Gov. Kathy Hochul signs bill to combat deed theft
It gives recourse to New York homeowners
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed legislation on Tuesday to protect against deed theft – a practice in which property owners are defrauded out of the property titles to their homes – at Brooklyn Law School, alongside New York Attorney General Letitia James, members of the legislature, legal services advocates, and several deed theft victims.
The legislation empowers the attorney general, local district attorneys and other law enforcement investigating deed theft, to move to stay any legal proceeding where possession or title to a property is at issue – such as foreclosures, evictions, and ownership disputes – and requires courts to grant the stay if investigations are ongoing or the government has initiated civil or criminal actions.
Upon finding probable cause or filing criminal charges, the attorney general and district attorneys now may file a notice of pendency as a “red flag” to make buyers and lenders aware of title issues to help stop further transactions from happening.