New York Deed Theft Law for Practitioners: The 2023 and 2024 Changes and What They Mean for Title

Status as of October 2026. Two statewide laws reshaped deed theft cases in New York. Chapter 630 of the Laws of 2023 (S6577, signed November 14, 2023, effective December 14, 2023) changed civil procedure, the good-faith purchaser rule and prosecutors’ tools. Part O of the 2024 budget (S8306, effective July 19, 2024) made deed theft a form of grand larceny. The statute pages on nysenate.gov show no amendments to these provisions since then, and the deed theft bills pending in the 2025-2026 session have not passed (see below).

For a title examiner, lender or closing attorney, the practical result is new records to look for, new reasons a foreclosure or eviction can stop, and a presumption that can cost a buyer or lender its good-faith status. This guide covers the statutes and what they change in practice. For owner-facing steps (checking ACRIS, free recording alerts, reporting), see Deed Theft in NYC.

The baseline: void versus voidable

The statutes sit on top of Faison v. Lewis, 25 N.Y.3d 220 (2015). A forged deed is void and passes nothing, so a later purchaser or mortgagee takes nothing, however innocent, and the owner’s claim is not time-barred. A deed procured by fraud from the real owner is voidable, and a bona fide purchaser or encumbrancer for value can be protected. The 2023 law mostly matters in that second category, and in the gap between a fraud and a court order clearing it.

What the 2023 civil law changed

Change Statute Who acts
Mandatory stays RPAPL 756-a Government agency, court
Prosecutor notice of pendency CPLR 6501(b), (c) DA or AG
Order voiding instruments CPL 420.45 DA, AG, law enforcement
Presumption of fraud after conviction RPAPL 1501(6) Court
Presumption of notice RPL 266 Court

Stays of foreclosure, eviction and title actions (RPAPL 756-a)

RPAPL 756-a applies to proceedings to recover possession of or quiet title to residential property, and “proceeding” is defined to include ejectment, foreclosure and actions on the mortgage note.

  • A federal, state or local agency conducting a good-faith investigation into theft or fraud in the title or financing may move for a stay, and on that motion the court must issue one. The court holds a status conference every six months and the stay lasts until the investigation closes.
  • The court must stay the proceeding when a charging instrument for deed theft, larceny, offering a false instrument for filing or a similar offense relating to the property is filed against a party to the proceeding, until the criminal case is resolved.
  • The court must stay it when a government agency has started a civil action over title or financing fraud on the property.
  • In a summary proceeding under RPAPL 711 or 713, a bona fide title dispute requires a 90-day stay so the issue can go to the proper court. A dispute is presumed bona fide when the respondent owned the property within the last three years or is a person interested in the property under the Surrogate’s Court Procedure Act. The court may extend that stay.
  • Paragraph 4(c) says “this section shall not apply” to any proceeding under RPAPL 713(10), the forcible or unlawful entry proceeding. Although it sits in subdivision 4, the text excludes 713(10) proceedings from all of 756-a, not only the 90-day stay.

For a foreclosing lender, a stay can freeze a case at any stage. Build that into timelines, and check the docket for a government motion before relying on a judgment of foreclosure and sale.

Notices of pendency filed by prosecutors (CPLR 6501)

Under CPLR 6501, a district attorney or the Attorney General may file a notice of pendency in the county where the property sits:

  • Subdivision (b): after an investigation finds probable cause of a crime affecting title, encumbrance or possession. It lasts six months and can be renewed twice.
  • Subdivision (c): when a criminal complaint or indictment alleges such charges. It lasts until the case is dismissed or disposed of at sentencing and is not subject to the three-year limit in CPLR 6513.

These notices are filed with the County Clerk. In the four ACRIS boroughs, lis pendens are docketed with the County Clerk, not the City Register, so a clean ACRIS search does not rule one out (see How to Read ACRIS for Title). A subdivision (c) notice also falls outside the usual practice of treating a lis pendens older than three years as expired.

Voiding orders after conviction (CPL 420.45)

CPL 420.45 now applies after a conviction or plea for any crime affecting title to, encumbrance of or possession of real property. The 2023 amendment replaced the old trigger, a conviction under Penal Law 175.30 or 175.35 (offering a false instrument for filing), with any crime affecting title, and struck “residential” from the operative text. The district attorney, the Attorney General or any law enforcement agency may move. The motion goes to Supreme Court in the county where the property is located or where the prosecution took place, with notice to everyone with an interest, including lienholders and the last record owner.

Within ten days of filing, the movant records the notice of motion with the County Clerk, which indexes it as a notice of pendency under CPLR 6511(c). The conviction creates a rebuttable presumption that the instrument is void ab initio. After a hearing, the court may declare the deed, mortgage or other instrument void ab initio or grant other relief, and a certified copy of the order is recorded where the instrument was recorded. That recorded order is the document a title examiner relies on to clear the record.

