to charge a reasonable fee to cover the cost of mailing the envelope to the owner of record.
Section 2 of the bill provides the effective date.
Justification
According to the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), real estate and mortgage fraud is vastly on the rise. In 2007 the FBI received 46,717 Suspicious Activity Reports related to real estate and mortgage fraud compared to 35,617 in 2006 and just 6,936 in 2003. Only 715 of these reports documented an exact dollar amount in terms of losses, but even so, the total loss from this 7% was $813 million. The FBI's case- load has also escalated. By the end of fiscal year 2007, the FBI experienced a 47% increase in real estate cases from 2006 and a whopping 176% increase from 2003. One of the more common means to defraud is through the fraudulent transfer of land title to obtain home equity lines of credit. Criminals also target residential vacant properties or houses put up for sale. In fact, the FBI reports that at least twenty percent (20%) of all title transfers are the result of some fraud. To facilitate these schemes, perpetrators often pose as new owners of a home in order to transfer the title. Once the title transfer is complete, the perpe- trator can use the new title to obtain a home equity line of credit. Among those affected by this egregious crime, the elderly are the most vulnerable victims. Senior citizens, often owners of homes that are fully paid for, without a mortgage, and therefore with no bank or insti- tution having a vested interest in their property, are especially vulnerable to fraudulent transfers. Data from law enforcement and indus- try sources were compared and mapped to determine which areas of the country were most affected by mortgage fraud during 2007. Information from the FBI, Mortgage Asset Research Institute ("MARI"), Fannie Mae, RealtyTrac Inc., Interthinx, and Radian Guaranty Inc. indicate that New York State was among the top 10 mortgage fraud states for 2007.-
Prior legislative history
2017-2018: A.1785/S.2296 - Third Reading Calendar/Judiciary 2015-2016: A.6685-B/S.7955-A - Third Reading Calendar / Judiciary 2013-2014: A.4813 - Referred to Judiciary 2011-2012: A.4748 - Referred to Judiciary 2010: A.3518-A - Referred to Judiciary 2009: A.3518-A -Third Reading Calendar 2008: A.11801 - Referred to Judiciary
Fiscal implications
None to the State.
Effective date
Ninety days after becoming law.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.