Title issues
Lis pendens (notice of pendency)
A notice of pendency warns the world that litigation could affect title. What a lis pendens does to a New York closing, how it comes off, and who pays.
What does a lis pendens do to a New York closing?
Quick Answer
Chain of title · Blocks the closing until it is resolved
How is it found?
- The title search returns a recorded notice of pendency against the block and lot
- The county clerk index shows a pending action naming the owner and describing the property
- A foreclosure was commenced and the required notice of pendency was filed with the complaint
- A divorce, partition, specific performance or estate contest names the property as the subject of the action
- The notice is stale: the action was discontinued or the notice expired without an extension, but nothing was ever cancelled of record
How is it cured?
- Read the underlying action first, because what the plaintiff is asking for determines whether the notice can be attacked at all
- Where the action has ended, obtain and record a stipulation or order cancelling the notice of pendency
- Where the notice has expired and was not extended, record the proof so the search reads clean rather than relying on the expiration
- Where the notice was filed in an action that does not affect title, move to cancel it as improperly filed
- Where the claim is monetary at heart, ask the court to allow an undertaking so the notice can be cancelled and the deal can proceed
- Where the case will settle, close only after the cancellation is recorded, not on a promise to record it
What does clearing it cost?
The cost is litigation, not paperwork, and that is what makes this the least predictable item on a title report. Cancelling a stale or defective notice is a motion. Resolving a live case that genuinely affects title takes as long as the case takes, which is why the answer is usually a new closing date rather than a cure at the table.
Who pays for it?
The seller, who cannot convey marketable title while a title-affecting action is pending. If the litigation is the buyer’s doing, that changes the analysis, but in the ordinary case the notice reflects a dispute the seller brought into the transaction.
Is a lis pendens a lien?
No. It secures nothing and it awards nothing. It is notice: it tells any later purchaser or lender that a pending action could affect title, and it binds them to the result. The practical effect resembles a lien because it makes the property unmarketable, but the legal mechanism is notice rather than security.
How long does a notice of pendency stay effective?
It runs for a fixed period from filing and can be extended by court order before it expires. An expired notice that nobody cancelled still shows in the index, which is why a search hit is read against the docket rather than taken at face value. Some of them are already dead on arrival.
Can the City file one against a building?
The City brings enforcement actions over unlawful conditions and unlawful uses, and those proceedings can be accompanied by a filing in the county clerk index. Where that happens, the underlying condition and the recorded notice are two separate cures, and the record does not clear until both are handled.
What else should you read before closing?
In the glossary
- Lis pendensA notice of pendency recorded against the property when litigation affecting title is filed. It warns the world and binds later purchasers to the r...
- Foreclosure searchA record search for foreclosure actions touching the property or the current owner. Prior foreclosures in the chain often need extra proof that eve...
- Cloud on titleAny claim or encumbrance that may impair the owner's title. New York owners resolve the serious ones through a quiet title action under RPAPL Artic...
- Marketable titleTitle a reasonable buyer would accept, free of defects that would expose that buyer to litigation. Most New York contracts require the seller to co...
- Chain of titleThe sequence of recorded conveyances of a property, from an earlier known owner to the present one. Gaps and defective links in the chain are what ...
- Title exceptionA matter the title policy does not insure against, listed on Schedule B. Some exceptions are removed before closing and others are simply accepted ...
Questions this raises
- What happens if the title search finds a problem before closing?Schedule B-I requirements are the punch list, not a dead deal. How New York closings clear old liens, missing satisfactions and name hits before th...
- What does title insurance cover?Old liens, recording errors, forged deeds, undisclosed heirs, easements: what a New York title policy covers, what Schedule B excludes, and how cla...
- How long does a title search take?Three to five business days for a clean NYC house or condo, longer for co-ops, estates and multi-parcel files. What slows a New York title search d...
Title issues
- Judgment lien against the sellerA docketed money judgment attaches to New York real property the seller owns in that county. Here is how it surfaces, how it clears, and who pays it.
- Mechanic’s lienA contractor’s unpaid bill can attach to the property as a mechanic’s lien. How the search finds it, the four ways it clears, and who pays under th...
- Estate in the chain of titleWhen a deceased owner sits in the chain, title turns on the estate papers. What the search needs, how the gap is cured, and who pays for the delay.
- Forged or fraudulent deed in the chainA forged deed conveys nothing, so every later transfer rests on it. How deed fraud surfaces in a NYC search, how the chain is repaired, and who pays.
The statute itself
The violation code
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Legal Disclaimer: This page is general information about New York practice. It is not legal advice, it does not account for the terms of any particular contract, building or transaction, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. This is attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.