Presumptions that shift the burden

  • RPAPL 1501(6). In an action to determine claims to real property, a conviction for a crime connected to deed theft or a fraudulent real property transaction creates a rebuttable presumption that the deed transfer was fraudulent. It also applies where the grantee is an entity the convicted person beneficially owns. A defendant can rebut it by a preponderance of the evidence (RPAPL 1501).
  • RPL 266. A purchaser or incumbrancer for value is protected unless it had prior notice of the fraud. The 2023 law added a rebuttable presumption of notice when mortgaged property is transferred between parties who are not associated, and the transfer is not accompanied by the recording, in the county where the property is located, of an acknowledged statement executed by the mortgagee stating, substantially, that a party is assuming the seller’s mortgage debt or that the debt has been satisfied (RPL 266). Associated parties are spouses and ex-spouses, parents and children, siblings, and a homeowner and that homeowner’s family trust or wholly owned LLC.

The RPL 266 presumption is the change closing practitioners feel most. A buyer or new lender in an arm’s-length deal on mortgaged property who cannot point to a recorded satisfaction or assumption statement starts out presumed to have had notice of the fraud, and must rebut that presumption to keep its protection. The statute does not set a recording deadline beyond “accompanied by” the transfer.

What the 2024 criminal law changed

Deed theft is now grand larceny regardless of value:

Degree Covers Class
Third (PL 155.35) One commercial property D felony
Second (PL 155.40) One residential; one mixed-use with a unit; two or more commercial C felony
First (PL 155.42) Occupied home; elderly or disabled owner; three or more residential B felony

Under CPL 30.10(3)(h), a felony related to deed theft or real property fraud can be prosecuted within five years of the crime or two years after the victim discovers it, whichever is later. The Attorney General describes the 2024 law as giving her office concurrent original jurisdiction with district attorneys to prosecute deed theft.

For title, the 2024 law matters mainly because it produces convictions, and a conviction is what unlocks CPL 420.45 orders and the RPAPL 1501(6) presumption.

Pending bills (not law)

As of October 30, 2026, none of these has passed either house:

  • S7732 (Brisport), the “Deed Theft: Bank and Lender Accountability Act,” would add Insurance Law 6408(e) to bar title insurers from paying lenders on claims where the conveyance was false or fraudulent (coverage). It sits in the Senate Insurance Committee, re-referred January 7, 2026. The Assembly companion, A10147, is in the Assembly Insurance Committee.
  • S7721A / A8863A would create a private right of action against deed thieves, lenders whose loans assist a theft, and title insurers that negligently facilitate one, with treble damages and fees. The Senate bill reached third reading in May 2026 and was committed to Rules on June 5, 2026.
  • S6362 / A2745 would further amend RPL 266 and the CPLR 6501 prosecutor notices, including a duty to cancel within 30 days once an investigation ends. Both are in Judiciary committees.

The 2025-2026 session ends December 31, 2026. Bills not enacted by then die and must be reintroduced.

NYC: the Mayor’s Office of Deed Theft Prevention

Executive Order 16, announced April 24, 2026, created a Mayor’s Office of Deed Theft Prevention inside the Department of Finance, the agency that runs the City Register. Its stated functions include identifying questionable filings, enforcement with the Sheriff and other agencies, and better information sharing. It is a City office with no statewide reach, and the announcement does not describe any change to recording requirements. Owners report through its intake form.

Practical implications for closings

None of the following is required by statute. It is common practice, and many underwriters require some of it.

Search. Run County Clerk lis pendens and docket searches, not just the recording index, and look for CPLR 6501 notices filed by a DA or the AG and CPL 420.45 notices of motion. Treat a recent deed out of a long-time owner to an unrelated LLC, followed quickly by a sale or new mortgage, as a reason to look harder. A recorded CPL 420.45 order or quiet title judgment, not an acquittal or a press release, is what clears a fraudulent deed.

Seller identity. The American Land Title Association’s seller impersonation guidance lists red flags: vacant or non-owner-occupied property, no mortgage, a below-market price, a seller who wants a fast cash closing, will not appear or join a video call, insists on their own notary, or wants proceeds wired. Its recommended steps include contacting the owner independently using a validated phone number, mailing the tax-bill, property and grantee addresses, controlling who notarizes, third-party ID verification, and comparing signatures with prior recorded documents.

Seller verification letters (practice, not law). Many title agents mail a letter to the record owner at the tax-bill and property addresses before closing, asking the owner to confirm the sale and call a number the agent supplies. A response from the true owner, or a bounced letter, is evidence either way. The letter is not a statutory requirement in New York.

Mortgage payoffs. Given RPL 266, get payoffs from the actual servicer, confirm receipt, and follow through until the satisfaction is recorded. Where an existing loan stays in place, document the assumption with a recorded mortgagee statement. The old unsatisfied mortgage guide covers the satisfaction mechanics.

Disbursement. Pay seller proceeds only to an account verified independently of emailed instructions, or by check.

Official sources

Related guides

Korvane Title is preparing to launch in New York. It is not licensed as a title insurance agent and does not accept title orders. Content on this site is general information, not legal advice.